Israel-Iran Conflict: Can it End Well?

The blank page I face contains a hidden minefield. Any misstep and I will lose a limb and possibly my life; that’s a hyperbolic metaphor. As a Jewish person intending to write about the Middle East, though, that’s how I feel. When I describe myself as Jewish, I acknowledge the trope I’ve heard since childhood (not dissimilar to “the talk” black parents have with their children about how to behave with police): “It doesn’t matter that you call yourself American, that you don’t go to synagogue, even if you’re an atheist. When they knock on your door, you’re Jewish.” They mean the Gestapo or the KKK, or an anti-Semite toting a gun.

Before even mentioning the atrocities committed by Hamas on Israelis on October 7, 2023, I must condemn Israel for their treatment of Palestinians both before October 7 and since. While Palestinians affiliated with Hamas and other terrorist groups committed war crimes that day, Israelis have committed war crimes on a far greater scale since then. 

I won’t discuss or assign where most of the blame may lie on either side in this conflict that has been going on since long before the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. There are many books that do that, some biased toward one side, some the other, and some perhaps objective. You should seek out all three kinds to understand “where people are coming from” and why they have never been able to come to a permanent solution to how to live together in peace.

Today, I write to comment on Israel’s current battle with Iran. But first, caveats and disclosures.

For most, my last name already identifies me as Jewish. I was raised in a “Reform” (liberal) Jewish family, parents 2nd generation Americans whose parents, my grandparents, had all immigrated from Eastern Europe in the late 1800’s. I’m the only one of 4 siblings who does not practice the Jewish religion and am married to someone raised Christian. I have an older brother who lives in Jerusalem and has children and grandchildren all over Israel (where he works on joint Jewish/Arab community projects). Another brother’s wife has relatives in Israel. I have visited Israel a few times.

I am disgusted with the Israeli government because of the corruption of its leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, who in order to hold on to power as Prime Minister, has allied himself to the most odious right-wing warmongers who promote the view that Israel has the right to occupy, if not annex, all the disputed lands “between the river and the sea,” a phrase that refers to all the land that Palestinians nominally control in the West Bank, plus Gaza and the territorial boundaries of Israel. I am disgusted with the behavior of the Israeli army. I thought they went out of their way to act humanely in battle in the past. Now they seem to kill indiscriminately, only give lip service to investigations, withhold food or make it too dangerous to get the aid. In the West Bank, soldiers act as a protection force for Israeli squatters (settlers) and watch passively when settlers bully, harass and try to drive out local Arabs. 

But one must also acknowledge the role of Iran in bringing us to this point today. There would probably not have been an October 7 without Iran’s support for Hamas (with complicity from Qatar and Netanyahu, who let Qatar funnel millions to Gaza, to prevent the Palestinian Authority, which recognizes Israel, from getting stronger it has been reported). Much as I despise Netanyahu, I understand his goal to neutralize Iran’s nuclear threat and weaken or destroy its other proxy militias like Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. 

Don’t get me started on Trump. He is such a wild card and loose cannon who acts impulsively and chaotically, that I find it nearly impossible to imagine there can be a positive outcome to any global undertaking he is involved in. There was a perhaps imperfect program to monitor and stifle any Iranian nuclear ambitions when Trump took office in 2017 that he pulled out of. Since then, Iran enriched enough uranium to levels approaching what’s needed for up to eight bombs according to experts, despite continuing to claim they have no ambition to build one. 

Trump started negotiations to reinstitute an agreement with Iran on the nuclear issue recently, but he demands that Iran depend on other countries to provide enriched uranium for power plant and medical uses. Iran says the ability to enrich for peaceful means is a country’s right. As it became clear to Trump at the end of a 60 day time limit he’d previously set for Iran to agree to his terms, in my opinion, he green lighted this attack on Iran by Netanyahu in the indirect way he does, to paraphrase, “seems like they don’t want to give up their enrichment program. It would be a shame if someone attacked and destroyed most of it.” Plausible deniability. Just a coincidence that he pulled diplomats out of Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries just before the attack. It’s been reported he nixed the targeting of Supreme Leader Khamenei. If that’s true, he obviously knew about the attack and had some control beforehand. The latest news as I write, is that he’s saying “We have complete control of the skies over Tehran,” the words of a man who is “in the fight.”

