Why Trump’s FEMA remake should worry Floridians | Line, May 22
There’s too much debt
President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Building” passed the House of Representatives (215-214) and is now sitting in the Senate, and the amendment can still curb that damage. The bill is estimated to add trillions of dollars to our deficit over a decade, a fiscal disaster that raises the debt-to-GDP ratio to 125%. It’s pork, which supports corporate subsidies over taxpayers, and is at risk of a dollar devaluation by 2030.
As a resident of Plant City, I urge Senators Rick Scott and Ashley Moody to amend this bill. As Trump has promised, he was forced to save the Department of Education to $80 billion in taxpayers a year, restore the uniformity of Article 1 of curbing student loan lending ($1.9 trillion issued) and cut costs to universities. These reforms could save $1 trillion over a decade and offset the damages on the bill.
Rep. Laurel Lee also has to seek financial responsibility if the Senate is amended and the bill is returned to the House. As John Hill correctly worries in his column, the annual interest cost on our debt cannot be paid an annual interest cost of $952 billion. Take action now to protect Tampa Bay families. Request a slimmer invoice.
Gordon Wayne Watts, Plant City
House Republicans Pass Trump’s Big Bill | May 23
Is it financially sound?
With the passing of the latest “big bill” in the House of Representatives, Republicans have once again proven that they are not really worried about our deficits or debts. The Congressional Budget Office predicts that the current form of the bill will increase the federal deficit by more than $3.3 trillion over a decade.
I’ve often heard “conservatives” refrains that governments need to operate like businesses and when businesses are losing money, they turn into cost reductions as a fix. It seems that the first thing a successful business does is look for ways to increase revenue.
We are a country where we have to borrow money to cover our debts while continuing to cut taxes for the huge wealthy people.
Terry R. Arnold, Treasure Island
Israel’s latest strike in Gaza kills 38 people including children | May 25
Israel and Gaza
A quick question: If South Africa’s apartheid government had been doing the same thing Israel is currently taking in Gaza, would the world be stopped?
Michael Connell, Lutz
More books are being drawn from Hillsboro classrooms | May 21, 2025
Better Focus, Plea
Comedian Wanda Sykes says, “I think you’re focusing on the wrong s until the drag queen walks into school and beats eight children with a copy of “To Kill the Mockingbirds”! ”
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Oliver Nistrato, Tampa
If you are suffering from anxiety, you are not alone | Line, May 25th
Panic attack
Thank you, guest columnist Stephen Neely, for writing about your mental health issues. I hoped it was written when I first started doing what I now know to be a panic attack. It started after I graduated from a very prestigious university and was later accepted by Stanford for my MBA. I was told I had to wait a year and get real work experience. I tried it in California and was told that even though I had a university degree, I didn’t have enough work experience. I started playing cardiac pit and went to the hospital.
He was told there was nothing wrong with me. I still had the same symptoms and I was losing weight too, so I went to my primary care doctor. When he scavenged my abdomen, he commented: “My, we are not fashionable and thin.” I went to another doctor and told him it was a mental disorder. He said that if I knew I had a metal obstacle, I would never go crazy.
Finally, I went home. There, my parents realized that I was no longer my lively self. They got our family doctor. He prescribed medication for a panic attack. I took it for 4 days and felt fine again.
I still have panic attacks, but now I know what they are, so I know how to handle the situation.
Holly Haley, the new Port Richie
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