Readers’ comments: December 20, 2024

The impact of Youth Theatre Works
Dear editor:
I hope this letter highlights the importance of Youth Theatre Works and goes beyond the story reported in the Courier on November 29 (“New home for Youth Theatre Works”). This is about the heart of the company and the community it has created.
Two of my children have performed with YTW, which provided a safe, welcoming space that elevated their passion for dance, theater and performing. Julian Pielke Santos, now 22, became YTW’s in-house choreographer while at Citrus Community College, and has since collaborated with Broadway performers for the celebration of Don Fruechte, and then choreographed and directed a production while attending UC San Diego. Julia Pielke Santos, 19, is now a supporting choreographer at YTW, and is the sole choreographer at Claremont High School, and majoring in theater at Citrus Community College. Together, they choreographed most of last spring’s “SpongeBob,” for CHS’s Theatre Department.
Youth Theatre Works fosters confidence, growth, and a sense of purpose, and for every child. It’s for the square pegs in this round hole society (like myself!) but also the class presidents and sports stars. From the musical productions to the Friday jam sessions, to looking at Saturn and the stars through a telescope, it’s a place to be yourself. Let’s do everything we can to keep YTW afloat. The current and future attendees deserve this place and the unity it creates. To loosely quote a well-known and loved character: help us, Claremont community. You’re our only hope.
Thank you to you incredible women that started Youth Theatre Works. I hope you know just how wonderful and loved you are.
Karen Pielke
Claremont

‘Have nots’ not part of Trump’s America
Dear editor:
I don ‘t think Donald Trump likes poor folks so much, of which I am one. (Thank goodness for Social Security). I sure don’t blame him for that. After all, when you have friends like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos you can’t be wasting your time with the have nots! I’m also not expecting an invite to Mar-a-Lago anytime soon!
W. Decker
Claremont

Economies in mirror may be smaller than they appear
Dear editor:
Doug Lyon (“Taking Trump critics to task,” December 13), rather than taking up my challenge about what the economy’s performance under Trump II will be, assures us that the economy between 2017 and 2020 was wonderful due to Trump policies and so we should expect the same the second time around. Unfortunately, the list of positive conditions that Lyon cites to prove that involves a well-known logical fallacy: under Trump, therefore because of Trump.
The truth is that Trump inherited a well-functioning economy from Obama and rode its coattails — until COVID happened which disrupted the world economy. Lyon has not, and cannot, show that Trump is responsible for the healthy state of our economic lives until the 2020 pandemic.
While it is difficult to find writing on the period that MAGA, and thus Lyon, will accept, try Wikipedia’s, “The Economic Policy of the first Donald Trump Administration.” Among the quoted evaluations is this: Economist Justin Wolfers wrote in February 2019, “I’ve reviewed surveys of about 50 leading economists — liberals and conservatives — run by the University of Chicago. What is startling is that the economists are nearly unanimous in concluding that Mr. Trump’s policies are destructive.” He assigned a letter grade of A- to the economy’s performance overall (the Obama hangover), despite “failing grades” for Trump’s policies, including an F grade for trade policy, D- for fiscal policy, and a C for monetary policy.
We should expect the second coming to be more of the same: billionaires only will be better off.
Merrill Ring
Claremont

Judging Trump on the facts, not the tawdry hucksterism
Dear editor:
Re: “Taking Trump critics to task” (Readers’ comments, December 13), I have some additional thoughts. My late father — a wise man he — once commented that there were at least two businesses that were essentially failure-proof: liquor stores and casinos. While president-elect Trump may never have owned a liquor store, he did have several casinos which ended up in bankruptcy. And remember that $25 million settlement for the now-defunct Trump University? He has slapped his name on more products than space here allows, but most of the ventures ended in, well, not winning. One of the latest is a line of fragrances called FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT. No joke!
I believe the wonderful comedian and writer, Andy Borowitz, best summed up this never-ending self-promotion and hucksterism with a recent headline in his comic Borowitz Report: “Tariff on Chinese Goods Hikes Trump Bible to $1,000.” (Those Bibles were printed in China and sold for $60.)
On a serious note, lest we credit Mr. Trump with exceptional economic powers, let’s look at one metric, the Dow’s performance under the full terms of recent presidents: Trump +56%; Obama +148%; George W. Bush -22%; and Clinton +226%. Under Biden, who had the COVID-19 pandemic downturn to deal with during his first two years, not to mention some 1.2 million deaths in America, the Dow is up 41% as of December 12.
I wish our new president well since it is in our best interests to have decent governance under all presidents, but I will be looking at metrics, his policies, and those he selects for important positions, as I evaluate his performance. I won’t be swayed by his self-promotion, bipartisan deification or demonization, or non-stop news coverage. Just the facts!
Don Linde
La Verne