Letters to the Editor | Dec. 20, 2023

The economy is seeing strong job growth, low unemployment, and a high labor participation rate, while inflation and gas prices are coming down. Yet President Joe Biden is unable to capitalize on such positive news, thus leaving his base unenthused. Additionally, with the stock market at all-time highs, almost everyone with a 401(k) has seen large growth over the past several years. Obviously, Biden has a marketing problem that may not be able to catapult him back into the White House come 2024. If he had discovered the lightbulb in 1879, people would still be lighting their homes by candle. Biden must borrow a little Trumpism and begin touting, every single day, how well the market is doing, 401(k)s thriving, gas prices falling, inflation coming way down. He should do town halls in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, and Wisconsin. He must get the word out by not using words like Bidenomics. This is why his poll numbers are taking a toll.

Larry Wernick, Fort Washington, lawernick@gmail.com

Last week, City Council approved a new 15-cent fee for paper bags at retailers. It’s only 15 cents, but it’s another reason for people to continue to shop outside of Philadelphia. Add up the bag fees, the soda tax, and the cigarette tax, and the surrounding counties are having a field day at the city’s expense. At least they should send City Council a thank you card. Maybe if Council members took a ride on the main roads leaving the city they would see the effects of their bills. There are usually soda and cigarette stores lining both sides of the road. Maybe that’s the problem: Those on Council run their districts as little fiefdoms and forget that it’s a big city. Can the city and state put any more idiotic laws on the books? How about putting a ski mask ban into effect in the wintertime? Or even better, making porch piracy a felony when you can walk into any store in Philadelphia and shoplift $500 worth of merchandise and not get prosecuted. Do they read these laws before they pass them?

Richard Donofry, Philadelphia

Nowadays, efforts to combat gun violence take one giant step for mankind. The unrelenting energy observed by onlookers of Jamal Johnson’s campaign to stop the violence in Philadelphia is getting the nod. Those of us who deem this issue as one of the city’s undesirable conditions admire his leadership. Unlawful use of firearms continues to harm innocent individuals. Johnson brings a platoon of experience combating the breach in America’s Second Amendment rights.

Wayne E. Williams, Camden, wwilliams@uarts.edu

The festive season may be merry, but beware — it also is a time when emergency room visits tend to spike. A lot of factors contribute to a busier ER. It’s the middle of flu season, and holiday cooking and baking means cuts and burns. The food itself can be dangerous: food poisoning from undercooked meat, mishaps from overindulgence in alcohol, and trouble from “cheating” on medically advised diets. Even unwrapping presents can cause injuries — box cutters, scissors, and those evil clamshell packages send people to the hospital every year.

To get the best care during the holidays, remember that communication is key. Give nurses and doctors all the necessary information about medications, medical history, and what may have caused the illness or injury. Be honest. It doesn’t help you to withhold truthful answers, even if you think it’s not pertinent. And if you don’t understand something, ask. If you feel there’s been a mistake, speak up.

Remember that everyone in the ER deserves respect — nurses, physicians, support staff, the other patients, and you, too. If you aren’t being heard, ask to speak to the “charge nurse” or nurse manager. Share your feedback and ask for help. Make sure you understand any discharge instructions before you leave. Ask questions and take notes. Finally, don’t let the idea of a busy ER keep you from getting the care you need. If you need to go to the ER, go. Have a safe and healthy holiday!

Betty Long, CEO and founder, Guardian Nurses Healthcare Advocates

Help me out here, please. Genetically, I am 51% Ashkenazi Jew. I converted to Judaism. My two sons were raised Jewish. Their father is a conservative Jew. I have been to Israel. I have been to Auschwitz. I abhor the continued slaughter of innocent mothers, fathers, and children, perhaps because some of my father’s Jewish family members were killed by Nazis as they hid in the cellar of their Budapest home. I shout about the killings, the murders, the sheer awfulness of what is happening in Gaza. How in the name of God or Allah does this make me an antisemite? It makes me merely a grandmother who wants to see the slaughter of innocents stopped.

Andrea Mitnick, Wallingford, andimitnick@gmail.com

We learned on Friday that sensitive documents related to the investigation into Russian efforts to meddle in the 2016 election went missing. There is a binder of 2,700 pages that simply left the White House at the end of Donald Trump’s term. They were also given to a Trump-friendly reporter who may or may not have made copies. Thinking this is big news, I turn to the Saturday morning Inquirer. There is nothing there. It is on Page 14 of the New York Times. In the past, before Trump, this potential compromise of classified documents was a major front-page story.

Because Trump has racked up 91 charges, has been found to be a sexual predator, and has run a fraudulent business for decades, big news about stolen documents is lost. We are now at the point where the crimes of the Trump White House are so widespread and so expected that they become newsworthy only to the few who follow it closely and those whose lives could be impacted. The crimes all blend. It even seems that they increase his popularity in MAGA World. It is another reason we might just be slow-walking away from our democracy.

Elliott Miller, Bala Cynwyd

In Washington, D.C., the Capital One Arena is the home of the city’s basketball and hockey teams. Built next to Chinatown, the city’s once vibrant Chinatown is now almost gone. We now learn that the team’s owner is planning to move both teams to Virginia. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is dangling $500 million to lure them to stay and turn the Gallery Place/Chinatown area into an entertainment hub. So, after destroying Chinatown, the Wizards are planning on leaving town. And the city, which can ill afford to spend half a billion dollars, ends up coughing up taxpayer money. Methinks there is a lesson here for Philadelphia.

Walter Tsou, Philadelphia

I read with interest Inga Saffron’s recent column and want to address some of her concerns on the proposed Sixers arena. I remember what the area was like before the Pennsylvania Convention Center was built. After, there were new hotels, a grocery store, and a seedy, dead area was reborn. Chinatown is still vibrant and very busy, and anytime there is a convention, Reading Terminal Market is packed. How many events does the Convention Center have a year? When it’s empty, does the area drop dead? When it has the Flower Show, are there massive traffic jams that are intolerable?

The Fashion District is dying a slow death, and I haven’t heard of any other ideas on how best to develop that property. I would think the arena is an economic engine that could transform the whole area into a vibrant community. Building an arena would attract more developers to improve East Market Street. How long has the Gimbels lot remained empty? Washington Square West and Chinatown could benefit from working with the developers, as did the neighborhoods where the casinos were built. I am sure they have a wish list of projects that need funding, and the developers seem eager to fund.

Andrew Freedman, Philadelphia

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