Israel’s attacks will not end Iran’s nuclear program without American “bunker buster” bombs or a ground operation to destroy an underground enrichment facility. Even if Trump would provide the 30,000 lb. bombs, what is to stop Iran from starting from scratch and be close to having a bomb in a few years? After being humbled in these attacks, lacking the backing of Hamas and Hezbollah, who have been seriously weakened by recent Israeli military actions, and having had their air defenses destroyed, will Iran sit down to negotiate a permanent solution to get out from under international sanctions? Essentially, will they stop calling for and working toward the total destruction of Israel?

If the answer is yes, much as I hate to admit it, I would have to credit Netanyahu and Trump. If the answer is no, will this become another grinding war? Will Russia, China, and/or North Korea come to Iran’s aid and bring us to the brink of another World War? Contemplate that.

Paul Epstein is a retired teacher and musician living in Charleston. 

Reclaiming Patriotism

I came of age in the 1960’s, a time of turmoil in the United States (looking back at age 73, I wonder if we are always in turmoil). Civil Rights protests gave way to protests against the Vietnam War. No one questioned the righteousness of our role in WWII, when we helped rid the world of murderous fascist regimes in Germany, Italy, and Japan intent on using their militaries to dominate the rest of the world and enforce their authoritarian regimes on the rest of us. The Korean War had been fought to a standstill leaving an uneasy truce with a North Korea supported by a nuclear armed China. The Soviet Union, our ally in WWII with Russia at its heart, had ambitions to expand its authoritarian Communist principles into the rest of the world and was countered by NATO in a “Cold War” to protect young European democracies and encourage countries in the “third world” to align with democratic values and international rules to prevent another World War, one which might possibly end human domination through the use of nuclear weapons.

But South Vietnam seemed a small, inconsequential country with corrupt leadership and perhaps not worth defending with the full might of our military against a determined anti-colonialist guerrilla army fighting a war for independence, intent on expelling foreign control. President Johnson, who had finally been convinced to support voting rights and integrated schools throughout the South, lost his credibility over his escalations of bombing campaigns and an increasingly unpopular draft that excluded those who could afford to stay in college and maintain a deferral, leading to increasing numbers of deaths and loss of limbs to African American and poorer white recruits from places like West Virginia.

In this climate, many in the WWII generation saw the young protesters and “free love” generation experimenting with drugs and questioning war and inequality as “unpatriotic,” and proclaimed, “America: Love it or Leave It!” 

We did love America, but not what our government was doing to the most vulnerable of us at home and in the rest of the world. And this is one way the Republican Party eventually stole the mantle of patriotism from Democrats. 

Manipulating language is an authoritarian method of manipulating minds. Dictators and their enablers take control of media and try to convince the people that “War is Peace,” “Freedom is Slavery,” “Ignorance is Strength,” in the words of dystopian author George Orwell in the book, “1984.” Donald Trump grew up in this same world, but growing up in wealth and privilege he took the other side. And he has become a propagandist intent on making the language of equality, justice, and opportunity, in effect, democracy, the enemy.

He and the enablers he has installed following the plan in Project 2025 have made democratic ideals like diversity, equity, inclusion, due process, liberal democracy, environmentalism, worker safety, immigration and asylum, scientific and medical research, etc. into “dirty words.” 

It is time that we reclaimed our democratic ideals and our language. The courts are questioning the war against these words and insisting that the Trump administration produce facts and evidence to justify their actions, not hollow accusations. Authoritarian regimes attempt to make people fear standing up for what is good and right and true. It is time we did. I often wear a t-shirt saying “Woke and Proud” that explains that woke basically means to behave with empathy and respect to defend ALL people’s rights. Strangers come up to me to tell me they appreciate the sentiment. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are American values that describe ideals that make our country great. Our government was created to be of the people, by the people, and for the people, not ruled by billionaires for the benefit of billionaires, yet that is what we currently have.

Our government should be working for the greatest number of us, it should be working to make our lives better, to meet those needs that despite our hard work and our best efforts, we cannot secure on our own. We must demand these things in courts, in the media, in elections, and in the streets if necessary. It is time for us to take back our language and our government so that our government and our language work for us. This is patriotism and what makes America great: insisting that our country be the best it can be.

Paul Epstein is a retired teacher and musician living in Charleston

 

Now is the Time for Action!

 Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. People who grew up, as I did, in an age of typewriters (google a video if you need to), will remember that phrase as the most common practice sentence for ‘touch typing.’ Of course, an updated version would replace ‘men’ with ‘people’.

