Letters: Readers discuss the inauguration of Donald Trump, Congress and the Affordable Care Act
Trump’s success
To me the election of Donald Trump to the presidency was a breath of fresh air. The other time I had a feeling of such relief and joy was when Ronald Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter.
Finally this country will be led by people who actually have a lifetime of leadership and management experience. For far too long we have been led by academicians and theoreticians who have guided us along a meandering path of incompetence.
Mr. Trump has had years of successfully guiding businesses with tens of thousands of employees. His cabinet and staff nominees have similar records of remarkable accomplishment. Their talents and hard work have resulted in very lucrative careers and years of real world leadership experience.
Yet the left sees that wealth and experience as a detriment to top leadership positions. They have become acclimated to such bureaucratic incompetence that they cannot see the obvious talents of people of real accomplishment.
Donald Trump will be an outstanding president.
Ron Stone
Raytown
Embarrassment
I’ve lived under 12 presidents, casting my first vote absentee from Vietnam in 1968.
Today, Donald Trump will be sworn in as president of the United States. It is an embarrassment to me, and should be to any rational citizen of this country.
John Meyer
Blue Springs
Mixed emotions
I have never been more proud of my president and, simultaneously, more disappointed in my countrymen.
Ed Papacena
Kansas City
Making history
With all of the furor concerning the presidential transition that has taken place since the election, I have not heard it brought up that the 45th president will have a prominent mark in history the moment he takes his oath today.
Donald Trump will be the first person to lead America since England’s King George III who was placed in leadership of American citizens by a foreign government without the consent of the majority of American voters.
No wonder Trump adorns himself in gold-leafed furniture and sees himself as royalty.
Jack Deyoe
Olathe
Obamacare
In 2008, the American voters said that improving the economy and developing jobs for American workers were essentially the two most important tasks that Congress should invest their time and efforts upon.
Our then President-elect Barack Obama had submitted plans for kickstarting our economy. The stimulus bills infused new money to help the automobile industry, and other manufacturing jobs became viable again.
Eight years later, through systematic obstruction and obfuscation, the Republican-led Congress has failed to help the American president to be successful on behalf of the American people, and we now have an incoming presidential administration that appears hellbent on usurping most of President Obama’s administrative efforts to help the middle and poor class — to the overall detriment of America herself.
Compromise and statesmanship have become negative words in today’s Congress, replaced by greed, jealousy, and slothful efforts by the Republican Party to repeal the Affordable Care Act, throwing nearly 20 million Americans off of their ACA insurance plans. Appalling.
Preston R. Williams
Topeka
I am writing to add my voice and story to the Affordable Care Act concerns.
As a 60-year-old who lost my job when the company I worked for closed, I am at an awkward age for insurance. I am too old to be considered for full-time employment with its health benefits, and too young to receive Medicare.
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, I am able to get insurance through the marketplace. I pay the full premium from my savings, leaving more funds for those in true need of subsidies. The plan I have provides good doctors and the tests and prescriptions I need.
Should the ACA be repealed, particularly without an immediate replacement, I will have no insurance.
Please call your senators and ask them to reconsider. The call only takes a minute and could mean all the difference to people like me. Thank you.
Mary Ann Fisher
Overland Park
This story was originally published January 19, 2017 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Letters: Readers discuss the inauguration of Donald Trump, Congress and the Affordable Care Act."