In these days of fiscal inaction, it is quite inspiring to read about something important actually getting done without arguing, bickering and partisan politics. Your story “Progress made on collapsed I-5 bridge” is one such. As a child of the ’60s and ’70s, I well recall a time when not only was our infrastructure very well maintained, but expanded at a staggering rate. Adjusted for inflation, the costs were comparable, yet something was different. What was that difference?
Well, for starters we had not yet embraced the current “Race To The Bottom.” We all, rich and poor alike, took pride in what our nation was building and that we were a beacon unto the world. And we were, all of us, willing to pay our fair share to see that it continued. So what happened?
We were taxed fairly at all levels and we flourished, worker and business alike. Our death-knell arrived with the dismantling of our tariff structure. Tariffs on imported goods, especially ones that compete directly with those that we produce here fattened the government coffers by far greater amounts than even our income taxes. With almost no tariffs now in place, and the American people the “well” left to go to for funding, with American business now exporting millions of jobs an the export of American ideas, we find ourselves in the current crisis.
Let us bring home our jobs, re-employ America and rebuild our infrastructure. Re-impose tariffs on all imported goods now.
Jack W. Mathews, Jr
Stanwood
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