Letters to the Editor: The gun rights advocates got it wrong in Ionia

The gun rights advocates are at it once again. They believe that their rights are being infringed. And, once again, they could not be more wrong. About a hundred supporters showed up at a farm outside of Ionia on Wednesday saying that their right to own firearms is being infringed by state and federal government.

Among the speakers was Kyle Rittenhouse, who killed two protesters in Wisconsin a few years ago. Rittenhouse, from Illinois, criticized Michigan's recent gun laws that were passed. Rittenhouse stated that "Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and her anti-freedom cohorts are hellbent on shredding Second Amendment rights for law-abiding Michiganders." If a person is truly "law-abiding," they will most certainly pass a background check, and therefore, be allowed to legally purchase a firearm. Where is the infringement?

Jim Jeziorowski

Wayne

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Support U.S. spending on international priorities

The United States’ federal budget is often a point of contention and debate on whether or not the U.S. is using it properly to help with the betterment of this country and our citizens. Debate has also arisen examining how the U.S. Congress could cut some of its spending, and some of these cuts that have been announced for the next fiscal year could have disastrous consequences for the U.S.

One part of the budget that is at risk of being cut is the International Affairs Budget. This budget accounts for less than 1% of the overall federal budget, and is used to bring stability to fragile or conflict-affected populations, deal with environmental issues and natural disasters, helps implement agricultural programs to prevent hunger, broadly promotes American national security efforts and aids in fighting infectious disease. As global poverty and malnutrition rates drop, emerging markets are created for U.S. companies to reach and trade with. Today, 45% of all U.S. exports now go to developing countries. These programs also protect our national security by fighting terrorism and preventing conflicts. U.S. job creation and national security are all linked to the plight of the world's poor. However, work remains, especially as 265 million people globally were at risk of starvation due to the negative impacts of COVID-19 and increased global crises in 2022.

As a Borgen Project ambassador, I have contacted my congressional leaders to help protect this integral part of the U.S. budget, as it will further global poverty reduction efforts, protect global health initiatives, boost U.S. job creation and advance our national security interests, and I hope that you will as well.

Nicholas Maccani

Livonia

If I'd have known about Michigan property taxes, I wouldn't have built here

Buying or selling a property in Michigan can be a costly endeavor. If you plan on buying or building a house in Michigan, be forewarned that your property taxes may either double or triple from what you are currently paying on your existing home. That is because when you buy a property in Michigan, taxes become “uncapped” when property changes owners.

So, what this could mean is that if you buy a new home, you could pay almost double what your neighbor is paying, for the same house next door. If you buy a smaller home than what you had before, you could be paying the same tax amount on that smaller home, based on current values.

This is all thanks to Proposal A from 1994, by then Gov. John Engler and the House GOP. It was a tax proposal put on the ballot for voters to decide between the worst of two evils. Google it. It also raised our sales tax from 4% to 6% and made you pay a transfer tax when selling a property in Michigan. This might have been fine when the average home in Michigan was selling for around $100,000, but now homes sell for four to five times as much.

I think our lawmakers should investigate adjusting our property tax assessment in Michigan if they want to attract and retain young job seekers. Had I known about this tax assessment practice in Michigan, I would have built elsewhere. When you give tax breaks to the rich, you must make up for it in other areas.

Kevin Duke

Bruce, Mich.

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In auto insurance, you pay for what you get

When it comes to Michigan auto no-fault insurance, "cheapest" definitely does not mean "best." In light of your article, "Michigan no-fault auto insurance: How to pick the cheapest options," (Detroit Free Press, July 20) I wanted to offer a few words of advice and caution for drivers. The best strategy for getting the best car insurance to protect you and your family at an affordable price is to comparison shop. Every year, talk to an independent agent and get quotes from multiple insurers. Remember that "cheap" auto insurance is going to be cheap for a reason. You may be paying less, but you’re also abandoning protections you will desperately need if you are ever seriously injured in a car crash. Saving $30 or $300 dollars should not be at the expense of exhausting all of your personal savings and assets and being forced to one day declare bankruptcy due to crushing medical debts.

Steven Gursten

Ferndale

To the "my vote doesn't matter" Americans

According to a recent poll I read about, many Americans are pessimistic about democracy. As I see it, the biggest threat to democracy is not the rise of the MAGA Republicans, it is the apathetic voter.

In a study by the Pew Research Center, the U.S. ranks 31st in the world comparing voter turnout among the voting age population. Voter turnout in the U.S. is much lower than in other countries, hovering around 60% in presidential elections and 40% in midterm election years. While there are still bitter feelings about the 2020 election, it is the 2016 election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton that proved more consequential to where we are today. Did you vote in 2016? Are you one of the many who thought Hillary had it won and didn’t bother coming out to vote? Were you one of many Bernie Sanders supporters who felt bitter that Hillary Clinton won the Democratic nomination? Was that enough to make you stay at home on election day? The drop-off for Hillary in Detroit alone compared to Obama gave the state to Trump in 2016.

Recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions overturned Roe vs. Wade, weakened the powers of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and undid affirmative action of college admissions. Voting rights have been challenged everywhere. Affordable health care, childcare and access to higher education will remain out of reach for many Americans.

There’s much more than I can expand on here but basically with the election of Trump, America took about a 60-year step backward in time. We will have to live with the decisions of this Supreme Court for a long time.

Aside from that, however, the popular vote within each state decides who that state will go to. I’ve heard it said we don’t get the government we need; we get the government we deserve. Well, here’s a shout out to you, low-information, apathetic voters. We are not in this mess because of rise of the MAGA Republicans, we are here because so many more Americans are willing to let democracy slip through their fingers.

Eddie Dee

Novi, Mich

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Letters: Readers on Michigan gun rights, property tax, no-fault reform