Dear Editor:

As Argentina’s new government administration moves to reverse a debilitating history of progressive socialism by means of populist policy changes, could America be headed in the opposite direction? Growing revelations of foreign exploitation of our open society demand as much voter attention to global strategic concerns as the usual personal pocketbook issues.

We cannot naively ignore Chinese efforts to corrupt our leadership – or the efforts of that leadership to remain in power by “buying” votes from targeted special interests, such as initiatives to forgive student loans and commute prison sentences. Condoning lawlessness, drug purveyors, and fiscal laxity are also signs of an administration desperate to remain in office to the detriment of general public well-being and contentment.

A few elected officials have monitored the lack of budget discipline that has spurred federal indebtedness to $34-trillion. The 2023 budget is said to have included up to $900 billion that could be categorized as non-essentially “wasteful.” The inherent underlying assumption seems to be that the taxpayer pocketbook is so large and dispersed that a collection of small items will go unnoticed in the annual grab-bag. As with some bloated corporations, voters need to consider cost-cutting their way to improved prosperity. Will our 2024 election prove to be as decisive a course correction as Argentina’s?

Phil Osifer