Consider semantics of economic policy

Walter E. Williams' op-ed in the April 10 Daily Herald sounded a lot like my mother, except that my mother doesn't lob baseless accusations about the lack of facts or bash on our educational system or her millennial grandchildren.

What we have here is a lack of common language. Williams states that wherever socialism has been tried, "it has been a true disaster." Yet, as I understand it, socialism, which simply means collective ownership of wealth and production, must be attached to a form of governance. In places like Sweden, Denmark, Norway, etc., that governance is democracy, where people vote in free and fair elections. In all of the places Williams cited, it is linked to an authoritarian government.

Some will argue that Nordic countries are not truly socialist. That's fine, but then neither is Bernie Sanders. What Bernie wants to do - make health care and education available to all - is what is happening in Nordic countries, not in North Korea.

Millennials simply want a system that does not continue to widen a chasm between rich and poor, with no hope of change for people who work full time but cannot afford to buy a home or visit a doctor. Bernie supporters, likewise, should probably find better terms than "socialism" to use in talking about his platform.

Rather than bashing a whole generation and getting bogged down in semantics, let's agree that our current path is not sustainable in this country. It doesn't help anyone to further polarize people with inflammatory rhetoric. We must understand one another's concerns, then seek common ground and solutions, before disenfranchised Americans find a Bastille to storm.

Deena Bess Sherman

Aurora

Economic disaster ahead

Hopefully, President (blame Obama) Trump and Congressional Republicans learned a painful lesson in 2018. That is that cutting revenues (tax cuts) while increasing spending will almost always result in fiscal disaster.

And that is what resulted in 2018 with a massive budget deficit and an increase of about $1.2 trillion in the national debt. To appreciate the impact of the $22 trillion-plus national debt, the interest on the debt in 2018 was about $460 billion.

Victor Darst

Huntley

The need for balance in campus politics

I am writing this in answer to a letter recently read in your column. I recently moved to Illinois from Georgia. Politics there are much more to my liking.

I read Rosemary Colbert's remarks regarding Walter Williams' article on education. Being a conservative who loves history, I feel it is her opinion that is skewed. Having conservatives outnumbered by liberals at the college level has created problems that need to be addressed.

There is a whole generation of young people who are completely intolerant of any opinions but their own, something which I expect their professors have in common. When history is addressed, it is abhorrent to them, so much so that they either want to delete it or alter it.

History is where we learn from our mistakes so they are not repeated in future generations.

Patricia Neesen

Hawthorn Woods

All candidates should have to release taxes

As indicated in the April 12 paper, the state Senate has begun to move a bill through the General Assembly that would require all presidential and vice presidential candidates to reveal their federal tax returns, in order to be on the voting ballot in Illinois.

Yet, this type legislation needs to be broadened to also include any individual seeking public office, whether that is for federal, state or municipal office. The time is long past due to provide complete transparency of those that will seek public office, and have powers to determine how the taxpayers' hard earned tax dollars, which they have paid, are to be spent, among other legislation that may affect the citizens.

In this manner, everyone will be able to view any potential or past conflicts of interests those individuals holding such offices, may have or had in the past, that could benefit themselves, at the expense of the taxpayers.

Just consider all the recent dealings that have come to light, through either investigations on the part of the media or law enforcement of both local and national politicians, who may have been influenced to render legislation, that ended up favoring investments or businesses those same politicians may have had in the private sector.

My view is if you so want to represent the voters and protect their hard-earned tax dollars they give to the government, then step up and provide transparency to those you want to represent. You should have nothing to hide, if you desire to do an honest day's work for the citizens you represent. After all, who's paying those salaries and lucrative benefits to you for your supposed public service in the first place?

Charles Kliche

Lombard

Immigrants have always faced challenges

Our country was once a wide, empty expanse. Open immigration rapidly turned that barren land into small towns and cities. We needed that open immigration, because the modern industrial age was yet to come. America was being developed by pick-and-shovel labor.

The Erie Canal was dug out by immigrants at a very low wage and a shot of whiskey at the end of the day. The New York subway in turn was started out by pick-and-shovel immigrants. Not to forget is that our local steel mills were paying immigrants miserable wages to do very dangerous work.

Labor unions rapidly became the voice for safer working conditions and a livable wage. But this came about with a price. It ushered in an era that saw robots replacing people. As an end result, we now need immigrants with skills to add to our manufacturing know-how, Just how can illegal immigrants hope for meaningful employment in today's robotic world?

Garbage pickup is now done with robotic arms including menial jobs as well.

Walter Santi

Bloomingdale

Trump's immigration idea even worse than it seems

On the surface, Trump's proposal to stash illegal immigrants in sanctuary cities seems just plain illogical. Why put people into places where you get no cooperation with federal immigration officers when you want to find them? It just makes no sense.

However, when you consider the long-term ramifications, the idea is truly cynical and Machiavellian. Once in sanctuary cities, immigrants can then be ignored by federal immigration services on a simple rationale: Because they are in cities that don't cooperate with immigration services, they can't be found. Therefore, their asylum requests can't be processed. The immigrants will then be left in asylum limbo with an indefinite future.

Such a policy could easily prove to be a sneaky way for the feds to wash their hands of the asylum seekers and dump the financial burdens of their presence on the local governments where they have been left to reside. This is no way to treat people who are seeking respite from the hellish lives they face in their home countries. If for no other reason than long-term costs, the sooner we integrate immigrants into our society, the sooner they become full-fledged contributors to our economy.

There has got to be a better way, but Trump will never find it because he operates on vindictiveness rather than well thought out policy. He has no real game plan for immigration or any other issue.

Jamie Smith

Wheaton

Failure to assimilate is danger of immigration

The great immigration of the early 20th century was sparked by the Industrial Revolution. Countries that exploded with manufacturing jobs were overwhelmed by immigrants from Europe who actually wanted to work, rather than just be on the dole, which they considered demeaning.

They came here legally, through Ellis Island. They were detained there until they completed their paperwork, health screening and received either jobs or had families guarantee they would not become burdens on the government.

Most already had vocations and skills and were eager to go to work and school, totally different from today's immigrants, with whom the U.S. shares little in culture, behavior or values.

Assimilation is required by immigrants. The Dems ignore it. Failure to assimilate will destroy America and turn it into the country the immigrants left behind.

Bill Voda

Warrenville