2/11 Letters: Many on the left are too bitter to acknowledge Trump’s economic success

Trump’s economy

Regarding “The economy is not as good as it looks, despite Trump’s claims.” (Feb. 9 Opinion):

Remember these statements made during the Obama administration: Many manufacturing jobs are going away and won’t come back. The new norm in GDP growth is 1-2%?

Funny what happens when you remove stifling regulations, incentivize trading partners to trade fairly, require UN and NATO partners to pay their fair share, cut taxes so lower wage earners actually see pay increases, and allow the wealthy job-creators to continue expanding the economy through prudent investing the rest of us can share in.

But the left will never acknowledge the accomplishments of this administration as they are just so bitter and hateful.

Matt Segal, Cary

National debt

To Steven Rattner’s op-ed about the realities of the Trump economy, I’d like to add: In 2016 Trump promised to eliminate the national debt in eight years. Instead, he has overseen the fastest dollar increase in the debt of any president.

By the end of 2019, the national debt had risen to $23.2 trillion. Currently, interest on the national debt is $479 billion a year. That figure is more than three times the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s 2020 budget request.

In years to come, paying just the debt service will require tax increases and deeper and deeper cuts to many federal services.

What is Trump’s reaction to this huge debt burden? “Print more money.” We should all look much deeper into the Trump economy and think about the economic conditions we’re going to leave for our children and grandchildren.

Jeri Gray, Raleigh

Pitts on ‘deplorables’

Regarding “Hilary Clinton was right about ‘deplorables,’“ (Feb. 9):

Leonard Pitts says conservatives are not as well educated as liberals based on percentages with college degrees. Whether true or not, degrees don’t reflect one’s intelligence, common sense, character, or values. Never mind that one might question the wisdom of pursuing unmarketable college degrees at astronomical costs, which leave the degree holders in permanent debt. Maybe Pitts is ruefully conceding the 2020 election to Trump and preemptively blaming the “deplorables.” We cheerfully accept the blame.

Stephen Browne, Cary

Tillis’ explanation

I read Sen. Thom Tillis’ explanation of why he voted to acquit President Trump. He took up a lot of space blaming Democrats but failed to address the one question North Carolinians deserve to know before they cast their vote for senator in November: Does the senator condone or condemn the actions that gave rise to Trump’s impeachment?

Tillis’ complaints about process do nothing to explain why he voted to give free rein to Trump’s repeated attempts to have foreign powers interfere in our elections. I figure it’s because the senator knows the only way he can win is by cheating. I urge Tillis to convince me I am wrong.

Lynn Andrews, Durham

NC senate race

Regarding “Mystery group spends $1 million on Democrat running for Senate,” (Feb. 8):

I read that a Republican dark money PAC has spent $1.9 million on an ad supporting Erica Smith for the Democratic nomination for U.S. senator. They must really fear Cal Cunningham. The truth is that either Cunningham or Smith would represent North Carolina better than the incumbent. As a conservative Democrat, I now have one more reason to support Cunningham, but I hope the ad will bring more voters to the polls, now and in November.

John Daughtry, Greenville

Coal ash cleanup

Regarding “On coal ash cleanup, a compromise is the best path forward,” (Feb. 7 Editorial):

The Editorial Board supports forcing ratepayers to foot part of the bill for cleaning up Duke Energy’s mismanaged coal ash catastrophe.

Duke says it will have coal ash cleaned up here by 2034. Spread $8 billion over 14 years and that doesn’t seem unrealistic at all, given that Duke makes several billion in annual profits. Bottom line: Most of us are working hard trying to get by each month. When the N.C. Utilities Commission decides on these rates, I urge them to do the right thing and prevent Duke from raising bills on regular folks to pay for its mistakes.

Lubana Lanewala, Raleigh

NC teachers

Regarding “Two ways NC can recruit more great teachers,” (Feb. 6 Opinion):

As a retired school teacher I wanted to add one more thing to consider: The best assistant I ever had was an electrical engineer with no classroom experience. Some people are just naturals in the way they interact in the classroom with small children. If we want to get better teachers I feel it’s important to look at the entire person, and perhaps make the application process a little less stressful.

Sally Wenda, Raleigh