Living on borrowed money, time

The July 30 letter writer is right; we were "destroyed from within."

When Bill Clinton left office we were about 2 trillion dollars in debt and paying it down. George W. Bush comes into office and cuts taxes, destroying the government's revenue flow; starts two wars -- one warranted (Afghanistan) and one unwarranted (Iraq). His actions lead to an additional $15 trillion in national debt. When one lives on his/her credit card for eight years, bad things happen. You are "destroyed from within."

We aren't spending too much, but have depleted our government revenue to the point that we can't pay for services needed by our citizens. The military is needed for our national security, road and bridge repair is needed for us to continue to drive, food stamps for the unemployed or citizens in need of assistance to live, healthcare for children and the citizens in need regardless of the situation, and the gutting of other programs like education assistance to the states, school lunches and the like.

Part of our Congress even wants to privatize Social Security and Medicare. There are certain programs the federal government must do that states can't do or won't do.

Finally, if you want or need the services you have to pay the bill. I for one want the services and I am willing to pay the bill with higher taxes. I also think we need a "Special National Pay Down the Debt" tax so my children and grandchildren don't have to pay for our extravagance.

Gary De Mars

Salem

Still doable?

Remember when you could leave your doors unlocked and windows open? Remember when all the neighbors knew each others' names and "Neighborhood Watch" simply meant looking out for each other? Fences were around pets and not people's yards? Saturday morning cartoons were funny and not bloody? What happened?

Let's fix this. Go to church; join the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program; do volunteer work; visit your neighbors; get involved with your children's activities. If you do not like something about someone-leave them alone! Sounds like a lot? It is really not!

Roy Fabian

Columbus

Not a myth

Global warming is the gradual increase in the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere and oceans. This warming process is happening faster than before due to increasing levels of man-made emissions of greenhouse gases and cutting down of trees. The world is already one degree Celsius warmer than it was before the industrial revolution. Scientists warn that we must limit temperature increase to a maximum of two degrees.

There are natural causes that contribute to global warming -- hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, forest fires, storms, drought, and unexpected rainfall and floods. However, industrial practices are the main cause for the recent rapid acceleration in global warming. The demands of growing populations have led to deforestation, intensive farming, building of highways and cities, and burning fossil fuels. All these activities produce greenhouse gases that trap heat from the sun. The concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane gas, two of the major greenhouse gases, have increased by 31% and 149%, respectively, above pre-industrial levels.

Another major cause is deforestation. In China, 3.8 million trees are cut annually to make 57 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks. You can also imagine how many billions of trees are cut annually worldwide to build highways and cities. Trees remove carbon dioxide from the air and give off the oxygen we breathe.

The ozone layer in Antarctica dropped to 33%, causing more harmful ultraviolet light to pass through the Earth's atmosphere. The recent severe forest wildfires in California and the flooding in Florida are signs of global warming.

Recently, Pope Francis told 1.1 billion Catholics that we need an 11th Commandment: "You shall cherish the Earth." Pope Francis' message will mark a turning point in how we care for our "common home," Earth.

Salman Elawad

Phenix City

GOP 'choices' in 2016

Never in my lifetime has there ever been a more unqualified array of wackos seeking the presidency in this country. Trump is celebrated for his crass ignorance but presumably his wealth is the answer to the dire economy despite having bankrupted four times in his lifetime.

The others are universally opposed to: abortion; LGBT unions; science; progressive taxation; representative government; organized labor; minimum or living wages for workers; healthcare for all; and intellectualism in any form.

They support: global war extension; defiance of federal law, treaties and diplomacy; charter schools; de-regulation of all laws protecting the public from corporate crime and environmental destruction; abolishment of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid; voter suppression targeting minorities; and obstruction of lawful immigration or citizenship to those immigrants lawfully in America.

If you love Fox News(?), Roger Ailes, Koch Brothers, Pete Peterson, Karl Rove, Axelrod and Netanyahu then you have checked your brains into a foot locker and bought into a depraved lunacy that will drive the working class into slavery or extinction that affects you. And what do you or anyone else get for it in exchange? You tell me. I've had enough of recovery from Hoover, Nixon, Bush x2, Reagan and those who revere them in Congress and the captive right-wing press.

If we cannot do better than this, then we deserve the collapse of this republic that Franklin warned about when he said: "We have given you a republic; let us see if you can keep it."

This liberal says we must do better or it's "bye-bye, Miss American Pie."

Robert John White

Georgetown

This story was originally published August 17, 2015 at 1:23 PM with the headline "Living on borrowed money, time ."