Currently President Trump and the GOP are trying to pass a tax cut, tax reform bill. Naturally, it’s being resisted every step of the way. Besides the standard class warfare dogma of it being tax cut for the rich paid for by the poor, it’s also being said that these cuts will rob the U.S. Treasury of $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years.

Wow! $1.5 trillion is a lot of money. But as usual, the opponents only tell you half the story. I guess they didn’t feel it important to mention that over these 10 years the government will spend at least $40 trillion. So under this new plan they’ll only get $38.5 trillion. Boo hoo.

So how do we pay for this draconian revenue loss? Let’s do some math — $1.5 trillion is 3.75 percent of $40 trillion. Hence, if you want to make this tax plan revenue neutral, you need to cut spending by 3.75 percent each year, about $150 billion for the next 10 years. However, the mere fact I mentioned those two words, “cut spending,” immediately disqualifies me. So let’s go another route.

Let’s talk about waste and fraud. To say our federal government squanders 10 percent of the annual budget, which is $4 trillion, is not a stretch. Many feel it could be even 15 percent, 20 percent or more. That’s waste of between $400 billion to $800 billion a year. Yet elected clowns never talk about this. Instead, they continue to obfuscate the debate with class warfare rhetoric.

The answers are out there and our leaders know it. Why they don’t go after them and help us is very disheartening. I guess their priority is to try and stay in power. If by chance we derive some benefit along the way, that is gravy.

— Allan Gilmour III

Salisbury