Trump proves what
con artist can achieve
A great many voters were surprised when Trump was elected President. They were generally pleased with Obama's performance, but were very unhappy with a do-nothing Congress and wanted a change. However, since the election of Trump, the majority of voters don't like Trump or Congress.
Everyone knows by now that Trump's obsession to cancel Obama's presidential accomplishments is due to his ego; He cannot stand how the public admires his predecessor but can barely tolerate him. [Trump's actions] have nothing to do with whether these laws were good for the country. An illustration is his weakening of environmental protections, such as those dealing with clean air and water, which only helps the wealthy make more money at the expense of the public. In addition his attempts to do away with the Obama health care laws have failed because of the laws' popularity. His actions to roll back the legal protections for the Dreamers is another example of attacking a law that is supported by a majority of voters, which further weakens his shabby image.
President Trump has always wanted to be known as No. 1 in something and he is finally succeeding. He will be remembered as the No. 1 political con artist of all time. A prime example was his ability to induce voters to believe that he would "drain the swamp," that is, reduce the power of the lobbyists who have developed so much power in influencing Congress. Instead he has become the commander-in-chief of the swamp, where lobbyists have more influence than ever, especially in promoting Trump's agenda. His election is an example of how a skillful con artist is able to sucker voters.
Another of his campaign promises was to overhaul the federal tax laws, which primarily reduced the rates for big corporations, with the assurance that by doing so the increase in corporate profits would produce the so called "trickle-down effect" that would improve things for the working man. This is the same concept the Republicans have been espousing since the days of President Reagan, which has never worked as promised, but is still being used to justify a reduction of taxes on the wealthy. As it turns out, the corporations pass on the benefits of the tax decrease to their stockholders by buying back the company stock. Ask yourself, how many company employees would benefit from a buy-back, and where are the promised salary increases. Once again Trump's wealthy supporters are laughing all the way to the bank.
Since I began writing this letter, Trump has broken the Iran nuclear ban despite all of our allies urging him to abide by the terms. This is just an example of another of his decisions that was music to the ears of his old buddy Vladimir Putin.
When you consider the above, one might wonder if some of his supporters might begin to question whether he deserves their loyalty.
Bass Trumbo
Fayetteville
Why can't cleanup be aligned with mowing?
Given that the inmates of the Washington County Detention Center covet the community service time on the "outside," why can't administrators of the detention facility and of the Arkansas Department of Transportation coordinate the cleaning duty for Interstate 49 before the state schedules mowing of the turf adjacent to the Interstate?
Mowing while the interstate is strewn with litter minces this litter and makes it virtually irretrievable, leaving Northwest Arkansas to look like a blight, instead of the gem that it is.
John J. Fritz
West Fork
Commentary on 05/12/2018