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One example is a pledge of $600 million for railway improvements in Africa that will give the U.S. better access to cobalt, copper and other critical minerals (AP, Dec. 4, 2024). This U.S. investment has strategic implications for U.S.-China economic competition.

Another example is the sale of excess border wall materials that was required by Congress in 2023 (The Texas Tribune, Dec. 20, 2024). Most of that material was given to the Customs and Border Protection and to the states of Texas and California. The material that is being auctioned off is mostly junk and not worth the cost of shipping, according to a Texas official.

Then there’s Ukraine where Russia launched an invasion in 2022 to try to claim the land. Russia, under Putin, is a bad actor, and it seems clearly in U.S. interests to prevent Russia from gaining international influence.

And the suggestion that no money for our citizens who lost everything due to a hurricane appears contrary to real experience. My good friend in St. Petersburg, Florida, lost part of the roof on his house, and he reports that “FEMA was surprisingly polite and efficient and came through with $5,000 of the $9,000 we needed.�

America is great partly because the federal government — as imperfect as it is — is trying to do the right things and has produced better economic results than any other country in the world (The Economist, Oct. 19, 2024). This track record suggests that we should try to improve the government we have rather than start all over.

RALPH MEYER

Easton