EDITOR:

I have been noticing how words change meaning depending on which political party is throwing them about. A biggie is deficit. When (R) party needs to give their donors a huge tax break, an increase in the deficit means nothing or maybe even means a good thing. When the (D) party wants to do a stimulus to the economy, it is a terrible thing to increase the deficit. After all, our grandkids will have to pay it back. Our grandkids? Yeah, the ones who are going hungry right now, are home schooling right now, and who are being socially deprived right now. We are supposed to believe that “our grandkids” can absorb all of this in lieu of one day having to face the increase in the deficit. Wow!

Well, here comes a personal observation. The kids I have talked with — both my grandkids and great-grandkids — prefer regular meals, going to school and soon being able to return to playing with their friends. That would be right now and with no consideration to a “boogeyman” of a someday in the future deficit payback. In any case, however, we have a consumer-driven economy. That means the more you put in at the bottom, the more our economy grows, and as it grows, the deficit come down on its own. Hmmm! I may have just told you something in plain English that you were not supposed to find out. Too bad.

I am so tired of politicians who depend on big-money donors doing favors for those same big-money donors in order to keep the money flowing to all of them, while you and I are supposed to tough it out a bit longer “until things get better.” As soon as dollars are put in at the bottom, things will start getting better for us and for the economy.

So let your politician know that you want the stimulus package now and the bigger the better. The homespun-talking governor of West Virginia, who is a real conservative Republican, says you cannot go too big but you can go too small. Yup, old Gov. Jim Justice of West Virginia said that. Conservative Republican Gov. Jim Justice. How about that?

Now I have said it, too. Not to blow my own whistle, but a whole bunch of you agree with me. You have told me so.

So think it over while you dial your two senators and your one U.S. representative and tell them to get off their collective sit-downs and get this thing done now so “the old days” come roaring back in style.

You know you want that. I do, too.

Donald Lison

Florence, Wis.