So, what is ‘right thing’ to do?

Regarding your editorial Tuesday, “If Congress acts, don’t clap”: Why not? You offer no specific suggestions on how to handle the problems of the $1 trillion annual deficit and the disastrous “Obamacare.”

You say this is a “manufactured crisis” but do not mention by whom or how. You also state that this is a tragedy and that you hope the government does the “right thing.” You do not say what the “right thing” is.

There are many difficult issues to deal with, but what we need is some serious debate on the various alternatives. Can we at least agree that the annual deficit needs to be reduced and eventually eliminated?

— Roland G. Ley,

Illegal migrants are simply that

Has the word “illegal” been removed from selective dictionaries? For those people with defective editions, illegal means not legal.

Any foreigner who enters the U.S. without an entry or immigrant visa is breaking the law.

Mexican citizens here illegally only make it harder for the people of Mexican descent who were born here or are here legally.

I’m not against immigration; I’m against illegal immigration. Anyone who enters the U.S. legally, learns our language and respects our laws is entitled to all the benefits the U.S. has to offer.

Those people who choose to sneak across our border illegally aren’t interested in becoming U.S. citizens.

They want to enjoy all the benefits America has to offer with none of the re- sponsibility and should not be allowed to stay.

Many, here for years, have not bothered to even learn our language.

If anyone from another country wants to live and work in the U.S., there’s no excuse good enough for not doing so legally.

— Donna Bass,

Seeking savings instead of cuts

I mostly agree with your editorial on averting default, “If Congress acts, don’t clap” (Opinions, Tuesday).

Congress has been avoiding the hard work that needs to be done not only on the budget, but also on jobs, immigration, infrastructure, etc.

Yes, real people have been hurt by this manufactured crisis. And many more will be hurt if we rush headlong into entitlement reform.

There’s a better way than taking mon- ey from the pockets of the middle class.

What if instead we look for savings by avoiding expensive waste and closing some loopholes?

What about the billions of dollars wasted on this unnecessary shutdown?

Why do tax loopholes allow people like Warren Buffett to pay a lower tax rate than his secretary?

And are we still subsidizing oil companies with tax money when they are the most profitable businesses ever?

If we use existing resources like the Office of Management and Budget to identify savings and revenue, we can find billions of dollars to add to the budget, provided the House of Representatives doesn’t continue to throw our money away in the nameof ideological differences.

— Pat Shelton,