Dear Editor,

I wish I could say the new crop of political wannabes new more about the U.S. Constitution regarding problems at the Mexico border and elsewhere than their television ads seem to indicate. Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4 deals with immigration. Section 8 grants Congress the responsibility of the rules of Naturalization.

Why do we always place the blame of border problems on whoever is President when in actuality it is up to Congress when you consider we have congressional leaders refusing to even work with the administration? On Jan. 20, 2021 President Biden sent an immigration bill to Congress as part of his commitment to modernize the system.

It failed to pass the present legislature.

Now we see the critics are out in full force implying President Biden should do more regarding the war in Ukraine. Had the powers that be in the administration sent not only military supplies, but troops as well, my guess is we would be hearing grumblings that Ukraine is not part of NATO, so why should we send our troops to fight someone else’s war?

It all depends on which side you align with. Senator Tom Cotton (R. Arkansas) said on tv this weekend that Biden should shut down SWIFT’s dealings with Russia. Apparently, Sen. Cotton does not realize that France, Canada, the U.S., Germany, and the U.K. as well as other eastern European nations would need to agree, but for some reason that did not happen.

Now Mr. Trump is at it again, commenting on how smart Putin is and how dumb our leaders are. One can only speculate the lengths he would have employed to settle this catastrophic war. Recall how he said Putin told him “I didn’t do it” and I don’t know why I shouldn’t believe him, or his famous “perfect call” to Volodymyr Zelensky which contained not a hint of a quid pro quo, until Trump made it clear, unless Zelensky investigated the Bidens, financial aid to Ukraine would be withheld. Does impeachment sound familiar?

If you are able to vote (after our politicians fix) the secure voting system we had, I urge everyone to vote wisely.

Lloyd Dickson

Seligman

The post Concerns about a broken system regarding border security, Ukrainian war first appeared on The Standard Newspaper Online.

Dear Editor,

Rick, at last an admission the rich should pay their fair share of taxes. That was sort of like pulling teeth. Anyway, I could not agree more: differences of opinion need to be aired civilly if they are to be credible. Civil discourse solves more problems than the muck being slung by politicians today.

I looked into the 87,000 new I.R.S. agents to be hired. What I discovered was the proposal recommended that hiring would occur over ten years. The reason for reducing the monetary level to $600 is to concentrate on unreported income and ferret out the tax cheats like you-know-who and family. For example, it targets people who pick up handyman jobs for cash and don’t report it as income, or who have secondary jobs being paid under the table without reporting on tax forms.

I agree you have a valid point when you state: “Why would I want to pay for a program that doesn’t benefit me? That’s not fair or equitable. It’s Socialism.” Consider this scenario: a couple choses to have no children or cannot have children. Unless they live in a retirement community like Sun City, their taxes go to pay for public schools whether they like it or not. There is no benefit to them directly, yet they must pay. I do not think this is Socialism!

Lloyd Dickson

Seligman

The post Furthering the discourse between opposing viewpoints first appeared on The Standard Newspaper Online.