Like many Americans, I’m troubled by Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s decision to lay off thousands of government workers.
Not only does this hurt our economy by sending a large portion of our workforce into unemployment, the lost government jobs weaken our ability to check and balance the divisions of power within our republic.
But as we know, with every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction.
I believe every time Department of Government Efficiency fires federal workers, Democratic politicians should then respond by finding ways to hire laid-off federal workers into positions within their organizations — whether it’s paid administrative work within their government or paid work preparing for the midterm elections. I have no doubt that those fired by DOGE’s negligence can use their skills from their previous jobs to help Democratic politicians in their fight to preserve all that we fought for in the 250 years of this nation.
Not only will this provide work for those who are recently out of work, but by hiring laid-off federal workers, we change the narrative around our battle against Trump and his Republican allies.
Democrats hire people. Republicans fire people. This is the messaging the American people need the Democrats to adopt between now and the midterm elections in November 2026. However, messaging is not enough. It must be followed through with action. Democratic politicians can and should provide work for laid-off federal employees.
For as dizzying as the Trump administration’s policy decisions are, I do not believe this is the time for us to diminish our ability to respond to the president’s self-serving recklessness. I undoubtedly believe that in every attempt by Trump to snatch more power for himself and his opportunistic oligarchs, there is a prime opportunity for those who still have faith in the “great American experiment.”
It is not time for us to stand idly, but for us to answer the call for action in our time. Much like George Washington with the birth of our nation, Abraham Lincoln with the emancipation, Teddy Roosevelt in his fight against monopolies, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, without hesitation, the Democratic leadership must responded to the momentous struggles of the day.
Time to get to work, and most importantly, time to provide work for those who need it.
Roger Smit, Edgewater
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Don’t ditch syndicated columnists
Like other readers have written, I am disappointed the Sun-Times won’t have regular editorials. But I don’t see their absence as a significant loss. Many of them reflect comments or observations made by subjects of news stories. Additionally, the most important editorial expressions are the candidate endorsements that the Sun-Times is not allowed to publish, anyway.
I do urge you to keep the outside columnists you have: Mona Charen, S.E. Cupp and Jacob Sullum, particularly. They add a lot with well-written commentary not from greater Chicago. One reason I read the Sun-Times from 300 miles away is because my hometown Detroit Free Press ditched the out-of-town columnists years ago and the Detroit News only carries shrill Federalist columnists. So I stick with the Sun-Times, the paper I read 30 years ago when I traveled to Chicago for work.
Tony Wagoner Harper Woods, Michigan
Trump’s doesn’t offer help unless he benefits
Donald Trump said the United States is going to help Southeast Asia recover from the deadly earthquake, so I have to think, “What’s in it for him?” A new resort, mineral mining, cheap labor for some scam product? It’s certainly not because he has a concern for humanity.
Robert Rowells, Elmwood Park
Bracing for more
I am happy to see that Democrats in the House and Senate are finally uniting and finding their full voices in condemning what may be the most reckless, incompetent security breach in our country’s modern history; and also to see a few Republicans joining the calls for an investigation. Obviously, all those involved in the Signal group chat leak should resign or be fired. But because this is the Trump administration, they will not.
If, against all odds, we manage to come out of this disastrous administration with some remnants of our democracy intact, I hope we Americans remember this forever, as well as the Trump administration’s ongoing betrayals of our allies. And let us never again have to hear the Republican Party spoken of as the party to trust on foreign policy, national security or the welfare of military personnel or veterans.
Richard A. Stewart, West Ridge
Journalist, not Trump officials, deserves condemnation
If it’s everyone’s opinion that the U.S. Defense secretary, secretary of State and others accidentally included the journalist in a classified text chain, then why hasn’t there been any backlash and calls for prosecution of the journalist? These government officials say it was an accident, but the journalist released and printed the alleged classified information to the world, intentionally.
Terry Cornell, Evergreen Park
Not hard to get weather forecasts
On his recent visit to Greenland, JD Vance complained about the cold and remarked that “nobody told me.” I guess JD needed to be told that it gets cold in Greenland, because he’s not smart enough to figure it out on his own.
Steven Herr , West Ridge
Praise for op-ed honoring sibling
Thank you so much for printing author David McGrath’s opinion piece on his late older sister. Beautiful. Give us more of these stories and fewer left-wing activist opinions.
Sherry Szilage Stoffel, North Aurora