Statesmanship of WWII is needed now

At the onset of WWII, the government of Great Britain was not at its best. Edward R. Murrow, an American newsman, reported the people in Britain feeling “the machine is out of control, that we are all passengers on an express train traveling at high speed through a dark tunnel toward an unknown destiny. The suspicion recurs that the train may have no engineer, no one who can handle it.” It sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

We seem to be hurtling toward a financial disaster that will touch all our lives and those of our loved ones for generations to come and yet our government is paralyzed.

Great Britain averted its disaster. A small group of elected representatives of the people in Britain broke with the bonds of their party, broke their pledges of fealty to their leaders and concentrated on their loyalty to their country. They did what they felt was the best for their country; for the common good. Where are our representatives of this cloth?

Step forward, please, those representatives that will not primarily focus on what it will take to be reelected but rather to what it will take to put our country back on solid footing.

The tax code should be reformed to delete the special interest items that are the antithesis of the sentiment, “All men are created equal.” As a start why not limit deductions for interest on a primary residence to $20,000/yr? Entitlements must be constrained to those that need. Bring back our troops from overseas.

Small things can help, too. For instance, scrap the dollar bill in favor of the dollar coin. That could save hundreds of millions.

Please step up; we know you are out there. Let this be remembered as your finest hour.

Dennis Gasick

Libertyville