President Trump has taught me something interesting in my old age. I have been a lifelong admirer of President Franklin Roosevelt, not only for the way he dealt with his crippling disability, but the innovative manner in which he marshalled the forces of the government to overcome the social and economic problems of the Great Depression. I see now that while much of what he did was necessary on a temporary basis, it was in fact, in the end, counterproductive. After approaching eight years of the New Deal, we still had 20 percent unemployment and the situation was only salvaged when we geared up for World War II.
Trump has taught me that when you take money away from those who have it and redistribute it, you are in fact taking that money away from business reinvestment, and it is only business investment that in the end creates jobs, expands opportunity and raises the fortunes of everyone from the bottom up. Massive welfare programs and public works actually shrink that portion of the economy upon which the wellbeing of all citizens rests.
Of course, it is a great goal to achieve some sort of economic equality, but all of the historic attempts have thus far failed. We have only to look at every example from Brook Farm to Cuba, Venezuela and the Soviet Union to see examples.
Vincent Torlini
Atlantic City