Hate is hate; doesn't matter where it comes from

To The Daily Sun,

I read Mark Weinreb’s response to my last letter and I don’t think we could be farther apart on our views. He did little to refute the facts about why the country can’t get the U.S. deficit under control. His only comments addressing this were that the Work Force Participation Rate (WFPR) was flat for the last 50 years which is completely false. Here is the link again ( https://data.bls.gov/pdq/SurveyOutputServlet). Extend the chart from 1948 to present and you will see that it is closer to a parabola than a straight line and we have been on a downward decline since 2000. He also provided no source data on his claim that the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act (TC&JA) resulted in “Close to a trillion-dollar federal deficit.” Which would be difficult to provide since the TC&JA was only implemented this year. The numbers won’t be out until next year. But that apparently doesn’t matter to Mark.

A significant portion of his letter was his “perception” of how the increase in suicides, the reduction in life expectancy and natural disasters are Trump’s fault. For what it’s worth, my “perception” of why the suicide rate has increased is related to how ugly people have become on social media. For anyone that is interested, Wikipedia has a good web page on suicide in the US. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_in_the_United_States). The numbers are heart breaking. The vitriol and hate in this country are at the highest level I have seen since the 1960s and it’s being fueled by the media. Letters like Mark’s don’t help either. Hate is hate, whether it comes from the president or those that oppose him. That was the point of my previous letter.

On the decrease in the life expectancy, again my “perception” is it has far more to do with drug overdoses and suicides than anything else. Suicide deaths are in the link above and here is a link to the overdose rate in the U.S. between 1999 and 2016, according to the Center for Decease Control (CDC) (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db294.pdf). Again this is absolutely tragic. I don’t think legalizing marijuana in many liberal states is helping either. Marijuana has been called the “gateway” drug for decades but those on the left refuse to make the connection.

I’m going to close this letter with a general comment for Mark and others like him. I have been researching where the $4 trillion the government collects in taxes comes from and how it’s redistributed. I only use data from reliable sources like the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Congressional Budget Office (CBO), etc. I stay away from sources like CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, etc. because they are all biased. The amount of misinformation is staggering. I take offense to Mark calling the facts I present as fake and presenting his “opinions” as fact. If they were fact, he would be able to provide source data that supports them and he doesn’t.

I would like to have a debate on the critical fiscal issues facing this country but that is impossible if the facts (i.e. truth) are ignored. Once that happens it is no longer a debate but rather an argument and I’m not interested in arguing. Mark if you have data to support your “opinions” I would be happy to debate you on them. If you want to continue to publish your distain for the current administration you are likewise free to do that. Free speech is still alive and well in this country despite your claim that Trump is trying to destroy it. I hope you find some love in your heart and accept that not everyone that disagrees with you is evil and heartless. It’s just not true. 

Bruce Jenket

Moultonborough