Readers Write (April 27): Trump's budget proposal, science and vaccinations, thryoid drug study, body-shaming, the transit experience, KQRS

Such hypocrisy. Republicans blast Democrats and the Obama administration for the size of the national debt, then President Trump and the Republicans in Congress propose huge reductions in the tax rates for businesses.

Their story is that the cuts will stimulate the economy and promote job growth (think trickle-down economics), but history tells us otherwise. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush had big cuts in taxes, and we ended up with large deficits and little or no job growth. The only effect this had was that the rich became much richer and the poor and middle class paid the price for the economic decline.

When will this madness end? If anyone ever had doubts about big business and the well-to-do controlling our government, this should remove those doubts.

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Trump's tax proposals and deregulation proposals raise conflict-of-interest concerns of how much his own business interests will benefit. Criticisms of his refusal to release his tax returns have focused on what they might show about his sources of income, his foreign and other business ties, his debt structure, and the propriety of the tax deductions he claims. Those are all legitimate concerns, but there are others, such as identity of investors and partners, specific identification of his taxpaying and regulated entities and how much they would benefit from Trump's proposals, and much, much more. If he has legitimate disputes with the IRS, there are noncriminal procedures to handle those disputes. The extent to which his businesses will benefit from his tax proposals and his deregulation proposals is more than a mere curiosity.

"1-2-3-4, SCIENCE is what we're fighting for! 5-6-7-8, everyone should VACCINATE!" The chants are still ringing in my ears days after the recent March for Science in Washington, D.C. In the midst of my excitement, my mind continues to return to a recent patient under my care in Minneapolis.

About a month ago, I was called to admit a 2-year-old boy from the ER for respiratory distress. He had been diagnosed with pertussis (whooping cough) and was struggling to breathe. I walked into the room to discover his condition was quickly deteriorating, and we quickly transferred him to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. As his bed was rolled away, I spoke to his mother who confirmed what I feared: He was not vaccinated.

I went to the science march thinking it is a parent's responsibility to decide their child's vaccine coverage, but doctors have a greater responsibility: to ensure that our patients and families understand they should be vaccinated by communicating a simple message that has been validated by years of research: Vaccines are safe, they work, and they save lives.

The writer is a pediatric resident.

The headline atop the front page on April 25 ("Doubt cast on thyroid drug") seems to me to be inappropriate and misleading. The subtitle that "symptoms don't change in adults with slightly underactive thyroid" compounds the error. The issue is not whether levothyroxine (a common brand name is Synthroid) works, but whether it should be prescribed for older folks who have an elevated TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) but normal levels of thyroid hormones. This is specifically referred to as "subclinical hypothyroidism."

One statement is flat-out incorrect: "High blood levels of TSH indicate that the thyroid gland is less active than it should be." In some cases it may be that the thyroid is requiring more stimulation to keep the blood levels of thyroid hormones normal. Thus one may use TSH to screen for hypothyroidism, but simultaneous measurement of the thyroid hormones with a repeat TSH would be needed to confirm a clinically suspected underactive thyroid.

I hope that readers who do have hypothyroidism will not stop taking their replacement thyroid hormone(s) without a thorough discussion with their physicians. If symptoms did not improve, and diagnostic testing was inadequate, the patient and physician may consider a careful withdrawal with appropriate observation and testing.

Regarding Sarah Hamilton's April 26 commentary about the body-shaming of President Trump, I understand her points, but her words do not ring true. First off, as one of her monolithic liberals, I've had hundreds of cathartic hours venting about Trump. But his weight has come up just once, when Trump produced a doctor's report declaring that he "unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency." He is clearly the least healthy president in my lifetime, setting aside the poppycock of being the "healthiest" president in our country's history.

But more important, any shaming of Trump's weight and seeming inattention to his health goes to a far more salient point. Remember Barack Obama's six-pack beach photos? Politics aside, for a man in his 50s with the most stressful job on the planet, this shows a commitment to self-discipline and self-improvement. Those are two qualities the Trump White House is missing in spectacular fashion.

Any wellness expert in the world will tell you that one's physical state is inextricably tied to their mental health. So it's not the shape of his body that gives me pause, but rather Trump's seeming lack of concern with what he eats or how little he exercises.

I'm composing this while standing on the light-rail platform at Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis. Surrounding me are pizza boxes, banana peels, litter and cigarette butts, some still smoldering. I've witnessed fistfights at this station, fended off panhandlers and listened to nonstop strings of profanity. All while one and sometimes two police cars sit empty, mere feet away. The irony is that just a block over the street is clean, thanks to the efforts of hard working Downtown Improvement District ambassadors. Is this a Metro Transit problem? I'm guessing yes, as the trains are also filthy. Clearly we residents don't matter to the agency, but we should fix it before the Super Bowl, as the train is the only link for visitors to the Mall of America, the only real shopping alternative to the empty shell that was downtown.

I was in shock when I learned that KQ let Brian Zepp and Terri Traen go ("Ex-Barnard sidekick Terri Traen exits KQRS," April 26). My afternoon ride home will not be the same. Of all the boneheaded things that radio station has done, this is by far the dumbest. I have been a faithful KQ listener for 32 years. I am no longer a fan and will not be listening anymore.