Letters

Within the narrow scope which it inhabits, it’s hard to argue with your May 22 editorial, “Standing Firm,” which salutes Congressman Nick LaLota for his insistence on raising the federal income tax deduction cap on state and local taxes (SALT) in the budget package before the House of Representatives.

Since then, that package has passed, and the cap will now go from $10,000 to $40,000, providing that the bill passes the Senate, and this will give a measure of relief to a number of East End taxpayers.

But that’s not the whole story — not even close.

The “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” which now includes this SALT relief, is indeed big, though far from beautiful. Among its many, many provisions is a giant cut to Medicare. That’s right — Medicare, not Medicaid.

While Medicaid is specifically mentioned in the legislation, Medicare is not. But because of a previously enacted law, called Pay As You Go, when the deficit reaches a certain level, that triggers automatic cuts to existing programs, even if they’re not named in the law.

In this case, as confirmed by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, it means a $500 billion reduction in Medicare.

While the increased SALT deduction will help some taxpayers to some extent, this disastrous Medicare cut will put a far larger number in truly dire circumstances. Anyone who’s looked at their full hospital bill, compared with what they paid as a Medicare patient, knows this. For most people, it’s affordability versus bankruptcy.

Nick LaLota’s not stupid, and he knows this, too. He’s relying on the bill’s silence on Medicare to cover his tracks and let him do some cheap grandstanding about SALT.

I’d also take issue with your characterization of this as “a high-stakes gamble by LaLota.” Not really — he had more than enough determined Republican company to kill the whole bill, and, crucially, Donald Trump doesn’t care that much about the SALT cap. This is so even though he originated it, in his first term. (Donald’s affections tend to be fleeting, as we know.)

As it happens, I’m writing this on Memorial Day. Nick LaLota and I both took the same oath when we joined the Navy, and he took a similar oath when he entered Congress. I just can’t figure out how this sleazy maneuvering works with that oath.

Some will say this will all be forgotten in November 2026, when LaLota is next up for election. No, it won’t. We’ll be there to remind the voters what a deceptive guy they’ve got representing them. Count on it.

George Lynch

Quiogue

Lynch is communications chair of the Southampton Democratic Committee — Ed.