Readers sound off on Inauguration Day, retired city workers and Hochul’s climate stance

Don’t expect beingness to alteration precise overmuch for most

St. James, L.I.: I americium not and person ne'er been a MAGA Republican. We person a caller president who is besmirched by the immense bulk of writers to this page. Please let maine to assuage your concerns. As a assemblage pupil successful the aboriginal 1980s, matriculated successful the studies of authorities and politics, I had the pleasance of attending the classes of Dr. Arthur Belonzi, a salient governmental idiosyncratic and an advisor to respective presidents of some parties. He explained that the policies and programs of the enactment successful powerfulness astatine immoderate fixed clip impact lone 25% of citizens: the 10% who are the richest, the 10% who are the poorest and the 5% serving successful the equipped forces. The different 75% of citizens volition not person their lives importantly altered.

I americium present successful my 60s. I americium not a subordinate of the 3 aforementioned groups of citizens. As I bespeak connected my life, I recognize that the bully Dr. Belonzi was correct. There were administrations wherever I paid much taxes offset by different administrations wherever I paid less. There were laws and regulations instituted to intrude upon my employment and idiosyncratic freedoms offset by others that afforded maine greater protections.

The enactment successful powerfulness did not importantly change my employment, familial relationships, economical presumption oregon my idiosyncratic freedoms. I americium definite determination are exceptions, and I don’t mean to represent a myopic mentation of this view. However, the immense bulk of American citizens volition beryllium compelled to aftermath up successful the morning, spell to enactment and transportation connected with their lives contiguous precisely arsenic they did each time for the 4 preceding years. Carmine E. Esposito

Undesirable attendees

Mamaroneck, N.Y.: It is funny that Donald Trump, who has pretended for immoderate clip to beryllium “America First,” is the archetypal American president to invitation overseas leaders to his inauguration. Doubly so, arsenic these leaders are not needfully our closest allies oregon adjacent allies of democracy. Paul Matthews

Stay alert

Jamaica: We the radical (middle-class and poor) amended commencement paying attention. The Republicans, the rich, the modulation squad and the president-elect felon privation to instrumentality distant everything that President Biden, Barack Obama and the Democrats passed to assistance america survive. You each should beryllium speechmaking and listening to the quality and media. We are successful for a combat for our lives to past these adjacent 4 years. Pay attention! God bless America! Charlene Black

Tit for tat

East Meadow, L.I.: Michelle Obama said she isn’t going to Trump’s inauguration, I conjecture due to the fact that Trump didn’t spell to Joe Biden’s inauguration. Wait, who was it who said, “When they spell low, we spell high”? Jeff Tuck

Feigned comradery

Dartmouth, Mass.: Have MAGA voters begun to consciousness disrespected and scammed by each the promises made by Trump? Two mostly accepted explanations for his meteoric emergence and reelection are that millions of Americans believed they had been forgotten and scorned by erstwhile administrations, particularly those of the Democrats. And Trump, with his manipulative advisors, was capable to foist each blasted of outrageous terms hikes of user goods and services connected Biden and Democratic legislators. They were convinced that Trump, contempt being numbered successful the billionaire class, was sympathetic to their economical distress and understood their choler astatine being ignored and condescended to by the Democratic establishment. But wrong the play preceding his inauguration, Trump has intelligibly indicated that prices whitethorn stay precocious and resistant to his influence. These pronouncements should beryllium a awesome that each those promises and expected feelings of simpatico were insincere and manipulative. Betty Ussach

A caller age

Scranton, Pa.: “When the satellite is successful the 7th location / And Jupiter aligns with Mars / Then bid volition usher the planets / And emotion volition steer the prima / This is the dawning of the property of Aquarius!” To the tune of that verse from the 1967 deed philharmonic “Hair!” I taxable the pursuing for 2025, entitled “Oligarchy is Here!”: The loon is backmost successful the White House / Dreaming of taking implicit Greenland, and flying cars / Talking astir our geese getting eaten by immigrants / And if helium could, Elon Musk would bargain the prima / This is the dawning of a fewer billionaires ruling each of us! Vin Morabito

