Being born here shouldn’t mean automatic citizenship
The United States has allowed persons born in the United States while their mother was visiting the nation as a non-citizen to have automatic citizenship. Traveling in Spain some years ago, I met and had lunch with a diplomat for the country of Ghana. In getting acquainted with this gentleman and discussing our families, he mentioned that for one of their children, his wife flew to stay with friends in Georgia so their baby would be born in the United States and have citizenship.
Unknown thousands of parents hope to establish a family “anchor” in the United States so that they may one day become US citizens.
President-elect Donald says this kind of citizenship for babies born in America to parents who are not themselves US citizens should end. Melania Trump was born in Slovenia and emigrated legally to the United States to become a fashion model. After 10 years of work and paying taxes, she was granted her citizenship.
Mrs. Trump, like millions of immigrants before her, earned her citizenship.
Randyl Taber, Van Meter
The economy is in great shape now, under Biden
They say Democrats should not have claimed economic recovery during the campaign since prices are still high. But now we should try to keep President-elect Donald Trump honest.
Earlier he took credit for President Barack Obama’s economic progress. Job numbers steadily increased throughout Obama’s terms and increased somewhat more under Trump. But Trump took credit for the entire high level of employment.
Now the economy has nearly recovered from the COVID-induced inflation. Unemployment is 4.1%, the Dow has been setting records since 2021, job creation and growth are high, and inflation, the rate of price increase, is way down. But the leftover high prices still present problems.
Generalized falling prices hurts jobs and the economy, so we normally let rising wages make up the difference. That has actually been happening, but we need more of it.
This is almost a recovery, not the economic mess usually described by Trump. Someday he is going to realize this and take full credit for it. Democrats should spread the real economic news far and wide – now – to provide baseline data with which to evaluate Trump. Credit him if he does something positive but not for Biden’s economic progress.
Thomas Gibbons, Clinton
Take time to unite
Gordon Miller in a Nov. 10 letter challenged election winners to prove their worthiness by representing everyone regardless of their parties, etc. And those who put reelection as an impediment to doing the right thing could and should be brave enough to take the lead in making things right.
It’s sad that examples set by Republican President Ronald Reagan and Democrat Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill couldn’t be mirrored. All citizens of our state and country should be supported within a nonpartisan focus.
Bill Konnath, Ankeny
Iowa needs a better future for women and girls
What do Iowa women want, particularly Republican women?
In the 1970s and 1980s, the Iowa Women’s Political Caucus, a bipartisan organization, worked on behalf of issues involving women and their children: credit ratings for women in their own name, comparable worth issues in government, a reform of juvenile justice, the safety net for women and children. Also there was an effort to avoid the death penalty, ably led by Minnette Doderer of Iowa City.
Women of all political stripes presently live with the benefit of these improvements. But such work is not etched in stone. Presently, much misogyny and wholesale denial of women’s health needs dangerously imperil the lives of younger women through very brutal rules on abortion.
I hope that Iowa women can learn to validate the sentiments that compelled our work. We need a better future for women and their children. If not, Iowa risks becoming a museum piece.
Katherine Barber Fromm, Ames
Clive doesn’t need to be in the library business
I recently attended another city of Clive meeting for the Clive libraries located just south of Urbandale’s great library.
As a Clive resident spending millions on our two libraries, I would highly encourage Clive to donate half that money to Urbandale, West Des Moines and Waukee to help all the communities.
Andrew Mcnaught, Clive
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Opinion: Being born here shouldn’t mean automatic citizenship
