Wednesday letters: Avoiding taxes is legal, even for Trump

The fervor over Donald Trump’s revealed tax returns is at a fever pitch. On every news channel and in every newspaper there’s a call for the evil rich guy’s head. How dare he not pay taxes! As if Trump committed some horrible crime by avoiding taxes. Tax evasion is illegal; tax avoidance is what every taxpayer does.

For example, if you buy a stock and it goes down in price you can sell the stock and use the loss to reduce your taxable income. If you make $50,000 a year and you lose $50,000 in the stock market, then your income is zero and you owe nothing because you made nothing. This is legal. It is done by everyone who takes a risk in the stock market. Everyone.

Mike Simon, Glen Ellyn

Clinton endorsement a dissservice

I’m very disappointed that the Sun-Times endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. A woman who has the opportunity to become president is long due, but we do not have a candidate we can be proud of. Clinton has too much baggage, is untrustworthy, makes careless or bad decisions, etc. Hillary has a multitude of experience but she is also selfish, considers herself above the law, and doesn’t recognize the conflict of interest relevant to the Clinton Foundation. How can women support a candidate who would take desperate actions to support a cheating spouse who embarrasses her again and again? I’m not wrong in believing the Sun-Times has done its readers a disservice when it favors a candidate who hasn’t been a good public servant.

Mae Chin, Lincoln Park

Beware, vets, of Trump

Donald Trump’s comment this week about the strength or lack of strength of veterans who have experienced PTSD is a slap in the face of the people he says he wants to help. Just what experience in combat or a war zone is he drawing from? Trump spent the 1960s dodging service to his country with a fake doctor’s diagnosis of a foot problem. How far does this sad excuse for a human being have to go before his supporters admit he is unqualified for any leadership position? A coward like Trump does not scare me. It’s his supporters who make me shudder as I think about this country’s future.

Ken Karlson Wheaton