DEAR EDITOR:

Let’s examine how President Trump’s DOGE initiative negatively affects the average citizen. We’ve become dependent on the federal government to address situations the private sector either ignores or causes. It also funds research benefiting a broad sector of the populace and many industries.

Elon Musk and many other billionaires built their fortunes on government grants, contracts and research. They now want more favorable regulations and less oversight that will enable obscene profits and tax breaks at the expense of the average citizen’s health, education, wealth, freedom and quality of life.

Yes, the U.S deficit and debt have become unsustainable. But taking a chainsaw to government departments and workers will save relatively little and cause massive pain. Musk would better serve our nation by helping overhaul federal regulations and acquisition procedures that waste time and money, and inhibit the timely implementation of important projects and initiatives. He did so with the space exploration industry.

Amending election finance regulations would help reduce our debt by reducing campaign costs that have candidates constantly whoring for donations. Every donated dollar comes with the expectation of government largesse or favoritism worth many times more at the expense of taxpayers, competing businesses and worthy initiatives.

And most of us wouldn’t mind considerably shortening the length of campaigning, as many democratic nations do now. This alone would considerably reduce campaign expense and the opportunity for mischief, and increase the number of qualified candidates.

Fellow citizens, please put some variety in your sources of information. Turn off right-wing “newspeak,” where lies become truth for a few moments, and learn from knowledgeable and established experts how destructive Trump 2.0 has become. The press and the government are not the enemy.

DAVID CAMPANA

Poland