To the Editor:
David Brooks (The Follower Problem) makes a valid point about the public’s deteriorating faith in institutions. But he doesn’t note that one political party feels threatened when an opposing leader turns out to be inspiring.
The Barack Obama of 2008 struck many as a transformative leader. The Republican strategy: deny him any accomplishments, make him come across as another politician, and reinforce the public’s cynicism about government.
Sadly, a smoothly functioning government is viewed as anathema to hard-right politicians: it threatens their belief that government is the problem.
David Coggins
New York
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Why So Scared Of The Rich, America?
The convoluted logic of many Americans who are obsessed with the rich is scary. What can the rich do wrong with their money? What? Invest it? Spend it? Burn it? Some of you want the government to hire more people to spend the money of the rich. Yet you are clueless that America is only second to Japan in corporate taxes, which makes smart businessmen want to pay their taxes elsewhere. Obama ignores the fact that raising capital gains reduces overall tax revenues because "it isn't fair!" Our government is a cancer, continuing to grow, its cells interfering with healthy capitalist cells.
Joseph Dupont
Philadelphia