Trump is merely paying lip service to health care

Donald Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Karoline Leavitt have been touting how their Make America Healthy Again movement will combat the health crisis affecting Americans, most specifically, American children.

At the same time, they push Congress to pass the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which will cut funding for health care and food assistance. I guess it costs less to put out a report that is nothing more than lip service than to actually fund access to programs that will benefit people. What is it going to take for people to realize what a heartless scam Trump is?

— Woody DeMayo, Los Altos

Republican Party will scheme to keep power

Gradually, our citizens are coming to see the dangers of the current administration. For example, the economic devastation that the proposed budget will wreak on millions, or the mass deportations of a law-abiding population.

The full reality of this may not have hit yet but it will, and when It does the only hope Republicans will have of retaining power is by corrupting our electoral process, our democracy. Republicans are thinking of ways to disenfranchise American citizens, writing laws and setting in motion those steps that will allow them to claim victory at the polls. In its desire to win, the Republican Party is now necessarily and unavoidably committed to destruction of democracy.

— Don Barnby, Menlo Park

High-speed rail is too far along to quit

Re: “Trump blasts rail project” (May 7).

I agree with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s response to the Donald Trump quote. The project is too far along for it to be abandoned.

The Central Valley link should be completed. After all, the San Francisco to San Jose link is electrified and showing improved ridership. Let us see if the completion of this link can begin to recover some of the money spent. Perhaps if the Trump family could profit off the project, the president might not cut off the funding.

— Gerald Veiluva, Oakland

Proposed changes strip parking safeguards

East Palo Alto has always valued community input in shaping policies that affect our daily lives. Unfortunately, recent changes to the proposed Residential Parking Permit program threaten that tradition. The original program ensured fairness by providing one free permit per household and requiring 67% neighborhood support before implementation. The revised version removes both protections, introducing new fees and eliminating the need for community approval.

This approach places financial burden on working families and ignores the voices of the residents the program claims to serve. We need a parking program that reflects our city’s values: equity, transparency and local input. The City Council must do better.

— Ravneel Chaudhary East Palo Alto

Responsible nations set spending priorities

Re: “Affordability isn’t the only policy question” (May 21).

If affordability isn’t the only policy question, it is the most urgent. The U.S. is in deep trouble because affordability has been underconsidered. Marcia Farriss’s example of $45 million for a military parade is just one illustration of boondoggles that siphon funds from essential priorities.

“Can we afford not to do it?” has been oversubscribed in welfare, health care, education, military, government efficiency and climate change. Each essential area can stand measured funding cuts with small loss of efficacy.

There are always worthwhile and popular things on which to spend public money, while every wasteful project has a vocal constituency. Costs of reduced expenditure is speculative and politically charged, while the cost of unchecked spending is real and growing. The most existential problem we face is the federal budget deficit. Continuing to ignore affordability risks lack of resources for future needs.

— Fred Gutmann, Cupertino