Letters to the Editor | April 14, 2023

There is an important error in your coverage of Derek Green’s mayoral campaign (April 10), which states that his public banking initiative made little progress. In fact, former Councilmember Green led his colleagues in passing historic legislation establishing this authority by a 15-1 vote.

The authority exists under our City Charter, does not need state approval, and is now law. Its implementation is stalled only because Mayor Jim Kenney has refused to appoint its governing board, claiming that there are other institutions that could accomplish the same goals. The fact that these other institutions have failed us for decades only underscores the need for a mandated authority to counter the redlining and financial abandonment that plagues so many deserving local small businesses and homeowners.

Every candidate for mayor should be asked whether, if elected, they would do their duty and enact this legislation to address long-standing economic drags on Philadelphia’s economy.

Susan Saxe, Philadelphia

In 2022, 41% of our country’s births were financed by Medicaid, with 64% being Black mothers. Nearly 50% of our nation’s counties do not have one OB-GYN. Because women who are below the poverty level have 72 births per 1,000, the government and poor-paying HMOs have created a situation in which doctors who accept those plans are forced to do high-volume practices, limiting the time they spend with each pregnant woman. The government, insurance carriers, and regulators have pressured obstetricians to be more aggressive with the length of inductions and augmentation of labor, resulting in the prevalence of postpartum hemorrhage increasing from 2.7% in 2000 to 4.3% in 2019. Our federal and state governments need to fund more OB-GYN residency spots, pay physicians more per delivery, and finance 24/7 anesthesia and blood banking in hospitals that deliver babies.

Howard C. Mandel, president, Los Angeles City Health Commission, Los Angeles

No more excuses by our elected politicians who vote against — or just do nothing — about gun deaths in this country. The gun owners and the NRA have also had their chance and blew it. It is now the time to hold our elected individuals, both state and federal, accountable for gun deaths in our country.

They should be considered accomplices in these crimes and be found guilty and sentenced in a court of law. A new law should make it illegal to own an assault weapon. To purchase a gun, buyers should be required to be 21 years old, secure a permit, take gun safety lessons, and get a license for the weapon and for themselves. It’s very simple, and any responsible person should not object. You can still buy all the legal guns you want and store them securely and safely.

Edward M. Moritz, Ambler

. . .

I invite all Americans to step outside of our country and look at it as others see us. We are no longer the land of the free and the home of the brave. We are the land of mass murders, gun lovers, and death. I am a patriot, but I am embarrassed to be part of a nation that refuses to take gun violence seriously and gives more power to the NRA than to the majority of its citizens. Guns kill people. People are precious to God. This is not how God intended life to be. We must act and vote only for those who support gun control.

Sandra Detweiler, West Chester

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