Today's letters: Readers comment on Trump, inflation and COVID-19

Silence Trump

Why are newspapers and television stations giving Donald Trump a soapbox on which to spew his hatred and threats of violence?

In giving this man access to the public forum, these sources are giving him a means to create havoc and chaos. They are giving him a platform on which to urge followers to again attempt an insurrection — trying to overthrow our government and making threats to any individual or group he sees as a threat to him or disagrees with him.

All forms of media should stop giving Trump a platform from which to rant — immediately!

Barbara Adler, Ocala

Runaway inflation

What we have now is runaway inflation. In my opinion, inflation is not good, period. First, the government creates the problem then acts like a hero to the rescue with a fix that makes things worse. What the Federal Reserve should be doing is providing stability, i.e. zero inflation.

Lets stop falling to our knees and bowing to the god of growth. If deflation is seen as a near-term problem, then sure, stimulate the economy. Stimulating the economy when we have growth is just forcing people to spend for fear of losing to inflation. Fear of losing to inflation is not a good thing.

Excessive growth is not a good thing, either. We don’t need 900 new residents moving into Florida per day, as our governor suggests. It is obvious that the rapid growth we have now is destroying the ecology of the state of Florida. Subsidizing housing and rents just causes home prices and rents to go up faster. Let's slow down.

Richard Minzenberger, Ocala

‘Free’ state of Florida

I must start by telling you a little about myself. I do not have measles, mumps or rubella. I do not have diphtheria nor whooping cough. I currently do not have shingles nor pneumonia. I also must add I do not currently have COVID. Interestingly enough, I was vaccinated against all of these illnesses and boosted against COVID.

Our current political leadership in the “free” state of Florida wants to ensure that I have a choice as to whether or not to be vaccinated against COVID and whether or not to wear a mask. Notwithstanding that our governor is both vaccinated and boosted against COVID. He sets the example by refusing to wear a mask in public.

Now we have a surgeon general who touts the ineffectiveness of both the vaccine and mask wearing to slow or stop the spread of this illness. I must say that my confidence is not bolstered by the apparent fact that the surgeon general, who also is a professor of general surgery at UF, would teach his students that it is their choice as to whether or not to wash and sanitize their hands and wear sterile garments, gloves and, yes, even a mask when preparing for a surgical procedure.

The overwhelming cases of COVID that require hospitalization and strain our health care system and could result in death occur in unvaccinated people. I just wonder, if we know vaccines help and masks slow or stop the spread of this virus, why many of us are refusing to get a vaccine. Surely we could not be that selfish as to put our friends, neighbors and even our children in harm's way to prove we are free to make any choice we desire simply because we live in the “free” state of Florida.

Jeff Priest, Ocala

Write to us

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This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Feb. 27 letters: Readers comment on Trump, inflation and COVID-19