Letters to the editor

Can't have cake and eat it, too On Aug. 1, President Trump announced the building of a 90,000 square foot ballroom at the White House. Funding would be donated by Trump and others. No tax dollars used. The timing of this announcement could not have been worse with the subsequent announced jobs report for June showing White House estimates completely wrong to the downside. Trump, in Trumpian fashion, went ballistic calling the numbers "rigged." Sorry Mr. President, you can't have your cake and eat it, too. During the four years of the Biden administration, the Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded the creation of over 1.84 million tax funded government jobs figured into the Bureau of Labor Statistics data. This amounts to over 38,000 jobs per month over the four years of the Biden economy. Nice monthly padding for the administration. Trump on the other hand, has been eliminating government jobs at a record pace, trying to save taxpayer dollars. Trump has fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but whoever he chooses as a replacement will be in the same downside statistical data. The only answer to get a true recording of accurate private sector jobs numbers is to remove government hirings from the monthly statistics. This would give the Federal Reserve more accurate data on the health of the national economy and speed Trump's desire for lower interest rates. There is a two-edged sword to Trump's desire for lower interest rates. On the one hand he says that he wants lower interest rates so more Americans can afford a home. If the Federal Reserve lowers interest rates, it would take months for the rates to filter down to regional banks for consumers. Lowering the Fed rate initially helps banks loan funds to one another. The other side of the sword is with the Fed not lowering rates, this guarantees that Trump will oversee for the first time the interest paid on our national debt will exceed 1 trillion dollars in 2026. Something is going to give and it's not good. Craig NicholsFindlay