+ We embraced change, along with President Obama

Dear Editor:

Regarding your Dec. 31 editorial, “The Road To Prosperity,” I respectfully beg to differ with your premise that George W. Bush achieved a high degree of success.

To the contrary, he began his first term in office with a surplus in the treasury, a strong middle class, a manageable federal deficit and an enviable economy.

After eight years of Bush’s governance, we were embroiled in endless conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, had suffered the bursting of a real-estate bubble with attendant foreclosures and financial losses, corporate and bank failures unseen for decades, a huge and ever growing national debt and deficit, an enormous trade deficit, troubling and increasing unemployment and a shrinking middle class.

We saw tax giveaways that primarily benefited the rich, failure to enforce environmental laws, illegal wire taps and erosion of certain constitutionally guaranteed rights. The list goes on and on.

Most of us welcomed Barack Obama, a highly intelligent, articulate and principled man who inherited the most numerous and difficult set of national problems since the 1930s. Nearly everyone who voted for him embraced the concept of “change” so we might have a chance for a better future for our families and our country.

Ronny Salomon
Sarasota    

We were no fans of George W. Bush after the 2001 tax cuts. He caved to political pressure and borrowed beyond our means — albeit nowhere near as much as “Mr. Change.” Remember: When Bush left office, the deficit was $400 billion. In Barack Obama’s first year, he and his Democrat colleagues increased it to $1.6 trillion. Our point was simply this: After the 2001 recession, Bush’s tax cuts re-ignited the economy, which put Americans back to work. Your guy’s policies are making unemployment worse. — Ed.

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