There are many ways we can step up to make a difference between now and the next election, and I encourage you not to limit yourself to the easiest ones. I will mention a few that come to mind, most of which I have done in the past, recently, or will do my best to dedicate some time to. As I come out of a near depression following Trump’s election in November exacerbated by the sheer incompetence and overreach of his governing. which are resulting in quickly sinking public approval, I have remembered how good it can make me feel to take action. Here are some of the ways you can make a difference.

Talk to friends, neighbors, co-workers, fellow members of churches, clubs, or the guy sitting next to you at the bar. Ask them how they’re feeling about the first months of Trump’s second term. If they think everything is great, don’t argue. If they have doubts, draw them out, be sympathetic. You don’t have to try to persuade them—it can take several interactions before they are ready to acknowledge what you see as obvious truth and facts.

Contact our Republican representatives in Congress. It’s easy to think they won’t follow our pleas for them to oppose harmful legislation or hold the administration accountable, but if enough of us do this often enough, they will begin to understand that they may face difficulties in the next election if they ignore their constituents. There’s a great app available, “5 Calls,”  that makes it easy, and I try to call every day. It just takes a few minutes and the app provides suggested points to make on various issues. Make sure to identify yourself as a constituent. If you’re Republican and/or voted for Trump, mention that!

Do you have more money than time? There are many ways to donate to make a difference, and if you’re like me and have made some donations you are probably on every candidate and non-profit’s mailing list now. It can be a real turn off. For orgs that my wife and I know are doing great work, we budget an annual donation and then refuse all requests for additional. Currently, I think that the courts are the most effective arena for stopping the worst actions of the Trump administration, so I am donating to a few organizations that are bringing lawsuits to stop the harm like ACLU, Democracy Forward, and State Democracy Defenders Action.

There are many advocacy organizations in West Virginia working on issues that may be  important to you. Volunteering for them (and/or donating) can end up impacting elections in our state because these organizations notify supporters about which candidates are best on their issues, sometimes buying ads and knocking on doors. 

Many of the Republican supermajority in the legislature have  modeled themselves after Donald Trump. They are ignoring norms and attacking or revoking support for programs and government agencies that provide essential services while rewarding their rich donors including corporations with tax cuts and other favors. Consider donating or volunteering for WV Citizens Action (for 50 years fighting for rights, public policy, democracy and the environment in WV), WV Rivers Coalition (protecting our land and waters), West Virginians for Affordable Health Care, Together for Public Schools WV (project of WV Center for Budget and Policy), Moms Demand Action WV (gun safety), WV Free (reproductive health and more), Fairness WV (LGBTQ+ protection), WV Black Voter Impact Initiative to name a few.

Don’t wait until a month before the 2026 election to consider volunteering to make calls, send texts, knock on doors, or help out a candidate or county party effort. It takes time to establish trust with voters suspicious of government who think “they’re all corrupt.” In WV we are small enough to get to know the candidates personally, and if you do, you can tell people what you know about the ones you support. Of course, if you’re passionate enough, consider running!

Finally, while protesting may not be your thing, when large numbers of people make their dissatisfaction known in public, it can become a big news story that brings others out who may otherwise be fearful of making their opinions known. A feeling of being part of a peaceful movement is a powerful force for change.

We are not likely to change our deep red state significantly in one election cycle. But if we make some gains, we can start a change that builds over time. Now is the time for all of us to come to the aid of our country! 

Paul Epstein is a retired teacher and musician living in Charleston

They Found Waste, Fraud, and Abuse: It's Them

 They Found the Waste, Fraud, and Abuse: It’s Them

Trump, Musk, and Congressional Republicans declare daily that federal government programs authorized and budgeted for agencies established by Congress and signed into law by US president are riddled with “waste, fraud, and abuse (of power).” Trump and Musk created a fake “Department of Government Efficiency,” (DOGE) to root it out. A real department must be authorized by law; DOGE is essentially an advisory council. 

If they were really interested in reducing the inevitable waste, fraud, and abuse that exists in systems involving millions of employees, contractors, and billions in grants, loans, and contracts administered and sometimes scammed by human beings, they would beef up the systems that were created by law to search out, end, and punish it. Democrats would work with them to do this, and it would be the lawful and efficient way of doing the job.

