Where was DeSantis after Lake deluge?
After the heavy rains Oct. 26 and 27 in Lake County (“Heavy rains drop more than a foot of rain, wash out roads in Lake County”), where was the governor? Missing in action. He never came to survey the damage and talk the people to see how the state could help them. Instead, he sent Lt. Gov. Jay Collins. Are the people in Mount Dora and Eustis not good voters? If the floods hit The Villages, I believe he would have been there right after the rain stopped. I guess party affiliation matters in Florida.
Thomas J. McGuire Orlando
Decisions on merit, not DEI
In a letter entitled “Another meaning of DEI?” (Nov. 19) the writer asks, “Why don’t all Americans … embrace DEI?”
We do. We have a very diverse society. Look around you: TV personalities. Politicians. Athletes. Professionals of all kinds.
However, if DEI is the principal factor in school administration, promotion, pilot training, political appointments, etc., the wheels fall off. We need more critical thinking than just kneeling at the DEI shrine. Do you really care about the race, ethnicity or sexual orientation of the pilot flying your plane through a storm, or of your neurosurgeon, or the law-enforcement officer answering your 911 call?
Some groups try to smear the concept of a “meritocracy” as elitist, as a political dog whistle, etc. In my opinion, it is not. Making decisions about people based upon merit is precisely why our nation is where millions of our fellow human beings wish to live and work.
Robert Anderson Winter Park
Wealthiest must pay more taxes
Understandably, Senate Democrats were divided whether to end the government shutdown or hold out to protect affordable health insurance for millions of people (“Take stock of shutdown’s harsh lessons,” November 13).
Voters must remember the root of the problem: the continued tax cuts for the wealthiest taxpayers. Thus, the loss of necessary revenue for our country.
During the Reagan administration, the highest income tax rate for the richest Americans was 50%. Prior to that, the highest tax rate was 70%. Presently, the highest federal income tax rate for the wealthiest taxpayers is 37%.
On the other hand, the highest tax rate for the wealthiest corporations during the Reagan administration was 46%. Prior to that, the highest U.S. federal corporate tax rate was 52.8% in 1968 and 1969. Today, because of the Trump tax cuts, the corporate tax rate in the United States is a flat 21% for all corporations, including the largest and wealthiest ones.
So, next time you vote, consider, among other things, whether you think our current tax situation is good for our country or not.
Susan Talana Harris Orlando
‘Grim reaper’ DeSantis
I’m not complaining about the existence of the death penalty, which is the victim’s family’s final form of retribution to compensate for its loss.
Some wrongly claim that the death penalty deters violent crime. But it is highly unlikely that a mentally or emotionally damaged person is thinking about the ultimate penalty when he or she pulls the trigger, strangles or rapes.
Gov. Ron DeSantis seems to silently delight in signing death warrants while refusing to commute a death sentence to life without parole. One can’t help believe he’s in a contest with the malignant Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for unofficial title of America’s 21st century “grim reaper.”
If this is DeSantis trying to prove he’s a law-and-order presidential candidate, it’s just another of his many misjudgments.
Maid Joy Kahn Boca Raton
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