Opinion: No more pushing tax cuts for the rich, Mr President. It’s time to save Puerto Rico

To the editor: In recent days, President Trump has been spending more time thinking about how wealthy people like him can pay less in federal taxes than he has about helping our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico. (“So many storms: After Harvey and Irma, can a thinly stretched FEMA come through for Puerto Rico?” Sept. 27)

As commander in chief, the president is finally the person he said he was during the campaign: the only person who can help the 3.4 million Americans who are in dire need. Individually, each of us can only do so much, but the president of the United States can send Navy vessels filled with supplies of all sorts (as suggested by Hillary Clinton). The tragic and preventable deaths of fellow citizens in hospitals that ran out fuel for their generators are unacceptable.

The president must stop thinking about how much money he can save on his tax returns, which we the people will never see, and start focusing intensely on the welfare of our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico.

Send more help, Mr. President. Do it now.

Sarah Turitto, Cardiff

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To the editor: Imagine if the tweets that came from Trump regarding the disaster in Puerto Rico (our 51st state, effectively) were completely the opposite of what he actually wrote.

Imagine if those tweets spoke with a measure of excitement and enthusiasm for the possibilities that this disaster affords us to completely rebuild this island-state from the ground up.

Imagine if those tweets spoke of the immediate relief required to rescue our fellow Americans from further tragedy to be followed by a smart ground-up rebuilding of the island’s superstructure

Imagine if those tweets contained a statement of the obvious, right up front, that said something like, “We all know this will be expensive, but we obviously are committing the funds necessary.”

What a wonderful world this could be.

Matt Cohen, Santa Monica

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