This is not what voters wanted

I have the following reply to Al Haak’s letter titled “Doing what voters want.”

Trump and DOGE are just across the board firing government workers and reducing, if not outright eliminating, funding for departments and programs. In more than one case, court orders have reversed these actions.

Reductions in funding to the Agriculture Department have adversely affected school lunch programs, which are an important safety net for families.

I read where a woman who runs a soup kitchen won’t be able to provide as many meals to people in need due to these cuts. A woman I drive to the food pantry every week told me that she cannot get as much fresh produce.

There have been reductions in funding to the VA, which already has been hard pressed to provide timely service to veterans. Reductions in funding to AmeriCorps threaten after-school and summer programs for disadvantaged and at-risk youth. European countries are offering jobs to American researchers because of cuts in funding for research in the United States. This will certainly put the United States at a competitive disadvantage. Cuts in funding to the Weather Service will make it harder to update and modernize badly outdated systems.

Trump and DOGE are laying waste rather than eliminating waste. At the same time, Trump’s proposed tax cuts will make the wealthiest people in the country wealthier while blowing the lid off the debt. The United States has already suffered a credit downgrade because of this. Is this doing what voters wanted?

Tom Hall

Batavia