Letter to the Editor: Submitted by Karen Pratte

To the Editor:

No matter where we live, Iowans are impacted by the high costs of everyday goods and groceries. Surely you recall Candidate Donald Trump’s promises to bring down the cost of eggs and lower costs and stop inflation. He proclaimed that prices would immediately fall if he won the election.  Well, the price of eggs is at an all-time high and keep soaring. Trump and Republicans hit their mute button and don’t talk about the kitchen table issues they ran on.

Trump signed a flurry of executive orders aimed at putting Trump loyalists in charge of the government and at consolidating his power. Not one of his  executive orders deals with lowering costs.

Year after year, corporations jack up the costs of everyday goods even though they benefited from massive hand-outs passed in Trump’s and the Republicans’ 2017 Tax Scam. In 2025 Trump wants even more hand-outs for the wealthy. To deliver for his billionaire buddies, Trump is eying cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security.

Medicaid is the nation’s public health insurance program for people with low income. Elderly people in nursing homes who have spent their life savings are on Medicaid. Disabled children and adults would be without care if not for Medicaid. Children in low income families receive medical care because of Medicaid. The cruelty of denying the most vulnerable people medical care in order to give more tax cuts to corporations and billionaires is unconscionable.

Senators Grassley and Ernst, and Representative Hinson claim to care about people they represent. Will they stand up to Trump when his decrees harm everyday people? Given their record, they will serve Trump and remain his loyal puppets.

Karen Pratte
Waterville