Instead, on Day 1 of his administration, Trump fired the Inspectors General of 18 agencies whose job it is to find and end that waste, who in previous years have indeed found and ended billions of dollars of wasteful and fraudulent spending, clawed much of it back, and referred investigations to the Justice Department. Trump’s actions seem more like a move designed to allow his appointees actually to commit the waste, fraud, and abuse of his choosing.

With encouragement from Musk, who is making X (formerly Twitter) into a banking service and Republicans who love to protect their rich banking friends, Trump’s new Treasury Secretary has shuttered the Consumer Fraud and Protection Department (CFPD). CFPD protects American consumers from predatory lenders, abusive credit card policies, and oversees banks to prevent them from cheating Americans. It’s saved Americans billions since being created in response to the 2008 financial crisis.

Trump (falsely) declared a national emergency at the southern border and sent thousands of troops who the NY Times reports are standing around doing not much since illegal border crossings had been slowing over the last year or so and migrant shelters are closing because they’re not needed.

He is trying to shut down USAID and all its activities were halted. Hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars of authorized, purchased, and shipped life saving food and medicines headed to the poorest countries in the world are sitting in ships and warehouses, expiring or rotting. If the next plague reaches our shores, we’ll know who to blame. Meanwhile tens of thousands will sicken and die in countries that will turn to Russia and China or terrorist groups like ISIS for the help we are refusing to offer.

To reinforce his false claims that undocumented migrants are violent criminals, he decided to fly many of them to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, probably the most wasteful and expensive prison in the world where all supplies need to be shipped or flown in and it costs $13 million per year per inmate to imprison a few accused terrorists detained in the early 2000s. 

He uses military aircraft to deport migrants because it looks tougher than sending them via charter or commercial airliners as Biden and previous administrations did. It’s estimated to cost at least 4 times as much using this method.

dThese are only a few of many egregious examples of the fraudulent claims, wasteful spending, and abuse of power Trump, Musk, and his Republican supporters in Congress are authorizing or allowing. Trump and Musk are, contrary to lawful methods, capriciously and maliciously laying off, placing on leave, and firing thousands of dedicated and hardworking public employees claiming waste, fraud and abuse without evidence. Many of these employees are still being being paid, but not allowed to continue their work researching cures for cancer, prosecuting dangerous criminals, protecting America’s interests around the world, and more.

If Trump, Musk, and Republicans actually want to see waste, fraud and abuse in government, they can look in the mirror.

Published in the Charleston Gazette-Mail 2/18/25

Jimmy Carter and DEI

The death of President Jimmy Carter gives us all a chance to reflect on the current moment as well as the accomplishments and decades of service of a president who faced tremendous challenges during his one term in office including high inflation and a hostage crisis. Both of those problems plagued Joe Biden as well and contributed to his loss of popularity resulting in a one term presidency.

Those of us who lived through the 1970s likely remember Carter’s response to the gas crisis brought on by an Arab oil embargo and, as he wore a sweater, his plea to Americans to keep the thermostat at 65ºF to reduce fuel consumption. He placed solar panels on the White House, in a demonstration of one way to make America energy independent. Even then, climate activists were warning about Global Warming, and while Carter didn’t make solving that a priority, an internal memo revealed his awareness that carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels was warming the planet and that continued burning of fossil fuels would one day become a danger to the planet.

He was much maligned for being unable to negotiate the release of the American embassy staff held hostage by Iranian students after the Iranian Revolution led to the formation of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Many Americans thought we should go to war and the popularity of a version of the Beach Boys hit song Barbara Ann with a revised refrain, “Bomb, bomb, bomb. Bomb bomb Iran” was an indication of the pressure he was under to DO something about it. When he called off a rescue attempt after a helicopter crash killing eight servicemen, he was mercilessly criticized as if he had been the mechanic responsible for its failure. Yet Carter continued negotiating until his last day in office and secured their release as Reagan took the oath of office. Was he ever given credit for the lives he saved by keeping us out of war? Similarly, Biden couldn’t live down the perception that 13 brave soldiers who died in a terrorist bomb during the Afghanistan withdrawal couldn’t counter the lives he saved by finally ending a war that had dragged on over 20 years killing almost 2500 Americans.

