Trump's damage will take a generation to repair, but deaths can't be undone
The damage Donald Trump has done to our 'Experiment in Democracy' will take a generation to repair. The damage he has inflicted on the health of Americans and people worldwide is criminal. In his first term, he politicized COVID. This extended the pandemic, leading to more deaths.
The indiscriminate cuts to staff and funding of federal agencies and universities will hinder research on cancer cures, vaccinations and will stop life-saving experimental treatments. The best scientists will not want to work in this country.
Canceling USAID, our most effective foreign aid, will be devastating. It will stop the children vaccinations in poor countries and treating epidemics worldwide before they can come to this country. It is unacceptable for pregnant women and children to contract preventable illness!
David Nachamie, MD, Lincolnton
For nine years, I served as a custody advocate with Council for Children's Rights (CFCR) — an organization that was a lifeline for vulnerable children and families in our courts. We conducted in-depth investigations: Are these children being abused? Are they eating? Are they being silenced?
CFCR is closing one of its most important departments. It is heartbreaking and shameful. This department provided some of the best legal support and advocacy regardless of income or status. We served every child as if they were our own. When judges had no answers, we found them.
Shame on us for not fighting harder. Shame on the silence that followed the tireless work of unpaid advocates who protected the voiceless. Who will take up this work and speak for these children? When we let this department fall, we abandoned those who needed us most.
Melanie Dunston, Charlotte
North Carolina just got left in the solar dust. With the U.S. House's budget scrapping clean energy tax credits, we're waving goodbye to billions in investment and thousands of good paying jobs. N.C. was building a reputation as a clean energy powerhouse. Now, we risk becoming the Blockbuster Video of energy innovation.
This isn't just bad policy — it's economic self-sabotage. Farmers leasing land for solar, techs installing panels and engineers building wind grids all stand to lose. The planet doesn't get a do-over. Let's not pull the plug on progress. We need a budget that backs clean energy. The Big Beautiful Bill is only Big. Lost NC jobs and investments are not beautiful — neither is a dirtier climate.
Jane Taylor, Charlotte
The U.S. credit rating for its mounting debt got lowered while the president and the Republican Party push for reduced tax rates for the wealthiest Americans. Only in America!
Tom Bowers, Charlotte
Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) deserves praise for its flawless execution of free spectator transportation from its I-485/Sharon Rd station to the PGA Championship. My experience to and from Quail Hollow was short wait times, very clean transportation and friendly staff. Thank you to CATS staff and leadership who made this service seamless and pleasant.
Mark Doby, Salisbury
Trump's trade games create less security for businesses and citizens. Trump calls his 'Art of the deal' trade negotiations 'brilliant,' but the brilliance of our economy is in question with his whiplash approach. Listening to small to mid-size business owners and CEOs, it sounds like they are having huge problems pricing products and communicating with customers about pricing. This can lead to far less profit, layoffs, and even bankruptcies.
Just not knowing if a tariff is off or on makes planning difficult. Customers of all kinds of business to business products and business to consumer products are stocking up ahead of tariffs or keeping their powder dry until they can see a way ahead that has certainty. This is a system of capitalism, and it seems Trump is unaware of the pain his whiplash approach is inflicting.
Katherine Nelson, Rock Hill
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