The economy is the No. 1 issue facing middle-class America. The economy has been stagnated at 1.2 percent for seven years when it should be at 4 percent annual growth. The big difference between Clinton and Trump is stark. Clinton is promoting trickle-down entitlements and Trump, like Reagan, is proposing trickle-down economics.

Right now under Obama”s leadership everybody has their hand out. Fifty-eight million Americans are on food stamps. The current federal government is what the Founding Fathers tried to prevent. If you vote for Hillary, the welfare state will expand and will evolve into a totalitarian state maybe as soon as one generation.

I worked hard for everything I have. Most successful people have done the same. Nobody should be entitled to my sweat equity. How does one measure “one’s fair share” when one works and the other one doesn’t?

The philosophy of the Democratic Party has taken a hard left turn. They went from slavery to enslavement. Why work for a living when you can just elect a Democrat for a free handout?

The problem is that I as a middle class American don’t want to pay for these give-away programs anymore.

How about a little history lesson? When the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery came up to a vote,100 percent of Republicans voted yes, only 23 percent of Democrats followed suit; the 14th Amendment, which gave former slaves citizenship, 94 percent of Republicans voted yes, zero Democrats supported the 14th Amendment; the 15th Amendment, the right to vote for all citizens, 100 percent of the Republicans voted yes, Democrats 100 percent no; and finally in regard to the vote for the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), 100 percent of Republicans voted no, while 86 percent of Democrats voted yes. You decide which party has the best interests of all Americans in mind for the future of our country.

Donald Trump is a shrewd businessman, not a smooth-talking politician. Yes, he’s bold, brash and blunt. But those qualities catapulted him to a run for the presidency. That’s what we like about him.

Just think of this: He inherited $1 million and built a business worth $10 billion. Hillary on the other hand never wrote a paycheck or hired and fired an employee. She’s worth $200 million, which she acquired through influence peddling and money laundering. How else could a public employee amass this amount of money?

Hence the name “Crooked Hillary.” Ask yourself this: If you owned a company with employees and you needed some guidance and direction to make your company profitable, whose advice would you seek, Clinton’s or Trump’s? This country needs a Donald Trump and his kind.

Stan Rachesky

Glenwood Springs