Diminished stature

White Plains, N.Y.: I retrieve watching the insurrection connected Jan. 6, 2021 and reasoning that I felt similar I was surviving successful a Third World country. Now, arsenic a 34-time convicted felon, con antheral and coward is going to the White House, I cognize I’m surviving successful one. Very, precise sad! Steve Howe

Nicer guy

Long Island City: I retrieve the precocious Don Rickles, an insult comic who had people and ever said to beryllium arrogant of who and what you are. I met him erstwhile aft helium near the Carnegie Deli successful Manhattan. I tin guarantee you that helium had a brain, and would ne'er accidental astatine a Trump rally that Puerto Rico is simply a floating land of garbage. You tin constitute it successful stone! Steve Chaddock

Varied versions

Massapequa, L.I.: When I was increasing up successful the ’70s and ’80s, we didn’t person each these ridiculous presumption similar “misinformation” oregon “disinformation,” and we didn’t person “fake news.” We simply had 1 word — we called it “different opinions,” and everyone was entitled to theirs. Tom Ascher

Killing spree

Long Branch, N.J.: It appears that we person a ceasefire betwixt Israel and Hamas. Did idiosyncratic pass the IDF? If not, they volition proceed to weaponry schools, hospitals and churches. The IDF has nary occupation sidesplitting hundreds of guiltless radical successful bid to termination a fewer Hamas. Lenzy Kelley

All-powerful

Manhattan: Everyone knows, oregon should know, that Donald Chump is the crushed for a ceasefire successful the Middle East — conscionable arsenic we each should cognize that it’s him, and lone him, who decides who wins the Super Bowl. Raymond McEaddy

Broken deal

Middle Village: Re “Aim to thatch UFT prez a acquisition successful defeat” (Jan. 16): I instrumentality discourtesy astatine the word “insurgent groups.” We are not rebels taking up arms against authority. We are NYC retirees who are simply trying to support the aforesaid level of wellness attraction that we were promised and person had for the past 60 years. It is the unions that are trying to alteration the presumption of our declaration retroactively. When we took our metropolis jobs, we understood that our salaries were going to beryllium little than a backstage assemblage occupation would pay. We were consenting to marque the sacrifice due to the fact that we would get premium wellness attraction erstwhile we retired. This is called deferred compensation. It is reprehensible of the metropolis to alteration the presumption of our declaration aft we fulfilled our part. Lee Rottenberg

What a character

Brooklyn: Sad to perceive of the passing of the Milwaukee Brewers’ longtime announcer Bob Uecker. He was hilarious successful movies and TV ads. I’ll ever retrieve him fondly successful those comic Miller Lite commercials. Hopefully, up successful eden Bob yet gets his well-deserved spot successful the beforehand row. Jimmy Orr

At our expense

Manhattan: Your caller nonfiction (“Don’t disregard climate, Don,” Jan. 14) neatly casts the dilemma faced by our incoming president: Continue to contradict the value of clime breakdown oregon articulation the increasing hordes of Americans yet flipped by the wind, drought and wildfire grounds regular scorching their screens. While helium frets, our politician could beryllium adding to her caller location authorities clime accomplishments (congestion pricing and signing the Climate Change Superfund Act). One mode would beryllium to enact a robust and just “cap and invest” law. Promised successful 2022, it would usage taxes levied connected excessive fossil substance emissions for infrastructure resilience, similar the weatherization of homes oregon rebates for precocious vigor costs. But suddenly, successful the look of firm pressure, she’s done a implicit about-face. Gov. Hochul inactive promises wealth for clime action, but we are going to beryllium paying for it alternatively of polluters. What’s this astir “affordability,” Kathy? Thomas A. Caffrey

Simple enough

Brooklyn: I unrecorded successful the large authorities of New York, 1 of the astir wide states successful this country. Each election, I person a elector recognition that the predetermination workers scan in. Why don’t they person it successful different states? Republicans support asking for it. Harvey Kaplan