Letters to the Editor | April 6, 2026

I watch as the Democrats flounder around trying to find a hook to lure independents and hopefully some disenchanted Donald Trump supporters in 2024 into voting for their party. As a one-time Democrat who now identifies as an independent, I’m not there. The focus on affordability is important, as the president has done nothing to structurally bring prices down. Perhaps the opposite with his tariffs. But I, and I assume most voters, have come to understand that one person cannot control pricing. It’s a matter of supply and demand. Supply chain disruptions, bird flu, drought, war can all upset the balance. Attacking the president will only get them so far. Focus on the administration’s policies, and, by default, those of the rubber-stamp Republicans. Or maybe discuss how isolationism has fractured our relationships with longtime world allies. Or how the administration’s executive orders fly in the face of what we once thought of as constitutional guardrails. The list goes on.

Tim Reed, Philadelphia

Since Pennsylvania has been called the “epicenter” of the bird flu outbreak, I have a suggestion to help residents slow the spread of the virus, especially in animal factories: Go vegan.

Intensive animal factories — where most animals used for food are confined — are hotbeds for zoonotic diseases, including bird flu. Humans who have contact with infected animals can catch bird flu, as can anyone who touches a contaminated surface, such as an eggshell, and then touches their eyes, nose, or mouth. The virus can also be inhaled via droplets or dust.

To reduce our risk of bird flu, we should all enjoy plant foods. Many companies make vegan meats and dairy-free milks. And instead of eggs, use bananas, applesauce, ground flaxseeds, or commercial egg replacers in baked goods. You can also enjoy Just Eggs with vegan sausage or vegan bacon for breakfast.

Going vegan also helps reduce animal suffering and combat the climate catastrophe and other environmental problems. For more information and a free vegan starter kit, see PETA.org.

Heather Moore, vegan living specialist, The PETA Foundation, Norfolk, Va.

Jeff Yass, one of the richest and most powerful financiers in the U.S., mocked the Philadelphia School District in a recent letter to the editor regarding Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s proposal for raising taxes to help fund the district.

Mr. Yass views all forms of taxes as offensive, especially in the case of public education.

Yass, whose company Susquehanna International Group is based in Bala Cynwyd, has manipulated the tax code over the years to deliver itself $1.1 billion in tax savings. In 2019, Mr. Yass was hit with a $121 million request from the Internal Revenue Service for back taxes he owed in a case that went to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Mr. Yass hates paying taxes; he is focused solely on funding his own agenda for political spending, including promoting taxpayer-funded school vouchers.

Greg Nowell, Narberth

Any Republican or Democrat in our U.S. Congress with a sense of decency would have said: “If our Transportation Security Administration workers don’t get paid, we don’t get paid. If they have to work, we have to work.”

Instead, our U.S. senators and representatives who flew home went to the airport, used their privilege to cut the TSA lines, probably avoided looking actual TSA employees in the eye out of shame, and fled Washington for two weeks of paid vacation.

We the people need to do better.

Fred Walker, Wyndmoor

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