There was an article recently published in Newsweek that stated because of the arrival of the Somalis in Lewiston, the local economy has been revitalized.

Have I missed something?

Following that revelation, there was an article in the Sun Journal about Somalian unemployment being at 51 percent locally vs. 6.8 percent statewide.

How can anyone extrapolate that when there is 51 percent unemployment in a local Somali population of approximately 3,500 that it equates to a “revitalization of the local economy”?

More than obvious is the fact that residents’ tax dollars are being doled out in the form of welfare benefits, and when those dollars are being spent, someone is claiming a rebirth of the local economy.

Wow!

Paul Parquette, Lewiston