Seniors’ taxes eased by senior tax freeze, and other reader letters

Senior tax freeze is working

I have read recent letters from people complaining about escalating property taxes and the impact on the elderly.

In Tarrant County at age 65, you can file a simple form with the tax assessor’s office and your property taxes will be frozen at that level.

I did this four years ago and despite appreciating value of my home my taxes have been unchanged.

All senior citizens who own the homes should look into this benefit.

—Charles Andrews,

Fort Worth

Pay in ratio to importance

Just saw a news piece regarding a pro basketball player who will be paid $30 million in the coming year although he won’t really have to play due to contract reasons!

When is the public going to get their head around value for sports versus compensation for teachers, firemen, police and nurses?

We can do better.

—Lee S. Anderson,

Fort Worth

Foreign aid is good for the U.S.

The average American thinks 25 percent of our annual spending in the U.S. goes to foreign aid.

In reality, only 1 percent goes to foreign aid.

And President Trump’s administration has made a 33 percent cut since last year. This is not funding we can afford to cut.

Foreign aid helps nations grow and develop; USAID helped the percentage of people living in extreme poverty to fall to 10 percent in 2015.

Americans have been benefiting from foreign aid, too. Forty-three of the 50 top consumers of American agriculture products today were once foreign aid recipients.

USAID is an investment in an economy so they can grow and interact with ours. If we cut USAID, we cut our economic growth.

It isn’t just a moral responsibility; it is an economic responsibility.

—Anna Zagorski,

Irving

VFW wrong to boo the press

Members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) were doing Trump’s bidding by booing and verbally attacking members of the press at a recent rally.

Did they forget about the Constitution that they swore to defend?

Thanks to VFW leadership for disavowing this behavior.

—Walter Slaven,

Arlington

Tariff bailouts? What next?

While Trump singlehandedly declares tariffs on this, that and the other in the name of national security, driving up farm prices to the point where no one will buy the farmer’s soybeans, pork and dairy products, he now declares a $12 billion aid to farmers that are caught in his ctrade war.

So we citizens get to pay twice; once for the incoming retaliatory cost of foreign goods and to the farmers because of Trump’s tariffs.

Add to this the House pushing to make individual tax cuts permanent.

There doesn’t seem to be any accounting for who is to pay for the $1.5 trillion in tax cuts already signed into law by Trump. Now, we must pay for the hardship he has caused the farmers.

When is someone going to step up and say this is enough?

—Melvin Bourn,

Fort Worth

Why not help those separated?

Wait a minute!

If there’s $12 billion to throw around, why not consider uses other than trying to satisfy farmers who are dealing with tariff suffering?

What about using some of the billions to work on uniting families separated by unthought-out policies?

—Anne M. Sanders,

Fort Worth