LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
Dear Sir:
In the June 10 issue of your paper, you published the letter of a seemingly very bitter Alabama man who claims Holly Springs heritage. I am writing in response to that letter. The reason for his letter is stated to be Mississippi's discontinuance of the $300 per week federal unemployment benefit; but a lot more than that $300 benefit seemed to be bothering him.
The first complaint seems to be his perception of an unholy alliance between our Governor and former President Trump. Without commenting on the character or competence of the former president, I think it should be mentioned that the $300 benefit our letterwriter doesn't want to lose was authorized by legislation proposed by the Trump administration. The letter then raises the issue of white nationalism. White nationalism is an interesting term, but seldom defined. The letter later mentions the Klan, but Klan membership has withered down to the point of practical insignificance.
So who are white nationalists? If one digs deeply into leftist ideology, one is likely to find that "white nationalist" is just one of many pejorative terms used to describe the "bitter clingers" who oppose abortion, the celebration of certain sexual acts and lifestyles, left-wing politics, and the balkanization of America; and who don't want to give up their guns and throw out their bibles. The reason the term "white nationalist" is preferred is because if they listed the characteristics behind the term, they would have to include an awful lot of non-white people in their category of deplorables.
Another complaint involved allowing Covid to kill people by the early lifting of restrictions. Anyone who believes this should compare the Covid experience of Florida with that of New York.
Finally, I wish to visit the $300 unemployment benefit that provided our letter writer with the hook on which to hang his complaints. The program is scheduled to end for everyone in September. Why would Mississippi (and 21 other states) want to end it early? The country needs to get back on its feet. An economy runs on labor. The money supply is supposed to depend on how much wealth is being created by hardworking Americans. Borrowing money or, even worse, printing money to replace that labor is a recipe for economic disaster. The continuation of the $300 unemployment benefit when employers cannot find workers is unconscionable. Let us say that you made $26,000 per year before Covid. Your unemployment benefits total $27,820 per year. Would you go back to work? I wouldn't. I'm a conservative; I'm not stupid. Why should my tax money pay for someone else to stay at home, when I can join him there at no cost to me?
Very truly yours,
J.R. Dunworth
Holly Springs