Sounding off: Where's our property tax relief?

Where’s the property tax relief we were promised? Pennsylvania is second in the nation in gambling revenue intake behind Nevada. In 2017 Pennsylvania took in 3.2 billion — and that was before we started keno and sports betting. Some estimates project that this will create an additional $1 billion to $1.5 billion.

So where’s the relief? Some get very little and most get nothing. Just another scam by our bloated swamp in Harrisburg. And this socialist governor and his lieutenant governor probably will want more.

Enough. Call your representatives and try to get an answer.

Steven “Hoppy” Ignatz

West Mifflin

GOP is all about money

There have been a lot of letters in the Trib lately running down the Democratic Party. We were Republicans for almost 60 years, and we used to think the Republican Party was sympathetic toward the poor and the middle class. Now it seems like they are all about money and wealth. Reminds me of the saying, “I got mine, it sucks to be you.”

But just remember when you start collecting Social Security and you are needing Medicare and Medicaid where these programs came from. They came from the Democratic Party. The Republican Party was against these programs.

Bill Hite

Hempfield

Trump is raising up America

America has been on the rise since President Trump took over as commander in chief. Here are some of the stats, courtesy of a Jan. 20 White House fact sheet titled “The Historic Results of President Donald J. Trump’s First Two Years in Office”: 5 million new jobs; unemployment rate below 4 percent; 4.6 million people lifted off food stamps; largest package of tax cuts and reforms in U.S. history; tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese goods; end of the war of coal; end of Obamacare penalties; $6 billion to fight the opioid epidemic; $100 million to hire more police officers; the First Step Act for safer communities.

The stats go on — he has tremendously helped our veterans and current members of the military active members. Not bad in just two short years. Imagine six more years. I don’t see why not; let’s make it happen!

James Illinsky

Springdale

Trickle-on vs. trickle-down

The only thing new in the world is the history you haven’t read.

This country was conceived by wealthy white men who wanted to retain the fruits of their labor.

The big government across the waves wanted to confiscate that wealth to pay for wars without giving “we the people” a say in the matter.

The choice is the same now as then: How much government do you want to have in your life?

One side wants you to work to take most of the fruits of your labor to redistribute for things like medical care, education, housing and leisure time to make everyone financially equal, but you really don’t get a say in the matter. In other words, “trickle-on” economics. Other words are socialism, progressivism, communism — a government-run economy. Extreme examples of this are Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and the USSR.

The opposite side prefers you to work, retain your earnings and let you make the decisions on how to run your life as you see fit. This is called “trickle-down” economics. Otherwords are capitalism, private enterprise and entrepreneurism. Trickle-down because wealthy people mostly contribute back to society. The best example of this system has been the USA.

Let us review the lesson. Public education is getting failing grades, government medical care at the VA isn’t so good, Social Security and the U.S. Postal Service are going broke, and college tuition is rising beyond inflation because of government-backed student loans. Oh yeah, big government gave GM $40 billion in a loan and then five years later said to GM,“You only have to pay back $30 billion,” and “we the people” now watch as GM lays off 15,000 employees.

David A. Scandrol

Lower Burrell

Disdain toward others is disheartening

This letter is in response to letter-writer Thomas C. Spallone: Reading your letter was so inspirational and thought-provoking. You areabsolutely right when you say we had nothing to do with where we were born and under what conditions. The arrogance and disdain that so many display toward our fellowman is very disheartening and shows that society has a long way to go when it comes to social justice and treatment of others.

Edna L. Martorell

Murrysville

Guns are a right

After the news of the gun rally in downtown Pittsburgh and Mayor Bill Peduto’s plan to create his own staunch “gun control” policies, I have to wonder why there is a constant attack on guns. I understand they can kill, but so could any blunt or sharp object in the correct human hands.

Gun ownership is written into the constitutions of this nation and this commonwealth. It is the right of the people to own guns. There should be no further discussion.

There are control measures on the books for guns. The people seemed to have allowed them, but how far are policy creators willing to go? The mirage of “gun violence”strategically used by politicians is a red herring to stir up the party lines. The deliberate attack on arms is a basic affront to the rights of the American people, but somehow in some places, an assault on our rights is a career-building tool.

It is unjust to demand that people unarm themselves because of criminals and the irrational belief that bans will produce a murder-less, violence-less, peaceful utopia. The rights of the people should not be divisive; they should be our glue of unity.

The faces of leadership today dance these sock puppets in our faces, and we become inflamed, but will we stop to actually recognize what has inflamed us? Will we ever acknowledge that your right and means to protect yourself is what is causing the upset?

Antoine Pearson

North Side

Trump must be impeached

Before Trump was elected president, I had a feeling he wanted to build a Trump Tower in Russia. Why else would he want to protect Putin from being accused of tampering with ourelection? Trump is willing to sell out the United States for his own financial gain in Russia and other countries. I’m willing to bet he was working on a deal in North Korea also. Wedon’t know, because he didn’t allow reporters in some of the meetings with North Korea or Russia.

The walls are closing in on Trump, and he is blowing smoke by shutting down the government — punishing hundreds of thousands of government workers, some of whomprobably supported him — to protect himself. For two years, the Republicans had control over everything and Trump couldn’t get the money for his wall, and he blamed everythingon the Democrats.

Trump has to be taken out of office before he ruins the country. Impeach!

This may come as a surprise to you Trump supporters, but he does not give a damn about you or anyone else. All he cares about is his ego and his bank account. It’s very troublingthat Trump supporters don’t care what he says or does. He lies about everything. I didn’t like Hillary either, but as a Vietnam veteran, I could not support this disrespectful draftdodger.

So far, Trump has not done a thing for me. What about you? God help us all.

Carl Mochak

Buffalo Township