FOLIO
Soon, voters will choose a new Representative for District 6. The election will be important because the Republicans only have a three-vote majority in the House. Now, there are two special House elections scheduled in Florida and one scheduled in in New York. Thus, if the Democrats win these elections, the House will be split.
For this reason, voters should vote for Weil. The polls show that many voters, including independents and Trump supporters, oppose many of Trump’s actions.
Trump’s tariffs are decimating every American’s mutual fund, 401(K), and IRA. His tariffs are also threatening Florida’s tourism industry as Canadians and Europeans who regularly come here to live during the winter or come here to visit our attractions, such as the Kennedy Space Center and the wonderful beaches of Daytona and the Space Coast, will avoid Florida entirely. His tariffs further risk destroying the citrus industry in District 6 and throughout Florida as it will make oranges too expensive for Florida’s foreign customers.
Trump’s permitting Musk to access the records of the Treasury Department, Social Security, and IRS also threatens the security of every citizen. No one knows what Musk is going to do with our financial information and he may use it for his own gain or to reduce our government benefits.
Trump and Mask’s firings of federal works threatens every Americans’ economic health. Of particular concern to District 6 is the threatened firings at NASA, which will ruin the economic health of the District and Florida. It has been reported in the Florida Times-Union that Trump’s next budget will slash NASA’s budget by 50%. Think of the impact that will have in District 6 and Florida. Think of the family members and friends who will be fired. Think of the contractors who will lose their NASA contracts. Think of the businesses that will be affected, such as restaurants near the Space Center who will suffer without the patronage of NASA employees. Also, the cuts to NASA will not be limited to 50%. Musk’s major business is the space business and he wants to destroy NASA so that he can privatize America’s entire space program. He has already required the FAA to violate its contract with Verizon and to use the network of his company, SpaceeX, instead of Verizon’s. He will do the same thing to NASA.
Trump has further endangered every Floridian by firing employees at NOAA and FEMA. Florida is often hit by hurricanes. Floridians often need the life-saving information that NOAA provides about the locations, strengths, and landings of hurricanes. Floridians also often need the aid that FEMA provides after hurricanes hit. Trump’s cuts will prevent Floridians from getting that information and aid.
Trump’s firing of employees in other agencies will also affect Floridians. His firing of IRS employees’ will risk delaying IRS refunds. His firings of Veteran’s Administration employees will delay the medical appointments of veterans and cause increases in veteran suicides as hot lines are shut down His firing of Department of Education employees will destroy the educational programs for disabled children that are mainly run by that Department.
Trump is also going to propose changes to Social Security that will require recipients to personally go to a Social Security office in order to continue to receive their benefits. The Washington Post reported that Trump’s plan will require 75,000 to 80,000 recipients to show up each week in order to continue to receive their benefits. Trump is imposing this requirement right when he also plans to cut Social Security’s employees by 50% and to close over 40 Social Security offices .
Fine certainly will not stand up to Trump regarding these matters. He recently told Newmax that he would work to advance Trump’s addenda. As for one of the most important agencies to District 6, he told Fox 35 that he was not worried about Musk firing NASA employees because Musk was a champion of returning to the Moon and Mars. But Fine completely ignores that it is clear that Musk wants his space company to take over America’s space program.
Weil and a more Democratic House would have the power to stop Trump from taking these actions and require Trump to end his tariffs, reform our government in a more thoughtful manner, get rid of the Trump plan to require 75,000 to 80,000 recipients a week to personally visit a Social Security office in order to continue to receive their benefits, and allow our agencies to do their jobs. His election would require Trump to act in a more bipartisan manner, rather than trying to do things that even independents and Trump supporters oppose. In short, a vote for Weil would benefit every American, Floridan and District 6 citizen.
Terry D. Bork
Jacksonville, Florida
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