LETTERS: Tax cuts will damage America

Let’s not forget that the Republicans have long wanted to roll back the entitlement programs that all of us pay into and depend on.

In addition to generous benefits for large companies and the very wealthiest among us, the current tax “reform” bills before Congress are basically designed to explode the country’s budget deficits to trigger huge cuts to entitlement programs and other social benefit streams under existing Paygo legislation.

The long game is starving the federal government of funds to force a smaller government. The result will be devastating for our economy and especially for the poor, those facing health challenges, and indeed the vast majority of us. How can Republican politicians sleep at night?

Mary F. Warren, Wheaton

Wake up

If people don’t wake up soon, they will find themselves without jobs, homes and medical insurance. The Congress and the Senate are being bought out by huge corporations and do not give a second thought how the general population is affected.

I can’t believe that our government only cares about how much money their party can collect and not about the people who put them in office. This greed is disgusting. Soon, if we are not careful, there will no longer be any democracy in our country. I don’t want a government that tells us what we can and cannot do in our own life. I don’t want a government that cares only about money and power. There is no human decency anymore. The Founding Fathers would not have believed that everything they did and all the sacrifices that were made to ensure a government for the people were for nothing.

Stephanie Bieniek, Brookfield

On way to Third World

I must really be stupid. I thought that 70 percent of the economy was driven by consumer spending. Apparently, though, taking money away from the middle class and giving it to the rich, who have all they need, and won’t spend more is the way to go.

And the beauty of their plan is that they can get that money by taking it away from those useless sick people, especially those needy, whiny, sick kids by cutting Medicare and Medicaid benefits. No wonder we see Trump and his cronies with big smiles. Third world country, here we come.

Robert E Kulik, Riverside

Major blow

As it stands, six giant corporations own ninety percent of all media in the United States. If AT&T is allowed to “merge” with Time Warner there will be major blow to competition in every aspect of our communications, our internet and our media.

Of course AT&T is putting on the full-court press, no pun intended, to acquire Time Warner and not just for their internet assets. Time Warner owns CNN which would give AT&T something that every other mega corp has but they don’t, a worldwide news organization that would act as their new public relations arm.

All the major networks are owned by huge corporations and now even Amazon owns its own newspaper, the Washington Post. These networks can now be utilized to spread the word of the mother ship, whatever that message may be.

In the meantime the American consumer is left with fewer choices, higher prices and less reliable information. And in the age of information, it seems what information we do get has become more confounded by the minute.

Return objective news and the dissemination of socially redeeming information back to the news organizations and encourage competition by not allowing the AT&T-Time Warner merger/acquisition to happen.

Mike Simon, Glen Ellyn