Letters

I appreciate the civility of Suzanne Murphy’s comments regarding the legal rights of human beings as compared to those of us actual citizens [“Speak Up Loudly,” Letters, May 15]. I don’t agree with them.

The legal or constitutional issue currently plaguing people of good conscience is: How do we adjudicate the millions of cases we have of people invading our country without the permission of our government, our laws and our citizenry?

You are not on solid ground twisting a sentence into making an illegal immigrant equal to a citizen in this or any nation. You even argue that Americans, unencumbered with the obligation of being citizens, wouldn’t need much of a reason to equalize aliens under the law, even if their basis for claiming such privilege was a criminal act.

Here is where we truly differ, since you asked. I, and many Americans like me, take our membership as shareholders in these United States very seriously. It is not your right to dilute the exclusive privilege we enjoy and feel great obligation to defend, because it has been achieved through the great sacrifice of others.

The right to expel criminals with or without an admittedly perfunctory hearing is perfectly okay with this citizen. Frankly, the situation we find ourselves in, trying to police 10 million or better such cases, was promoted under an administration you probably voted for. To now argue after the fact that it seems inhuman to deal harshly with this problem is not surprising. But don’t think for a minute your opinion on this is rational or popular.

Amy Paradise wants to raise your taxes [“Budgeting 101,” Letters, May 15]. She argues that the effort to extend the 2017 tax cuts is just politics as usual. I won’t disagree entirely with her. But since our budgets are created by our elected politicians, they are, by definition, a product of politics.

Where we really disagree is in her statement regarding budgeting. Our problem has never been with the revenue side of government financial planning. It has always been with the spending. Neither party owns a legitimate claim to physical financial responsibility. Our debt and deficit are proof of this and will soon make our spending cut decision for us.

Ms. Paradise will then be pleased to have reliable higher taxes for all of us.

Ed Surgan

Westhampton