Voices From The Readers

Voices From The Readers
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Decatur Grad Supports Hosting Trump Rally

Editor:

Incredible excitement filled Worcester County and surrounding areas when it became known that Presidential candidate Donald Trump would be holding a rally at Stephen Decatur High School this past Wednesday. Some expressed their dissatisfaction before his arrival, with some calling for the school to not rent their facilities out. Nonetheless, a visit from a candidate to an area that doesn’t normally make statistical sense to campaign in covered the local news cycle for most of the week.

As a former student representative for Stephen Decatur at the Board of Education, I felt I should speak out in support of the school’s decision to allow the event to proceed.

Certainly this election year has proven to be one of the most extraordinary and unpredictable in decades. People across the country are not happy with the current state of politics in Washington D.C., and change is wanted. Economic growth for the last quarter of 2015 was 1.4%, giving many a gloomy outlook for the beginning of 2016. The Federal Reserve has continued to delay interest rate increases, leading to concerns of bubbles in multiple sectors if inflation sparks and rates are raised quickly. The high yield bond market right now is twice the size it was right before the crash began in 2007, with a large percentage of these companies being highly levered. Most people don’t realize these high yield bonds often make their way into ETF’s and the retirement funds of the average American, and any meltdown in this market can lead to catastrophic results.

The much needed tax reform that could help the economy has yet to take shape in Congress. President Obama recently announced he would like Congress to act on disallowing corporations from moving their legal entity offshore, while at the same time keeping their headquarters in the United States an effort to stop corporate inversions. The problem with this is that it doesn’t actually address the underlying corporate tax dilemma that these companies face.

There are an increasing number of countries becoming economic powerhouses, and they have been quick to incentivize companies to leave the United States. Many CEO’s have obligations to their shareholders and staying domestic does not make economic sense for many of them. Multiple tax proposals have been put forth in Congress by Republican senators that would have addressed this issue, but to no avail. Currently, American companies have over $3 trillion in profits sitting overseas that were earned outside of the United States. These are profits made from products that were manufactured abroad and sold abroad, yet the United States is the only country on earth that taxes this money again if companies bring it home to invest in this country. Congress actually agrees on passing a bill to allow these companies to repatriate this money, but the two parties have yet to come to an agreement on the rate they will charge.

The economic state of the country is just one of the many important factors that have led to the unique atmosphere surrounding the 2016 election. Every candidate should have the ability to be heard and state their views and vision for the country moving forward. The notion that one candidate shouldn’t be allowed to speak at an event because someone disagrees with their views is ridiculous. Union bosses from across the bridge have a right to state their views, but do not get to express their first amendment rights in an effort to silence somebody else’s.

After sitting on the board of education for a year, I could not tell you the political party of any of the members, but I can tell you that their commitment to Worcester County Public Schools was of the utmost importance. Many of these members have dedicated most of their adult life to serving Worcester County students. Not interfering with this event and allowing Stephen Decatur to proceed was the right decision for the county, the school, and the citizens of the community that went to watch Mr. Trump’s speech.

Will Wangel

(The writer is a graduate of Stephen Decatur High School and is currently a student at the University of Miami.)

Adkins Interview Worthy Of Spotlight

Editor:

Thanks for your interview with the head of the Ocean City Department of Public Works, Hal Adkins.

It clearly makes the case a fact that many have always known; That Mr. Adkins is and has been the most important person in Ocean City for the last 32 years, not to mention that he’s also a great guy and a pleasure to work with.

The city would not be what it is without him.

Ron Cascio

Berlin