While his legacy is much broader than his years in the Presidency, Carter’s stance on the importance of upholding human rights for our allies as well as our adversaries during his presidency marked a significant change from the willingness of previous administrations to look the other way even when an ally perpetrated horrors on its own people. Carter believed that, as Reagan later said, America was a “shining city on the hill” and in order for the world to hold us in high esteem, we must model exemplary behavior at home and demand it of others.

He believed that civil rights for all Americans were paramount. When he was elected Governor of Georgia, he declared that “the time for discrimination is over. No poor, rural, weak or black person should ever have to bear the additional burden of being deprived of the opportunity of an education, a job or simple justice,” In forming the Carter Center, he took action in defense of the right of all people worldwide to fundamental freedoms and rights, monitoring elections, writing letters to and meeting with world leaders to plead the case of individuals and groups facing discrimination and human rights abuses and much more.

Which brings me to today and the demonization of a point of view and a program designed to make our country one that seeks to implement Martin Luther King and Jimmy Carter’s dream that Americans would be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. That point of view, which President-elect Trump and his cronies in the Republican party like Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida, have claimed is causing discrimination to white people and Christians, is called Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion or DEI. 

DeSantis and his Republican super majority in the Florida legislature have banned DEI in Florida schools, including colleges, and now major corporations including Walmart, Ford, and Lowe’s have decided to roll back or end their DEI initiatives apparently to stay on the right side of the incoming administration.

Stop and think for a minute about what it means to be against DEI. Diversity refers to efforts to ensure that people of all colors, religions, and genders are represented and respected. Before  diversity was allowed or encouraged in the American workplace, we had businesses and colleges of primarily White Christian men. Is that what we want to go back to? 

The opposite of equity is unfairness, lack of equality. People of color, gays, Muslims, Jews, Mormons and others were once unfairly discriminated against without recourse. Do these Republicans want us to go back to that? 

And if we lack inclusion, we allow exclusion: keep them out so we don’t have to think about treating them fairly once they’re here. I feel confident that Jimmy Carter believed, as do most Americans, that diversity is our strength, equity is our goal, and inclusion of all kinds is our responsibility. We’re not going back. Jimmy Carter, born to a peanut farmer in a majority black town in Georgia, believed in DEI and promoted it through the Carter Center. So must we.

(published in Charleston Gazette-Mail, Jan 3, 2025)

Dark Humor is the Best Medicine

Laughter is the best medicine goes the old saw. That’s right, one that’s too dull to cut, but when you try to cut a board with it, it’s likely to slip off and cut you. I’m not sure if the howl I let out when I heard the news that President-elect Trump plans to nominate Matt Gaetz (R-FL) as U.S. Attorney General of the U.S., the top law enforcement officer of the nation, was a howl of laughter or howl of pain. My wife rushed into the kitchen where I was cooking dinner to see if I was okay. I’m not. It was laughter, but this laughter is painful and I don’t know if it’s going to make me better. 

For the next four years, if I laugh at the antics of the clown car that Trump is installing, it will be a mixture of outrage and pain. Behind the shock, the insanity, the fundamental cruelty that underlies the story of the day, the actual results will be anything but funny for the people being maligned, prosecuted, rounded up to be detained or forced out of the country, going hungry, dying or being maimed for lack of necessary healthcare, losing their savings, losing their jobs, or any of the other possible harms we will face under an incompetent, malevolent federal leadership. 

Take everything that follows as an attempt at the blackest humor (according to dictionary.com: a form of humor that regards human suffering as absurd rather than pitiable, or that considers human existence as ironic and pointless but somehow comic).

Congressman Gaetz is such an amazing pick for that job because, of course, he’s been accused of sex-trafficking of a 17 year old girl and illicit drug use, and was subject to a Congressional Ethics Investigation for that and for accepting possibly illegal gifts. The report was set to be released Friday, and may have resulted in his expulsion from Congress, so Trump’s lifeline announcement allowed him to safely resign from his seat before the possible consequences could be enforced. Hilarious! Trump really stuck it to the libs! 

If only Jeffrey Epstein were still alive. He could have been pardoned and installed as special advisor to the President on women and children. Can you imagine the howls from the lame stream media on that? That would have been so awesome!

