Letters: Who benefits most from an underfunded IRS?
The Republican majority, including our new congressman Rudy Yakym, has voted to rescind the additional funding for the IRS. The bill approved Jan. 9 is unlikely to advance in the Democratic-run Senate.
It appears that one point of contention to the increase of the national debt is the fact that the Republicans do not want the increased budget for the IRS. I wonder who benefits the most with an underfunded IRS. The honest taxpayer who is waiting patiently for their tax refund or the folks who don't want their returns audited?
Judy Rosheck
South Bend
A push for parks
Time spent in our Indiana parks and natural spaces grounds us. That excitement we feel when we see a bald eagle, when we with our small children spot a deer, or even the rare glimpse of a bobcat or other shy wildlife, is a feeling that can only be found in nature. That is why I am thrilled that Gov. Eric Holcomb has prioritized land conservation and trails in his proposed budget to the Indiana General Assembly.
Our Indiana parks and natural spaces are a Hoosier treasure. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, outdoor recreation adds nearly $13 billion annually to our Indiana economy and provides employment to 107,000 Hoosiers. Use of our parks has never been higher.
According to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, only 15% of the state’s original wetlands remain and in recent years, 85 Indiana counties have lost forest acreage. Any valuable asset requires care and investment in order for that value to be maintained and grow. Please join the Hoosier Environmental Council in asking Rep. Jeff Thompson and his fellow members of the House Ways and Means Committee to approve Gov. Holcomb’s budget request for land conservation, trails, and our state parks. Visit hecweb.org for details and learn how you can get involved.
Sam Carpenter
Executive director, Hoosier Environmental Council
Debt ceiling
The MAGA Republicans who control the House are threatening to make the U.S. default on its debts in order to sabotage the Biden administration. They would rather see the country get reduced to shambles than allow Biden to achieve any degree of success.
They're willing to tank the entire global economy to make it easier for Donald Trump or Ron DeSantis to get elected president in 2024. They're hoping ordinary Americans will be ignorant enough to blame Biden for the default —rather than the MAGA Republicans who actually caused the default in the first place.
But Americans won't be fooled. They'll call their representatives to demand a clean, unconditional debt ceiling increase, and in 2024 they'll vote out any MAGA Republicans who voted for default, and deliver a healthy Democratic trifecta so that there will never be any more games of chicken with the debt ceiling ever again.
There will be a price to pay for MAGA's sabotage of a functioning United States. And Republicans will learn that price sooner rather than later.
Chris Tidmarsh
South Bend
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Letter writers on debt ceiling, funding IRS, support for Indiana parks
