Rep. McClintock slams socialism. His district relies on government programs | Opinion

McClintock’s hypocrisy

“Rep. Tom McClintock is failing his constituents, and he doesn’t want to hear about it | Opinion,” (fresnobee.com, Feb. 26)

My congressman, Rep. Tom McClintock recently said: “The history of human society can be summed up in just four words: Freedom works. Socialism sucks.”

Did he forget that many California farmers receive subsidies to grow certain crops, or that public schools are taxpayer funded and rely on government funds?

Did McClintock forget that the Trump administration has invested billions of American dollars into corporations such as Intel and U.S. Steel? When former President Barack Obama bailed out the big banks to avoid an even worse meltdown, he was called a Marxist-Socialist. But when conservatives use government money, they’re patriots.

Matt Deombeleg

Fresno

Waiver usage

“How waiver misuse is driving Fowler’s high teacher turnover,” (fresnobee.com, Nov. 29)

This op-ed makes an impassioned argument regarding an unknown requirement in California school financing which states that a K-12 school district must spend at least 55% of its general fund expenditures on salaries and benefits to instructional staff. Many districts have been obtaining waivers to this requirement in recent years.

However, the primary reason for requesting this waiver is because of the introduction of federal COVID funds beginning in 2020. When COVID hit, school districts nationwide received millions of dollars in one-time funds to facilitate remote learning and help slow the spread of the disease. Districts spent millions of dollars on new laptops to send home with students, to purchase Wi-Fi services and software packages to provide remote education and provide meals to families.

Districts rightly did not use these one-time funds to permanently increase teacher compensation. This would have forced districts to continue paying higher salaries after the funding ran out, causing widespread layoffs.

Lawrence A Teixeria

Clovis

Love of country being tested

“Donald Trump’s Approval Rating Negative in 20 States He Won,” (fresnobee.com, Nov. 25)

I used to call myself a patriot without hesitation. I spent much of my life studying and teaching American history because I believed in the promise of this country. But I cannot love a nation that allows itself to be governed with such cruelty. Under President Donald Trump, my government has embraced xenophobia, racism and a deliberate, gleeful harshness as guiding principles.

For most of my life, the United States aspired to be the “good guy” on the world stage. That identity is shattered. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been twisted into an instrument of authoritarian power — an agency used not to uphold justice, but to intimidate, punish and dehumanize. The government’s actions — whether in Washington, Chicago or on the high seas — are not just shameful, they are un-American at their core.

I hold onto hope that one day this nation will find its moral compass again. But the legacy of the Trump era is already written, and the Trump name will be remembered with the infamy it deserves.

Gordon Fake

Fresno

The needs of the people

“‘We are hardworking people.’ Hundreds in Clovis protest Trump at ‘No Kings’ rally,” (fresnobee.com, Oct. 18)

President Donald Trump is trying to change our nation in ways that go against everything we’ve stood for over the years. We’re now a nation that plans to steal Canada through economic pressure, Greenland through military force and Venezuela for its oil. We’ve levied huge tariffs on every nation of the world, most of which are much poorer than we are.

Trump is trying to make our country a one-party MAGA state by scamming the election system to gerrymander red states. He is ignoring the needs of the people, calling the affordability crisis a “hoax.” He has not succeeded in lowering prices, and they continue to rise.

Brian Johnson

Fresno