In his June 10 letter “America isn’t ‘a football game between two parties,’” Joe Voisine argues that Democrats are responsible for high unemployment, crime and inflation rates.

However, a quick check of data reveal the fallacy of his other assertions. For example:

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, unemployment fell more under Obama (from 10 to 4.7%) than under Trump (from 4.7 to 3.5%).

Further, GDP growth under President Trump was only 1.03%, compared to Obama’s 1.59%.

While inflation is up, the Federal Reserve attributes much of the rise to supply chain issues (stemming from both COVID and Suez Canal issues) and rocketing demand as lockdowns cease — neither of which is political in nature.

Yes, violent crime is up. However, the surge (over 30%) started in 2020, largely because of the combination of COVID lockdowns and racial justice protests — under a Republican president.

Further, while Voisine complains that access to COVID vaccines feels like a “lottery game,” at least that’s a “game” for the cure, as opposed to the “lottery game” of catching the disease which killed 600,000-plus fellow Americans under the previous administration.

Mr. Voisine is right: the democratic ideals upon which America was founded are far from a game. For 200-plus years, our imperfect-but-striving-to-be-more-perfect union has inspired democracies worldwide, and offered a beacon of hope to those drawn to our borders. And this serious venture in democracy must be rooted in critical thinking based on verifiable facts and evidence.

Susan Young, Auburn

Related Headlines


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.