To the editor:
I am puzzled. What does the Tea Party want?
Mr. Art Angst (Record, April 21) declares they object to “unbridled spending” and “ignoring the will of the electorate.”
We see the ugly signs they are carrying to defame their president. We heard their loud cheers as Tom Tancredo delivered a racist address. A man is telling an audience to throw bricks in the windows of politicians. (We learn that he is living on Social Security disability checks.)
Where was the Tea Party when the Bush administration spent our country’s surplus and went into debt?
We now have an intellectually brilliant president who is trying to dig our way out of this mess. I do not want to laud politicians, but I am not stupid. Under President Obama’s administration, he has made 25 tax cuts (only smokers might complain).
The hated stimulus package was used successfully to avert a deep depression. Some of the programs are: food stamps, expanded childcare, expanded services for the homeless, increases in education funding for low-income and special-education students, new refundable tax credits for low-income workers, stepped-up job training, expanded healthcare coverage and an increase of $100 a month for unemployment insurance. Apparently, the Tea Party objects to these charitable items.
The TARP bailout bill signed by President Bush spent money on businesses that were in trouble. It is good that they are now starting to pay back to the government. We should be grateful our presidents acted wisely.
Right or wrong, Congress is trying. They passed the following: Cash for Clunkers; Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act; Helping Families Save Their Homes Act; healthcare for 11 million children (C-CHIP); FDA regulation of tobacco; Omnibus Public Land Management Act; Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights; Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act; defense procurement reform; Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act; stronger TARP oversight; and Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act.
I am sorry the Tea Party cannot appreciate the efforts of some politicians who are working to overcome our nation’s crises.
Alice M. Krouse
Seattle
