Doris W. Draper is a resident of Houston.
We are witnessing the largest theft and waste of taxpayer money in the history of our country, all helped by the majority in Congress.
The reflecting pool cost $20 million (no bid contract); the arch, $15 million; golfing, $150 million; the Kennedy Center, amount unknown; warehouses for immigrant prisons, $10 billion for nine facilities (many at twice market value and that does not include bringing them to code); and the National Guard in Washington, D.C., $1.1 billion this year (as they spent time mulching). Now, they expect us to pay $1.8 billion to convicted criminals (some of whom have now been arrested for prostitution, human trafficking and child sexual exploitation) and $1 billion on the White House that Donald Trump destroyed (when the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium — capable of holding 1,000 people and used by Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and even Trump — sits a mile from the White House).
The U.S. Constitution’s Article 1, Section 9, reads: “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.”
Over $3 billion was spent on Venezuela, and the costs are still ongoing. Claims have been made that money from Venezuelan oil is paying for the Iran war. Then why is this money sitting in Qatar? How much has the blockade of Cuba (which is killing children) already cost?
Our own intelligence agencies have said that Iran was not an imminent threat. The real cost of this war (which POTUS did not have the authority to start) is closer to $71 billion. Rebuilding munitions (which may take four years), the loss of 42 aircraft (including $300 million worth of jets), damage to 228 bases and facilities in the Middle East, damage to the USS Gerald Ford, the loss of 13 of our military members and the wounding of over 400 service members show how stupid this was.
Trump now wants to be relieved of a nearly $100 million penalty that resulted from tax audits and not be subject to any other audits. Under U.S. Code, it is a crime for POTUS to request, directly or indirectly, any IRS officer to conduct or terminate an audit or other investigation of any particular taxpayer. It should also be noted that it is mandatory that occupants of the White House be audited.
Our national debt now stands at $39.2 trillion, $3 trillion higher than when Trump took office. It is now 122% of the gross domestic product.
On April 13, a letter about the mental instability of Trump was sent to Congress by 36 of the nation’s top neurologists and psychiatrists. Everyone needs to read that letter. Fortunately, he was blocked from access to the nuclear codes during this war.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
