Dear Editor,

Mr. Goyeneche, I have to agree with you, thanks to the First Amendment, and to the media outlets such as The Standard newspaper, which allows the exchange of ideas, especially in what seems to be a very conservative area of the state. That said “Can you show us a better system?” I believe I can. Let’s have a look at capitalism as it currently exists, with few if any restrictions from governmental regulations. Currently, capitalism is responsible for the extreme wealth disparity in this country. The wealthy get wealthier due to the breaks in current governmental regulations, big corporations, like General Electric pay little to no taxes thanks in part to current laws. Meanwhile the wealthy enjoy tax loopholes to maintain their wealth and expand it.

I am no fan of diabetic patients paying $300 for a vial of insulin, when it costs $10 to produce the product, thanks to good old capitalism, or am I enamored with paying $5 for an aspirin in a hospital setting, or watching as prices fluctuate willy nilly as they do at any given moment.

You seem to resent President Biden shutting down the pipeline construction from Canada. “His energy policies from then on have taken over our country from energy independence to dependence on foreign oil and other energy sources.” Need I remind you Canada is not part of the U.S. but a foreign source of oil.

I wonder what is wrong with introducing competition to the oil market in the form of electric vehicles? It should bring down prices as well as help clean up the environment we are now polluting. I see nothing wrong with wanting to help clean up the air of planetary pollutants which our children will have to contend with because of the world we chose to leave them!

As for the border crisis, again I agree, it is a big problem which is in need of a solution, however the fact remains, there was a bipartisan plan which was a start but ex-president Trump killed it by insisting on its demise, and conservatives who claim they want a solution caved to his pressure. Mr. Goyeneche, you claim Mexico knows Biden’s weakness, I suspect they also know Trump’s as well, remember the “wall Mexico was going to pay for?” I would ask that you also remember the inscription on the Statue of Liberty “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.” It upsets me that the so called Christian right now seem to want to keep the less fortunate among us in their place by refusing to work to find solutions to the problems, just so an ex-president gets his way!

You say “If an administration refuses to follow the laws already on the books there you have it, Chaos!” Please tell me did Trump follow the laws already on the books when he tried to subvert the election which he clearly lost? An ex-president who has since managed to rack up 90 some federal and state indictments. Apparently in the opinion of many on the right, it is okay to hang the vice president for simply doing his job and following sworn duties.

You may call January 6, 2020 whatever you wish, but to me it was a blatant attempt to overthrow the democracy. Remember, many involved have pleaded guilty to the charges and are now serving their sentences.

As for Nancy Pelosi refusing Trump’s offer of thousands of National Guard troops, first of all, why would Trump make such an offer if he thought nothing was going to happen on that date? Why would Nancy Pelosi, who probably has little to do with Capitol security, expect Trump to instigate a rebellion, since historically the transfer of the presidency had never been anything but peaceful, up until January 6, so why should there be any need for the National Guard?

As for the solution to the problem, we need to elect individuals who will work for us, not the president of his personal aggrandizement, elect politicians who listen to the people they represent and work to solve problems on their behalf. Politicians who will make large corporations pay their fair share of taxes, and the ultra-wealthy as well. Let’s make them do their jobs not sit around accomplishing nothing except padding their pocketbooks. Make them use the same insurance policies we have to use.

Lloyd Dickson