Letters to the Editor | March 7, 2024

I’m a longtime Phillies season ticket holder, and I, for one, won’t miss the mess and free-for-all that came with the now-defunct Dollar Dog Night. However, I do appreciate how tough it is for some fans to carry the cost of a night at the ballpark. The average cost for a family of four to attend a game last year was $145 for tickets and modest concessions. That’s going up to $154 this season. So, I have a proposal: The eight highest-paid Phillies — the ones taking home eight-figure piles of cash — will make about $176 million (after the luxury tax). If the promising Fightins sell out this season, about three million people will attend the games. If we do some simple math, it looks like those eight players could buy every one of those fans one $5 hot dog, for a total of a mere $15 million. Just think of the possibilities if the whole team ponied up, too — one free soft drink or box of popcorn for each fan, or an ice cream cone ... Think of the possibilities — and the goodwill they would generate.

Beth Z. Palubinsky, Philadelphia

Whether Comcast Spectacor’s proposal to revamp the stadium area is wishful thinking or not, there is a hidden aspect that people ignore about the Sixers Center City arena. Despite spending $400 million to revamp the Wells Fargo Center, in about 30 years it’s anticipated the center will be replaced, having become outdated for the times. That fits in with other stadiums, which have about a three-decade life span. If the Sixers get a new arena in downtown Philly, will there be a vibrant Chinatown in 30 years when they move elsewhere? And what will be left of the Market Street East area with them gone? The real money to be made around sports venues is to develop an entire area with housing, retail, and other destination attractions.

Robert Franz, Plymouth Meeting

While I may take exception to some of columnist Jonathan Zimmerman’s conclusions, I always appreciate his efforts to see things from multiple perspectives, a trait sorely lacking in our current political discourse. His framing of the false equivalency between Joe Biden and Donald Trump’s aging faculties was spot on. We live in a culture where the quick fix is often confused with a more nuanced response to complexity, which plays right into the MAGA contingent’s desire to reduce all things to “us vs. them” binaries. Elders who were once valued for their accumulated experience are now disparaged for having short-term memory lapses, which seems to me a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Zimmerman’s claim that it would be tragic to punish Biden for what he’s forgotten rather than lauding him for what he knows could not make the case clearer for why a second coming of the incurious Trump would be an unmitigated disaster. One of the surest signs of wisdom is knowing who to listen to; we need no further proof that the failed insurrectionist listens to no one but himself.

Charles Derr, Philadelphia

A letter writer states that the God of Christianity is mentioned in the Declaration of Independence. While the concept of God does appear in that document, there is no indication that the authors were referring solely to the Christian God. In fact, the 1797 Treaty of Tripoli states that the government of the United States was not in any sense founded on the Christian religion. That treaty was signed into law by John Adams, an author of the declaration.

The writer also asserts that Donald Trump and his supporters do not seek a theocracy and that Jesus Christ and his followers are the greatest force for equality, justice, and freedom the world has ever known. Christianity has been instrumental in securing human and civil rights, but those with the opposite goals also have claimed the mantle of Christianity. Trump and his supporters fall into the latter category, as their stated goal is to infuse public policy with Christian teachings, particularly regarding reproductive matters. That certainly breaches the separation of church and state, and forces by law those of other faiths to follow Christian doctrine. That isn’t freedom, and it leads to the casting of non-Christians as the “other.”

Bill Fanshel, Bryn Mawr, wfanshel@hotmail.com

As a resident of the Northeast, I am thrilled SEPTA earned a $317 million grant to invest in rail cars for the Market-Frankford Line that will eventually improve my commute. I commend our elected officials for working across the aisle and voting yes on the bipartisan Infrastructure and Jobs Act to make this sorely needed funding a reality for SEPTA. U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle even appealed to the Federal Transit Administration’s administrator in support. On an environmental note, I am grateful this funding will improve a mode of transport that runs off of propulsion electricity and keeps carbon emissions to a minimum. This demonstrates a commitment to cleaner air and a healthier climate for Philadelphia.

Kate Rojas, Philadelphia, katherinerojas422@gmail.com

Join the conversation: Send letters to letters@inquirer.com. Limit length to 200 words and include home address and day and evening phone number. Letters run in The Inquirer six days a week on the editorial pages and online.