As I wrote last fall I am a life-long Republican who believes in financial responsibility in government and that the government should use our taxes to help those in need while limiting waste. The Republican leadership in the White House and Congress has lost sight of these responsibilities. In FY18 the budget deficit increased 17% to $779 billion largely due to the corporate tax cut that benefited the top 1%.

After signing the tax cut Trump told his rich friends, "You all just got a lot richer." The tax law changes gave low-income only a 0.8% and middle-income 1.5% increase in after-taxes income. The high-income got a 3.8% increase.

Trump has admitted running for president to inflate his social status in his rich-man world, not to make America great. During the campaign he was working a deal for a Trump Tower in Russia. He continues to promote his hotel in Washington to his benefit. Now he is promoting his new golf course in Scotland. He has not separated his business interests from his presidency. His actions have been and continue to be self-serving. If he would read the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution he would discover that it is illegal to use the presidency for personal profit.

Despite repeated campaign promises in 2016 to not cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid, Trump's proposed 2020 Budget cuts all three significantly. These cuts will impact lower and middle income Americans, many of whom are our friends, neighbors and family members here in the North Country. He also wanted to delete all federal funding for the Special Olympics (which have been restored in his revised budget proposal).

I implore North Country Republicans to let your congresswoman and your president know these cuts are not acceptable.

David Bolesh

Lisbon