Biden’s SCOTUS reforms are not a distraction from failures

Gazette columnist Althea Cole recently opined that recent Supreme Court decisions have been above board and based on a credible interpretation of the Constitution and the law. She criticizes President Biden's attempt to hold justices to the same ethical standards expected of lower court judges as mere political sour grapes based on frustration because of so-called Biden administration failures. We have the strongest economy in the world. As the world recovers from inflation due to a pandemic, not some Biden failing, it may be helpful to introduce Ms. Cole to some facts.

Axios recently reported that the U.S. economy grew faster than any other developed country by a wide margin and is on track to do the same in 2024. Unemployment is low. Prices are still high but inflation is lower here than anywhere else in the world. Biden got more legislation passed than any president since LBJ.

Bloomberg reports that net worth is up, and wage increases, especially for lower income workers, are outpacing inflation. That's not a record of failure. While it is true that to impose term limits or code of ethics may require a constitutional amendment, it is shrewd politics to get the conversation started. I don't need a law degree to know it is plainly wrong for justices to accept lavish gifts from billionaire pals who may become litigants. Similarly, flying an insurrectionist flag at home and then granting immunity to Donald Trump is sleazy at best.

Thomas Jacobsen

Riverside