"Trust me." That seems to be the theme of many of the speeches given at the Republican National Convention this week.

Vice-presidential pick Paul Ryan promises to bring us to a balanced budget and a brighter future. He asks us to trust him. I would ask him why we should trust him.

In 2001, when we did have a balanced budget for the first time in 40 years, he strongly supported Bush's tax cuts with the promise to return to the old rates in 10 years if that didn't have positive results.

I would suggest that Ryan keep that promise, and I am comfortable he could get equal spending cuts from the opposite side. That would put us on the path to a balanced budget now, not somewhere in the far-off future.

I know that compromise is a dirty word to all the special-interest groups, but that is what you do in a civil society.

Larry Christman Orlando