Tax cuts for rich have cost us much

St. Alphonsus is credited with the principle sometimes stated as "hate the sin but love the sinner." That's why I hate what the billionaires haven't done or have caused not to be done. At the beginning of Jimmy Carter's administration, the taxes paid by the wealthy and large corporations were significantly higher than they are now. But in 1978, there was a deep cut in capital gains taxes and payroll taxes were raised sharply, highly regressive changes. Then, the Reagan administration and following Republican administrations have cut taxes for the rich while creating tax breaks and subsidies for large corporations. Because of those changes, our national government has been underfunded and our national debt has skyrocketed.

What makes me seething mad is to think of the great good that could've been done and all the suffering that could've been avoided had the rich and the corporations continued paying taxes at the old rates.

The National Institutes of Health has funded research that has led to great cures and medical advances, but many more problems have gone unfunded. How many of our fellow citizens have died or continued to suffer over the last 40 years because of lack of funding to study their disease or condition? And the Trump administration has just announced an 18 percent cut in funding for the NIH.

Our infrastructure has crumbled all that time for lack of funding. We're unsafe, and look at the jobs that could've been created. Our inner city and rural schools operate at Third World levels. I hate when I think of the opportunities lost, but I can get excited when I think of the great things that could be done if the rich and large corporations would pay their fair share, like in the days of Jimmy Carter.

Kent Kirkwood

Mount Prospect