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I think of Grover Cleveland, his life and advice and how his party needs to get back on track and away from Minnesota’s current government path.

Grover’s father died when he was in his teens. Grover already had been working when his father died. He worked to support his mother until she died. He got no SNAP, college government loans or government kids credit. Between 1880 and 1885, he became Buffalo, New York’s mayor, New York’s governor and U.S. president. As U.S. president, he married at the age of 48. His wife became first lady at the age of 22. He had his last child at the age of 66. He supported all five of his children.

Grover’s famous statement was “The people should support the government, not the government support the people.” Jefferson-Jackson dinners used to be famous for Grover’s party. What happened?

Maybe IRAs for people to save and provide for day care, work leave and medical for their needs, etc. Private, not government plans or government spending.

Schools should provide basic education. The 3 Rs are not expansive, expensive programs.

Fifty years ago kids did better with less. (See test results.)

One hundred years ago my mother left school at 16 and took a job at $12 a week for 44 hours. She lived with her parents till she married at 35.

Sixty years ago (1963) I went to the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, worked 12 to 15 hours a week at $1.27 an hour. U of M yearly tuition and fees were $375 a year.

Inflation has gotten out of control. In 1965 there was no Minnesota sales tax. Minnesota state budget was 41 billion. Parents supported their kids (no government loans or school lunches).

The state budget is now projected at $65 billion a year. Has your pay gone up 65 times in 57 years? What is being done to reduce state and federal spending?

State and federal spending often adds up to people’s costs. SROs (single room occupancy) used to be basic housing. Ten to 12 million illegals in the U.S. per estimates, and more are coming, is a big cause of a housing crisis in the U.S. Regulations boost housing costs.

Public schools in the U.S. should be for legal citizens. Often due to courts, government is spending billions in tax money on illegals in schools.

Recently, more tax on corporations was proposed. Corporations are collections of people. IRAs, mutual funds have millions of people making less than $400,000 a year. Corporate taxes are secret taxes on all Americans. Let us be straight that real people pay takes directly or indirectly.

Tom Schleck

Albert Lea