Speaking of awesome. How about Robert F. Kennedy for health czar? Finally someone who understands that the only thing better than being safe from deadly diseases is to experience those diseases for yourself and conquer them with your natural human vigor and strength instead of so-called lifesaving vaccines and medications. Think Darwin’s survival of the fittest. The problem with our modern world is that we allow too many weak individuals to survive. Disease should be given a fair shot at thinning the herd. In the words of one great thinker of the 20th century, “The state has the responsibility of declaring as unfit for reproductive purposes anyone who is obviously ill or genetically unsound ... and must carry through with this responsibility ruthlessly without respect to understanding or lack of understanding on the part of anyone”—Adolph Hitler, in “Mein Kampf,” 1925. See, he had a plan, kind of like the brilliant, forward thinking document “Project 2025.” 

What are the qualities of a great leader? If you’re thinking integrity, competence, character, honesty, collaboration and such, you are SO OLD SCHOOL (speaking of which, who needs school when you have AI and who needs money when you have Crypto!). 

A truly great leader must come across knowledgeable and suave on television. Central casting. Only the best looking (and the richest) qualify in the Trump administration because they are the ones most able to deliver the TRUTH to the American people. Oh, did I point out the meaning of truth? Yeah, words aren’t what they seem. As George Orwell points out in 1984, “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength….It's a beautiful thing, the destruction of words.” Such beautiful words to live by!

I could go on. And I will, some other day. Or maybe I won’t. Maybe I’ll build a bunker stocked for at least four years. Maybe I’d better make it 20, surely he won’t live longer than that.

Paul Epstein is a retired teacher and musician living in Charleston 

published in the 11/16/24 weekend edition of the Charleston Gazette-Mail

West Virginia's Economy/Politics Similar to Rural Germany's says Krugman

Generally, when West Virginia gets mentioned in a national news outlet, we grit our teeth and wait to see how negative the portrayal is. Then we shake our heads at how, once again, we’re not understood by the elites.

Many West Virginians probably feel that way about Paul Krugman’s opinion column in the New York Times entitled, “The Political Rage of Left-Behind Regions”, Sept 3, 2024. Krugman is a Nobel Prize winning economist, so agree or not, his opinions regarding the economy are worth considering.

He begins with recent local elections in Germany, in which a right-wing party, Alliance for Germany (AfD) did better than any right wing party in Germany since WWII, especially in Thuringia, a German state, which Krugman says resembles West Virginia economically. Politics are similar in that most voters support Donald Trump’s MAGA right wing politics. Krugman focuses his analysis on West Virginia, because it “epitomizes both the economic and political problems of left-behind regions.”

The stand out economic statistic Krugman highlights is the percentage of men not working. Lack of employment is also high for women, but jobs, Krugman contends, are for men a source of dignity; lacking a job when they feel they should be working can make them feel shame, which can then turn into “anger, a desire to blame someone else and lash out.”

Krugman, comparing WV to New Jersey, points out that a Trump/Vance talking point that immigrants are taking jobs from white men is not true. In West Virginia, the immigrant population is under 2% while in NJ it is almost 25% and lack of jobs among white men is far higher in WV than in NJ.

How does Krugman describe the causes? Simply put, the majority of good jobs are in high tech industries “that flourish in metropolitan areas with highly educated work forces.” Young people from WV and around the country who are qualified often leave here for those jobs or to work the service and construction jobs available in those places. 

What about those left behind who can’t find work here? The social safety net, such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, SNAP (food stamps) and other federal programs bring far more money into the state than is going out in federal taxes. These programs actually create some jobs. In addition to the federal government providing money for people to spend on food and services, “West Virginia may think of itself as a coal-mining state, but by the numbers it has long been more accurately described as a health care state, with much of its employment ultimately driven by those federal dollars.”

Trump and Republican claims that they support working people are belied by their failure to support legislation the Biden-Harris administration and Democrats passed to bring manufacturing and high-speed Internet to underserved communities like those in WV. The tariffs Trump is calling for (Kamala Harris calls them ‘the Trump sales tax’), would raise prices on goods, but most economists don’t believe they will bring manufacturing back to the USA. They didn’t during Trump’s first term. 

The irony is that, “the politicians (that) angry heartland voters support (Trump received twice as many votes in West Virginia in 2020)  oppose the very programs that aid these depressed areas….they channel this anger into support for politicians who will make their plight worse.”

Take it from a Nobel Prize winning economist, or from me, a retired public school teacher. If Donald Trump is elected president, his promises will not result in what Jim Justice falsely promised when he was elected Governor. West Virginia’s economy will not take off like a rocket ship.

Paul Epstein is a retired teacher and musician living in Charleston