Please, No More Progress

To the Editor: 
A recent letter offered how wonderful everything will be after the election in November. Broad, sweeping statements were made with no basis in fact. Several really had me scratching my head.
Example – “Supreme Court justices will be appointed to allow future progress to move forward;” what does that mean? Actually, they are appointed for life to “interpret the law.”
Another, “Unified leadership, meaning three branches of government cooperating to get things done” is exactly what was not intended when the founders set up our government. The three branches are meant to be “checks and balances” on each other, not to be a team to accomplish progress.
As for progress, let me offer the following; what has been accomplished by the current administration and what you can be assured will continue under another Democratic administration.
First, the poverty rate in America is 14.8 percent according to the latest figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. That’s 46.7 million people and it hasn’t changed substantially over the past eight years. Amazing with all we hear about how strong our economy is and with unemployment under 5 percent.
Second, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that in one in every five families in America, there is not one person in the family who is working. In May of 2016, 94,708,000 Americans were not in the labor force according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s a participation rate of 62.6 percent, the lowest in 38 years. An increase of 14,179,000 since Obama took office.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, long-term unemployment in January 2016 was 26.9 percent. By contrast, long-term unemployment was never more than 26 percent as far back as WWII.
Real GDP growth in the U.S. has not reached 3 percent in any year of the Obama presidency according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. He is the only president to ever achieve this dubious honor. Growth in the first quarter of 2016 was 0.8 percent. Second quarter growth was 1.1 percent.
According to the latest figures from the U.S. Census, home ownership fell to 63.4 percent in the second quarter of 2015. The lowest it has been since 1967. The Affordable Care Act is falling apart. Two major insurance companies have just announced their departure. Premiums are up, copays are up and that situation is about to get much worse with Aetna and United Health leaving.
President Obama will have accumulated just about as much debt as every president before him combined. He’s added just about $10 trillion. With this sort of progress, I think a drastic change is necessary.
Donald Trump is a “doer.” A recent article I read labels him a “pragmatist” – someone who is practical and focused on a goal. He sees a problem and understands it must be fixed.
Immigration isn’t a Republican problem. It isn’t a liberal problem. It’s a problem that threatens the very fabric and infrastructure of America. It requires a pragmatic approach, not one that is intended to appease one group or another.
You may not like Donald Trump but he has a very strong record of success. We’ve had the R’s and D’s for decades and what has that brought us? Are we better off? A “pragmatist” might be exactly what we need today. I know I do not want any more progress like we’ve had for the past eight years.