Jeffrey Haycraft is a resident of Camden.
Stan Lakey’s recent letter to the Daily State News reads less like a sober critique of fiscal policy and more like a fevered rant constructed from economic myths and political blinders (“Here’s what Americans should truly fear”). While he wrings his hands over the national debt — seemingly only when a Democrat is in office — he conveniently ignores the role Republican policies and the Trump administration played in ballooning that very debt.
Let’s review the facts, not the “Make America Great Again” folklore.
The Trump administration added nearly $8 trillion to the national debt in a single term — before the pandemic even hit, it had already tacked on over $3 trillion through reckless tax cuts and corporate giveaways. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, championed by Republicans and Donald Trump, overwhelmingly benefited the ultrawealthy and corporations, while doing almost nothing for working families. It slashed revenue without slashing spending — classic economic malpractice.
What did that debt buy us? An economy that further entrenched income inequality, while gutting public resources. A federal government hobbled by deregulation, diminished expertise and hollowed-out agencies. And, yes, a bloated military budget that no fiscal hawk dares to question.
Lakey mocks the fear of Trump’s return as “make-believe,” but perhaps he missed the part where Trump openly threatened to default on U.S. debt obligations in a second term — essentially using the full faith and credit of the United States as a hostage for political gain. That’s not fiscal responsibility; it’s economic terrorism.
And, while we’re at it: The “courage” Mr. Lakey attributes to Trump looks more like cowardice when you consider his refusal to tackle health care costs, infrastructure investment or climate change — issues that actually threaten the nation’s long-term financial stability. Instead, Trump obsesses over culture wars and self-enrichment.
Concerned about property taxes? Try living in a country where the federal government has been hollowed out so badly by anti-tax crusaders that states and municipalities are left to pick up the pieces — often through regressive taxation that hurts the middle class the most. That’s the Republican legacy, not some dystopian IRS land-grab fantasy.
If Stan Lakey wants to have an honest conversation about debt, then let’s start with honesty: You don’t get to pose as a fiscal conservative, while cheering on the most fiscally reckless presidency in modern history.
The deficit didn’t begin with compassion for the poor, investment in education or health care for all. It began when we decided that billionaires deserved more tax cuts than teachers did fair pay.
If that’s the “hard thing” Trump is doing, then yes — Americans are right to be afraid.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
