DEAR EDITOR:

An opinion writer in the 1/11 Vindy decried what he perceived as a lack of “facts” in letters that point out the many shortcomings of soon-to-be 47, the first convicted felon to be inaugurated president. The felony verdict was applied by Judge Juan Merchan in answer to a unanimous jury verdict delivered last summer and appealed, without change, to all the courts superior to Judge Merchan. His verdict of unconditional discharge showed, in my opinion, Solomonic wisdom by respecting both the sanctity of the vote and the verdict. Fact is Donald Trump is a felon who won election to president in 2024 with a sound electoral college victory and a less than 50% share of the popular vote. He won, but no way was it a mandate for authoritarian rule.

Trump has frequently and vociferously claimed our economy to be a disgrace, though he has lately cooled his jets on that assertion. Fact is our economy is booming. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (the Bureau does not deal in alternative facts) notes that incomes through December 2024 increased an average of 5.2% while the rate of inflation was 2.6%. The unemployment rate equals the total number of unemployed divided by total unemployed and seeking a job; it is currently at 4.1%, near historic lows, having dropped precipitously since 2022. The dollar amounts of wage increases in fiscal 2024, according to the Bureau, averaged $1,532 for those with four-year college degrees and $1,233 across all lower levels of education. Trump’s stated plan to eradicate the Department of Education, is not likely, in my opinion, to improve those numbers, nor will his recent discovery that prices for things you need will not drop immediately as he promised because, as he now whines, prices “are hard to get down when they’re up.” Beam me up, Scotty.

Biden’s proposed 2025 budget is $1.9 trillion, according to U.S. Treasury estimates. The largest draws on this number include: $366.1 billion for national defense (19.4%), $330.7 billion for Medicare (17.5%),and $268 billion for Medicare (14.2%). Infrastructure spending makes up some of the remainder at $44.8 billion in federal spending, $81.5 billion transferred to states rebuilding after natural disasters. Trump never got around to spending on infrastructure. He did throw paper towels to Puerto Ricans after they were decimated by a hurricane and made sure his picture was on the branded bottled water he dropped in East Palestine while his entourage jammed routes for emergency first responders. These numbers can vary wildly though if you fancy trade or other wars with allies or a takeover of a canal through which 73% of traffic in U.S. shipping and 40% of our container-shipped imports pass.

This has been a boring recitation of verifiable facts. It’s not likely to be read by willfully ignorant cultists, but it may be useful to thoughtful folk looking for reasons to vote for or against a given candidate in Congressional elections two years from now. For those who believe that the levers of government are controlled by a cabal of child sex traffickers operating from underground tunnels between pizza shops or that they should be pulled by self-dealing oligarchs, more devout people may pray for your ultimate destination. You’re going nowhere with those armed with facts.

JIM CARTWRIGHT

Canfield