Readers Write: National debt, Medicaid, Hezbollah pager attack, what hunting critics miss

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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Like all humans, I will pass away someday (when, yet to be determined). I would like to chisel into stone my absolute scream of frustration over a super important issue that not 10% of the U.S. population is even slightly interested in — or perhaps just not willing to face.

As you likely know, this year our national government will pay out $1 trillion in interest on the national debt while the national debt itself will grow by around $4 trillion. That interest payment is 1 million piles of $1 million each. Under current laws, expenditures, budgets, etc., the interest on the debt could grow to $3 trillion by a budget showdown in 2028 (source: U.S. National Debt Clock). All this not considering any new spending (vote buying) included in the promises of the current election candidates.

Nor can one believe that smarter heads will prevail and prevent this 150-mph race to the cliff without a guardrail. Which politician would even dare to seek national office by calling for a $2 trillion cut in the federal budget (that is our current budget deficit)? History, both long term and recent, clearly shows that other countries have democratically sailed right off the edge of the cliff without making any cuts to spending whatsoever. For example, by 2010 Greek governments of each and every political party supported massive deficit spending in election after election with the voting public believing that somehow, some way, something would save Greece from a catastrophic economic collapse. Madness prevailed, no one would loan Greece any more money, the Greek economy collapsed, and it took the country years of life-destroying cuts and zero economic growth to regain any improvement in that economic mess.

Of course, during President Barack Obama’s administration a bipartisan committee of Congress did put forward a plan, which was quickly rejected by Obama, as it would have been immensely unpopular with the voting public.

Thus, this scream. Useless, but now done.

Eamon Anderson, Chisago City, Minn.

Victoria Volz is upset that the government will sell her home after she dies in order to recover her Medical Assistance costs (“A surprise cost for Medicaid,” Sept. 16). The article says that she wants to donate the property to her temple when she dies. But she has received approximately $600,000 of medical care from the state. The state is generous in letting people who are receiving Medical Assistance continue to own their houses while they are still living, but it is only fair that the state recover a portion of the money spent on Medical Assistance after the patient has died.

Eric Carlson, an attorney at Justice in Aging, said, “Ideally the hard work and the savings of that generation would be able to be passed off to a successive generation to give them a leg up.” What he is saying is that he wants people on Medical Assistance to pass their assets on to their heirs while passing their debts on to the taxpayers. As a taxpayer, I disagree.

James Brandt, New Brighton

I am deeply concerned about the turning of communication devices into weapons (“Pager attack and the risks of broader war,” editorial, Sept. 19). This type of covert action is not war but rather state-sponsored terrorism. The U.S. and all other nations who are concerned about human rights (and life) should call a special United Nations meeting to address this event. This action places everyone who has any personal communication device in danger; there is no way for an individual or government to protect its citizens from harm.

This type of attack is akin to allowing satellites to bomb, laser or burn an unsuspecting public or country without warning. I believe that there are international agreements against this type of warfare. Israel needs to be brought before the U.N. and required to desist from all further actions of this kind. The U.N. needs to investigate all the players involved in tampering with these products before their delivery.

This may sound like an oxymoronic statement: There is a difference between war and mass murder. Secretly inserting a bomb device into thousands of communication devices that are used by many, stored on their person or in their home, is mass murder and should be considered a war crime.

Coral Bastien, Minneapolis

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In the editorial “Pager attack and the risks for a broader war,” we see how the truth is obfuscated in order to make a “valid argument.” Editorial writer John Rash ignores reality and puts his agenda on full display as he quotes so-called experts Dennis Ross and David Daoud. The latest outbreak of war and continued violence can be traced back to the Biden administration. In November 2023, Biden relaxed an important sanction and allowed Iran to get access to $10 billion being held by an Iraqi bank. Biden also relaxed Iran’s ability to sell oil to Russia and China. This has meant billions of dollars in profits, thus allowing Iran to fund proxy terror groups throughout the region, specifically Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis. At the end to Donald Trump’s presidency, Iran’s GDP was $239 billion. A year later it grew to $360 billion. Oil revenue has enriched its ability to wage war and accelerate its nuclear plans.

Both Ross and Dauod seem to believe the terror groups have a goal to live peacefully alongside Israel if only a cease-fire and a return of hostages could be realized. They couldn’t be more wrong. The named terror groups know how to use their activities to put pressure on Israel to accede to Western propaganda. A “two-state solution” will never bring a lasting peace because Hamas et al. have no regard for human life, and such a plan denies them of their goals. Violence fuels their agenda, promotes recruitment and continues their successful propaganda campaign. Western nations continue to ignore the fact that terrorists have two goals: the destruction of “Little Satan” (Israel) and of “Great Satan” (the U.S.). As a result, errant U.S. foreign policy drives more destruction.

In the face of weak and confusing U.S. foreign policy, Iran has the upper hand as it doles out money to fund their proxies. Remember that the Trump administration handed the Joe Biden/Kamala Harris administration a very peaceful Mideast. Presently, Israel doesn’t trust the U.S. to share intelligence as the bridge has been burned over recent years. Harris will have great difficulty in re-building that — witness her recent comments. China, Russia and Iran have improved their geopolitical positions around the world as the U.S. footprint has waned. The recent election interference by Iran with Trump’s data being sent to Democrats should be no surprise and signals who it wants to become the next president.

The premise of Rash and his two experts will not end the violence; rather, it will set the stage for a larger conflagration.

Joe Polunc, Waconia

Regarding the letter about a boy who saved his dad from a bear attack, “Maybe avoid hunting altogether” (Readers Write, Sept. 19), it’s clear the letter writer has never hunted nor understands all that hunters, organizations and their money do for all the environment and nature. Pheasants Forever, for example, buys a piece of land for habitat, and all who use that land benefit. Songbirds, pollinators and hundreds of nongame species all thrive on this land. And a few weeks a year, a parent can take their kid out with the dog to possibly harvest a renewable resource. If successful, they can then clean, cook and eat their catch and bring it all full-circle.

Gerry Anderson, Forest Lake