Readers Write: Federal deficit, Minneapolis City Council, St. Paul's gems

Opinion editor's note: Star Tribune Opinion publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here . ••• Federal government borrowing continues to grow to unprecedented levels, and no one seems to care ( "Fix U.S. budget for short, long term," editorial, Jan.

12). We all are simply shrugging our shoulders, apparently waiting for it to become a crisis, and then maybe doing something about it. I am not an economist, only a certified public accountant who has been trained to deal with numbers as he sees them. I understand these numbers are so high now that they are almost incomprehensible to a normal human being, but they are becoming dangerously high.

We can't wait until investors no longer want U.S. Treasury bonds or expect much higher interest rates because U.S. bonds are no longer considered "risk free." It will be too late. We, as citizens, must support significantly reducing (eliminating?) federal deficits. "Deficit" is a fancy word for spending more than we can pay for and there are only two ways to reduce deficits: increasing revenue and/or decreasing spending.

Other approaches are at best wishful thinking or at worst misleading. Please take some time to think about this and become a force for change. There is too much at risk not to. Joseph D. Kenyon, Plymouth ••• Getting the attention of the general public regarding the enactment of a short term federal budget bill is not difficult when failure to do so can result in a government shutdown that has many negative and visible repercussions.

But as the recent Star Tribune editorial points out, the impact of not dealing with the longer term national debt presents myriad concerns that if ignored will provide a "pay me now or pay me later" scenario for the future that will only get worse the longer a solution is kicked down the road.

Cited are two important bills that deal directly with a potential solution to address a combination of additional revenue increases and spending cuts as part of a commission for this much needed fiscal reform. Both the Fiscal Stability Act in the Senate, with nine cosponsors, and the Fiscal Commission Act in the House, with 22 cosponsors, offer a similar mechanism to provide a balanced mechanism to develop a longer term for the federal deficit.

Currently there are no Minnesota senators signed on as cosponsors and only one Minnesota representative, Dean Phillips, signed on the House bill. This is a good time to show bipartisan support by our elected congressional delegation to lend their support for these bills. Jeffrey Peterson, Minneapolis Well, in the first meeting of the new Minneapolis City Council, members spent time debating an issue that has nothing to do with local government and let the meeting dissolve into chaos.

The new St. Paul City Council, by contrast, discussed housing, transportation infrastructure and public safety. Having lived in Minneapolis and worked for both cities, this seems par for the course. I'm sure the Star Tribune will find it much more fun to cover the Minneapolis council meetings. Getting local things done for the people who elected you is just so unexciting.

Michael Robertson, Stillwater ••• The Minneapolis City Council is being pressured into making a statement about the Israel Hamas war. There should really be nothing polarizing or controversial about condemning the coldblooded murder of over 1,200 Israelis and the resulting ongoing savagery being perpetrated against the Palestinians in Gaza with reportedly 1 in 100 civilians killed to date (think about this number for a minute in the context of your neighborhood).

However, I don't believe these kind of statements belong to city councils, whose mandate is to address far more immediate local concerns affecting their constituents rather than delve into international matters that have no impact on the homeless person in the street or the hungry child in a school district.

There are far more effective venues for expressing the justified outrage over the current situation, but city councils are not it. Walid Maalouli, Eagan ••• Several letter writers (including one City Council member, LaTrisha Vetaw, in "On Gaza, council out of its lane, meeting out of control" ) have complained that the council should not be considering a resolution for a cease fire in the Middle East.

They cite two reasons: that it will take time away from their municipal duties and that council has no power over ending that faraway bloodshed. I disagree. If they are worried about distractions from more local duties, then opponents should stop delaying the resolution consideration. The bigger question is about local influence on foreign policy.

Since Israel's founding, the U.S. has sent it around $130 billion in military aid, only rarely taking any role in mediating a peaceful settlement. Now the heinous attacks of Oct. 7 and the ensuing genocide in Gaza have created a humanitarian disaster that threatens both Israelis and Palestinians.

It even begins to spread to a regional conflict that puts the entire world in danger. With President Joe Biden taking an "Israel, right or wrong" approach, how can we as citizens find an end to the slaughter? We have been writing letters, staging marches, sending resolutions from our congregations, even singing in a Ceasefire Choir in front of the governor's mansion and federal offices.

If a City Council resolution could save a single life or shorten the conflict by even one hour, wouldn't it be worth it? The U.S. had a shameful record of turning away Jewish refugees during the Nazi Holocaust. Let us now also use our council voices to end the bloodshed instead of merely funding more death.

Charles Underwood, Minneapolis ••• As an Israeli American woman, I'm horrified by what's happening in Gaza and feel bad for the people. I'm prompted to write in reaction to the recent Minneapolis City Council meeting. It's wrong and upsetting how the world minimizes and overlooks the horror of sexual violence by Hamas inflicted on Israeli women on Oct.

7. Most don't know the horrific details of rape, mutilation and killing, while the Hamas men were partying, singing and dancing. Film recordings of the events, filmed by the perpetrators, are now circulating among communities here on the U.S. Israeli women (and others) are traumatized for the next generation, wondering when the next attack will happen.

Dorit Miles, Minnetonka It's a great delight to see the "Eye on St. Paul" columns. Many thanks to Jim Walsh for entertaining and enlightening us on people and places that we might not have known about. In recent months, I've read about the owner of Cecil's Deli , the changes to the sunken gardens at Como Park to make them more accessible to those with mobility issues, the founder of the Sahan Journal , the owner of Sweet Martha's Cookies , and now the Vikings and Goddesses bakery owners ( "Baker couple open a pastry walk up window," Jan.

11). The interviews with the subjects of these columns provide such insight into the lives of these folks who give this area of the world its vibrancy. Nicely done! Katie McCurry, St. Paul.