How different it could have been

On Dec. 13, 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court decided 5-4 that further Florida vote recount was unnecessary, and George W. Bush was the next president of the United States. What if the Court had decided that Gore won Florida, and thus the 2000 election?

Gore was very much an environmentalist and would likely have pushed for an international solution to fossil fuel dependency. Just think what the Western world would be like were we not beholden to Mideast oil nations.

It is possible Gore's administration would have been more sensitive to FBI reports of Middle Eastern men learning to fly passenger jets but not to land them. The Clinton administration had gone through one terror attack in 1993 on the World Trade Center, and the continuity of staff between Clinton and Gore may have proven decisive.

Reflect on what may have ensued by stopping the terror attack on the Twin Towers. No need to involve ground forces in the war against terror; no troops in Afghanistan; no invasion of Iraq; no destabilization of the Middle East; no unfunded wars that greatly expanded the Federal deficit.

Clinton actually reduced the federal debt his last two years. Four years of Gore (maybe eight) would have had a chance of reducing it even more. Gore may have even cut taxes once we had a better handle on the federal deficit.

Tax cuts are a favorite ploy of the GOP. Reagan, Bush II and Trump have all cut individual taxes (Trump corporate taxes). Are we better off? You are if you are in the stock market with your 401k (otherwise not so much), but the federal deficit under Republican administrations has grown to dangerous levels.

A different SCOTUS outcome in 2000 produces a much safer, sounder, and cleaner planet.

Dave Volkman

Naperville