In response to the Nov. 17 Local View, "Obama's left turn cost Dems," President Obama was handed a situation that only one other president had ever faced, and that was President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932.
Yes, there has been government intervention in finance because there was no better choice. Do you think the economy would have corrected itself by now had we let GM, more banks and financial institutions simply fail, leaving our unemployment rate probably twice as high or more? Does profit-driven health care really work in this country? We all know well that it hasn't and that it's contributing to bankruptcies more than any other cause to hardworking people.
After the "great recession," I would hope more regulations and limits are put in place to make sure it never happens again. Wall Street gambled with its credit default swaps and such and lost; taxpayers bailed out Wall Street, and now we should set the rules straight for the economic safety of all in our nation. I support financial reform.
Finally, our tax rates have been almost as low as ever in our history. Most got a decrease last summer, if you recall. It was part of the stimulus plan to help people get a little more in that time of need. Obama has not raised taxes. He simply wants to let the Bush tax cuts expire for top earners. I think this is a fair start to work to pay off our deficits and debt.
I do trust Obama and the Democrats since they have put forth real ideas vs. the Republican's political posturing. Republicans won the elections with media-hype mastery. Sadly, that is all they have.
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Jesse Hoheisel
Duluth
