To the editor:

The letter Mr. Singewald wrote recently expresses concerns about what DOGE “will” do to the Social Security system, how cutting “research” at the VA “will” harm thousands of people, libraries and museums will go bankrupt for some reason, and other cuts spell doom for Rhode Islanders — all without one statistic, news source, research article, data report, et cetera, to back up anything he claims is imminent in the near future.

Before the election I responded to an editorial (“Be careful what you wish for”) that claimed if you voted for Trump, you would see leftist journalists jailed, officials Trump didn’t like would be killed, the military would be told to fire upon demonstrators who didn’t like Dictator Trumps’ policies, etc. etc. — none of which has come to pass, of course. This similar unsubstantiated “fast and dirty” fear mongering does not enlighten or inform readers.

“The CDC Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) office has closed. ‘The various offices did not communicate with each other, nor did they report to their parent agency, HHS,’ the [HHS] official said. Instead, the offices, ‘all operated in their own silo.’ The plan is to take the work the offices conducted and centralize it into one FOIA office.” (Epoch Times, Z. Steiber. 4/4/25).

Any company or organization worth their salt will eliminate as much fraud, waste, and redundancy as possible for maximum efficiency. The SSA will benefit from an overhaul, redundant PTSD research would likely not substantially benefit the VA, and the shifting of, and consolidation of work, in various agencies does not spell doom for Rhode Island. Those who lost jobs are supported by unemployment services until they find a new one — just like the rest of us.

I definitely will not be contacting Congress to “stop the arbitrary cuts that don’t improve efficiency”, as the cuts are anything but arbitrary and should greatly improve efficiency in the long run if allowed to stand. After initial adjustments, much good will benefit the country, rather than the unsubstantiated “less support and services for all Americans.”

Readers, do your homework; check it out for yourselves.

Robin Burgess
East Providence