Dear Editor,

Life is good for me and my generation, but I know that 25% of the people in my community are food insecure. Those people are living paycheck to paycheck, and their salaries don't cover their expenses.

I don't invest in fantasies, I am pragmatic in my thinking, you can't have it your way all the time, that just isn't reality. Nothing this President has done has made my life better or anyone else's I know of. The upcoming political battles with reduce his political party's power in Congress, then what will become of his initiatives.

Whatever trump has done is temporary until Congress gets some courage and or the next President is seated. All the big players know that. Federal employment has had its ups and downs. Inflationary cycles come and go. Recessions happen about every ten years depending on events. No one is doing away with the welfare state, it is responsible for maintaining a balance is our society, too many poor are dangerous. In this cycle healthcare costs are spinning out of control, eventually we will have to have Medicare cover everyone just to keep the peace.

What we see in Congress and around the country are people who are fighting the inevitable changes coming. It is pretty much the same in all sectors of our economy, it seems we have a struggle against change, but change happens whether we like it or not.

Many of you seem to believe that things have stabilized under trump, when he is only a sort of dam holding the coming flood at bay. If we can't do better for our people, then we will give up leadership to the rest of the world. We are seeing that America first will leave us behind and isolate us. Some of you may see that as a good thing, but if you don't see that what is good for everyone in every country is good for us, then you are short sighted.

We need the rest of the world and its resources. Our country is a combined work, we are all immigrants, even those who arrived thousands of years ago. There were no people here 40,000 years ago. Today there are a billion people in the Western Hemisphere. Americans account for 333 millions of them. We need to increase our numbers if we are to survive. An aging population needs youth to support it, closing our borders and stopping immigration won't stop our demographic problem.

Trying to get North Europeans to move here won't be a success unless we develop a lot of social programs they enjoy. The same goes for Canada. Socialized medicine is number one. Socialism if not Communism no matter what your politicians tell you. It is Medicare, Social Security, all the safety nets we build to protect our citizens. If the Republicans don't come up with something better than what we have they are doomed to just end up spoilers. The American people want health insurance. They don't want to worry that their health will ruin their lives, as it has for many.

They don't want to worry about where their next meal is coming from, or if they'll have a roof over their heads.

These days many are wondering if they'll ever own a piece of the American dream. It seems our representatives in Congress and this President have forgotten what we elected them to for. Gloating over promises kept is silly, was it something we asked for or that they wanted. Let's see a better life for us, not them. I'm not seeing it.

Richard King

Covington