Doris W. Draper is a resident of Houston.
Do you really understand our national debt and what is driving its increase?
Since Donald Trump took office, our national debt has increased from $36.2 trillion to $40.33 trillion, over $4.13 trillion. Our total debt has climbed to $116.3 trillion (which includes unfunded obligations).
This illegal war with Iran has cost us $30.45 billion in missiles, at least $81 million in aircraft, $5 billion in damaged bases, 21 killed and 863 wounded, and massive spikes in gas and diesel costs, adding to the cost of all goods. At the same time, this administration is deporting the families of many of our military and cut off the delivery of mail to those serving in the Persian Gulf on March 1.
As the deportations of hardworking people continue to increase, let’s consider that cost. Just the immigrants with temporary protected statuses contribute $7.38 billion in federal and state taxes, plus $680 million to Social Security and Medicare, each year. Our farms (already losing $31 billion) are filing bankruptcy at an alarming rate. Tourism has lost over $80 billion. We need 1 million immigrants a year to grow our economy and make up for our declining birth rate. Agriculture and construction have been decimated by these deportation policies, and the costs of food and construction continue to rise.
As we see this administration destroy Washington, D.C., please note that it has already spent over $700 million on this destruction and has looted our National Park Service of $1 trillion for ego projects. We cannot let this continue. We cannot let a draft dodger destroy a monument to a war hero and president who gave his life for this country. We cannot let the final resting place of our brave service members be desecrated for an ego trip.
Our military has lost over 900 years of experience and wisdom because of the purges at the Pentagon. The unqualified person running the Department of Defense would have fired Ulysses Grant, Dwight Eisenhower, George Patton, Douglas MacArthur and Norman Schwarzkopf.
This administration, with the help of 99% of the cowardly Republicans in Congress, has done nothing but try to overturn our Constitution; has stripped food and health insurance from millions of Americans; has cost us every ally we have had for 80 years; has subjected the Cuban people to starvation and loss of electricity; has decimated health research (how long before polio, whooping cough and typhoid return?); has deserted the people of Gaza (the so-called Board of Peace has done nothing); has deserted the democracy of Ukraine to line its own pockets; and is destroying our national parks by cutting several by 90% and opening them up to logging and mining (Teddy Roosevelt is turning over in his grave).
This country cannot be run by executive orders. Congress must take back its constitutional authority. We are beyond the time of impeachment. Anyone who has listened to the ranting, raving and ignoring of court orders knows that it is time for the 25th Amendment to be invoked. In April, 36 of this country’s top psychiatrists sent a letter to Congress about Trump’s mental instability. Gen. Dan Caine has stopped him once from using nuclear weapons. Let’s pray he can do it again.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
