Letters to the Editor | March 22, 2024

As a pastor in the Northeast, I see my congregation continue to shrink as people move outside of the city or to New Jersey because of the city wage tax, poor public schools, and threats of violence. As a person who worked two jobs, I was totally frustrated with the city’s regressive wage tax. What I find interesting is the number of former city employees who have moved outside of the city or those working for the city who no longer live in Philadelphia. The new police commissioner just moved back into the city after retiring and going to live in North Wales. City Council must continue to reduce the wage tax. If not, there will be no working people left in the city.

Robert Hopkins, Philadelphia

Bravo to Jenice Armstrong for her column on Vice President Kamala Harris. For three years, the Democrats have let Fox News and the far-right define both Harris’ story and her role to the public. This is an intelligent and patriotic American who has dealt with the double whammy of her gender and skin color in an era of partisan bloodletting with the kind of fortitude we expect and rarely get from modern politicians. She is certainly far more tuned in to what most Americans believe regarding the issues of reproductive rights, guns, and climate change. It would be a huge mistake to remove her from the ticket. She’s earned it, and then some.

Tim McGrath, Chester Heights

Columnist Jenice Armstrong’s preemptive admonishment of President Joe Biden for even considering replacing Vice President Kamala Harris as his running mate was ill-deserved and myopic. Armstrong’s contention that Black female voters were key to Biden’s election has merit, crediting Harris does not. Although it seems longer than four years, the mood of the country, the intensity and mishandling of the pandemic, and the utter exhaustion of Donald Trump’s chaos propelled Democrats to the polls.

Rep. James Clyburn was instrumental; Harris was convenient. Vice-presidential choices have historically had little effect on election results, but this upcoming one could be an exception. Harris is perceived by many as having sleepwalked through the last three years. Armstrong defends Harris’ lack of accomplishments, most notably at the border, by contending those assignments “were not in her wheelhouse.” But Harris is a heartbeat away from the presidency. Should the American people put their faith in someone with a limited wheelhouse?

Biden has performed solidly with concern for the well-being of all Americans. Still, his age is a factor, making the choice of a running mate more important than ever. They say you should dance with the one who brung ya, but given Harris’ less-than-stellar performance, and the extremely low approval rating she enjoys with a majority of Democratic voters, it’s time to bring someone new to the dance. Without a victory in November, who will there be to chastise?

J. Savage, Philadelphia

It was announced recently that the Market-Frankford Line will be getting $317 million from the federal government to purchase 200 new rail cars. In 2016, I was transferred to a job that required me to go to Philadelphia several times a week. Not wishing to deal with the hassle of driving into Center City, I followed my long-standing family tradition of preferring to catch the train. Like many commuters looking to travel to the city, I waited on the Jenkintown train platform in the rain, sleet, or snow — on benches still stamped with the iconic Reading Railroad diamond logo.

I come from a family of Philadelphia railroad men — and Reading Railroad men, at that. Steam or diesel was always the argument in my grandparents’ house. Few things are as Philly as the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. First chartered in 1833, the company began sustained growth in 1850. In 1976, Conrail acquired most of the Reading Railroad’s remaining assets, using Reading’s lines for shipping. SEPTA continues to operate Reading’s commuter lines to this day.

When the railroad was in its waning days, my dad took me to the terminal for a ride out of the historic Reading Railroad train shed on one of its last outbound trains. I think about it every day when I see the diamonds on those old station benches. That proud history demands that SEPTA give its riders more than aging passenger cars and delayed trains.

Michael Thomas Leibrandt, Abington Township

Russia isn’t the only country where oligarchs protect their wealth by cozying up to a politician with dictatorial tendencies. Here in Pennsylvania, we have billionaire Jeff Yass and his pal Donald Trump, who openly admits he wants to be dictator for a day if elected president again. As The Inquirer recently reported, Yass is a big-time investor in TikTok and was likely involved in helping persuade Trump to drop his long-standing support for banning Chinese ownership of the social media company. The Inquirer also reported that Yass is on Trump’s short list of prospects to become U.S. Treasury secretary. I hope The Inquirer can find out how much Yass may have paid to get so cozy with Trump, who would surely love some help paying his legal bills. In Pennsylvania, wealthy individuals like Yass are allowed to give unlimited campaign donations to candidates for state or local office. Yass can also funnel millions to dark-money front groups that push his political agenda. Any state politician who is committed to democracy should just say no to money from Yass.

Matt Zencey, West Chester, mzencey@hotmail.com

As a member of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby of Delaware County, I commend Gov. Josh Shapiro for announcing proposals to fight climate change. As a resident of Pennsylvania, I’m equally pleased that his plan aims to maintain the state’s legacy as an innovator in energy production. Climate change policy is overwhelmingly popular outside of fossil fuel interests. A recent poll reveals that 74% of respondents favor regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant. Shapiro’s Pennsylvania Climate Emissions Reduction (PACER) Act does just that and returns the proceeds to Pennsylvania consumers as a rebate on their electric bill — a win for climate and a win for consumers.

Shapiro’s Pennsylvania Reliable Energy Sustainability Standard (PRESS) mandates that Pennsylvania generate 35% of its energy from clean sources and is a much-needed upgrade to the state’s outdated Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act, which currently ranks 45th in the country for encouraging renewable energy production. Renewable energy is the cheapest form of energy production on the planet and the future of energy production. Shapiro’s proposals will keep Pennsylvania competitive in an ever-evolving energy environment, create renewable energy jobs in the state, and help mitigate a rapidly warming planet. Our future literally depends on it.

Mark Engleka, Havertown

District Attorney Larry Krasner is under pressure and being criticized for his attempts to overturn death penalty sentences and convert them to life in prison with no possibility of parole. These are people coerced into confessions or badly represented who, yes, may have committed heinous crimes. Yet, Krasner apparently believes, as do many, that the state has no more a right to kill than does an individual. From a fiscal point of view, he is saving the state millions of dollars since it is vastly more expensive, sometimes to the tune of a couple of million dollars, to have someone on death row due to the many appeals built into the law.

There is an elephant in the room because Gov. Josh Shapiro, as had his predecessor, will not sign a death warrant. Why prosecutors press for capital punishment, which is not enforceable, is a mystery. More than 20 states and all of Europe have banned capital punishment because it is considered cruel and unusual, and it has been proven it does not deter crime. Krasner should be praised, not vilified, for his efforts to humanize Pennsylvania.

Ralph D. Bloch, Jenkintown, ralphdbloch@yahoo.com

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