Residents disapprove of Trump’s Mexico wall

Also tell Mccarthy representative Trump rushing tax bill

A crowd of nearly 20 Tulare County residents gathered Friday morning in Porterville’s Centennial Plaza multi-purpose room to voice their questions and concerns on not only what’s going on around the world, but also where House Majority Leader Kevin Mccarthy (R-bakersfield) stands on certain issues.

The first Friday of each month Mccarthy’s mobile office is in Porterville. A staff member from Mccarthy’s office hosts each mobile office held throughout California’s 23rd Congressional District.

The hour-long discussion revolved mostly on President Donald Trump’s southern border wall between the U.S. and Mexico, the arrival of the Trump Administration’s rushed tax bill, and on the current status of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

However, before the discussion, Cole Karr, Mccarthy’s field representative, provided updates with regard to Mccarthy, specifically on his bipartisan congressional delegation trip to see the damage firsthand in Puerto Rico.

“He gave a helping hand to some of the agencies on the ground there, and we were able to get through a [signed] bill that would help for disaster relief not just Puerto Rico, but also here in California,” Karr said.

Karr also said the House of Representatives passed an extension Friday morning for the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Regarding Trump’s Mexico Wall, Porterville resident Glenn Edwards said that has been bugging him a lot lately.

“That is the most stupid idea anybody has ever had,” Edwards said, adding that he believes the wall is not going to do that much good. “There are so many places where we could use that money.”

He continued, “Our infrastructure is suffering, our roads need a lot of work, our bridges need a lot of work, and we are going to blow it [money] to try and keep a couple of South American folks out of here,” Edwards said.

Porterville resident John Coffee agreed, noting that “we can do better with what we’ve got.”

“Put enough people on the lines and pay them a decent salary,” Coffee said, adding that the wall idea is “asinine and pure garbage.”

Springville resident Katie Black said Trump’s wall idea is “crazy” for many reasons.

In addition to ecological and environmental concerns, Black said she believes the wall won’t fix the problem it is supposed to solve.

“If we make the wall 30 feet underground, there are people who build tunnels underground, and these are professional lawbreaking people, they will still be getting under it,” Black said, adding, “They are probably already walking through the gate with fake papers.”

On the subject of taxes, Porterville resident Brock Neeley said if the mortgage tax deduction is eliminated, it will decimate the home building industry.

“There will be no incentive for people to buy homes,” Neeley said. “All you are going to have is a bunch of slumlords.”

Porterville resident Josh Sulier said he is definitely not in favor of the elimination of the State and Local Tax Deduction (SALT), or the elimination of student loan repayment and medical bill repayment.

“None of these deductions can be removed if he [Mccarthy] wants my vote,” Sulier said.

He added that Trump’s plan to have a tax bill passed within approximately six weeks doesn’t make any sense.

“It took two years back in the ’80s under [Ronald] Reagan in order to be able to pass any form of tax reform,” Sulier said. “Who in their right mind thinks it is actually going to get done in the next six weeks.” Julie Allen agreed. “God help us all if a tax bill is signed within six weeks,” she said. “That, by definition, means that it is absolute garbage because nobody knows what’s in it and there has been not a single bit of respectable analysis done.”

As far as DACA — a program the Obama administration created back in 2012 that grants work permits, identity documents and relief from deportation to approximately 800,000 illegal immigrants who arrived in the country as youths — many wondered if there has been any discussion on creating legislation that would allow DACA recipients to remain in the country.

“You’ve got approximately three months left before DACA comes under fire again,” Sulier said. “How much longer is it going to take before they finally decide to actually put something on paper to a vote.”

Neeley echoed a similar concern.

“Has there been any conversation across the aisle at all because we know with the tax reform there has been no conversation across the aisle,” Neeley said.

Karr said there are some pieces of legislation that have been introduced, but noted that currently there is nothing that is moving forward.

“That doesn’t mean that it is not going to happen over the next several months,” Karr said.