Letters to the Editor | May 1, 2024

Kudos to The Inquirer for Sunday’s insightful Ukraine editorial titled “Congress finally did the right thing on Ukraine, but is U.S. aid coming too late to make a difference?” I suppose one must have acquired my 92 years of age to have personal memory of world events of the 1930s. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain returned to London pronouncing “Peace for our time.” Not so! I will never forget a day in early September 1939 at the end of our summerlong Ocean City vacation. My 7½-year-old eyes were shocked by the largest, blackest, most frightening front page Philadelphia Inquirer headline I had ever seen: Germany invades Poland. Our problematic southern border is minuscule compared to the several borders now at monumental risk across the Atlantic.

Richard A. Buckwalter, Warminster

The rise in prices from 2021 to 2024 has harmed people’s pocketbooks, but Joe Biden didn’t cause the increase and couldn’t have stopped it. Prices rose as much in Europe from 2021 to 2024. Two factors caused the worldwide rise: Large cost increases from severe supply chain disruptions due to the pandemic, and large cost increases from a huge rise in the world price of oil. Both factors forced businesses to raise prices to cover the increased costs. The world price of oil went from $33 per barrel in May 2020 to $113 per barrel in May 2022, so the price of a gallon of U.S. regular gasoline rose from $2 to $4.50. This rise in the cost of oil pushed up the price of food at supermarkets because food production uses gasoline or diesel in tractors and trucks. Wages have risen but less so than prices. So COVID-19 and oil caused the price rise and harm. No president or Congress could have stopped it.

Laurence S. Seidman, Swarthmore

Jennifer Stefano asks in her recent column that if the economy, according to President Joe Biden, is so great, why are voters so worried? Citing inflation and the high cost of living, Biden’s rosy economic messaging is “unbelievable,” she writes, given the reality of voters’ daily economic struggles. She also notes that polls suggest voters in Pennsylvania believe Donald Trump is better able to handle the economy than Biden by 10 points, a sly plug for the former president, who has shown time and again he cares little for anything besides himself.

How about we address the true driver of inflation? The windfall profits, huge salaries, bonuses, and stock options for top executives that have driven CEO-to-worker inequality through the roof? Companies boosting prices create huge payouts for their top-ranking officers while allocating little for workers, it’s called greedflation. Stefano ends her piece warning, “It’s still the economy and voters aren’t stupid.” Sure we are. Until voters demand that our leaders attack the real cause of inflation — greed — they will remain blissfully ignorant of the true cause of their pain.

Paul Mercurio, Lafayette Hill

Reading Jennifer Stefano’s column reminds me of playing hide-and-seek with my grandchildren when I pretend not to see them behind the curtains. After being given a good number of negative statistics about the administration, economic polling, etc., she notes that financial adviser Andy Meehan told her that, “for his high-net-worth clients, the economy is good, but not for blue-collar and middle-class workers like his neighbors.” This is the part of the game when I peel back the curtain and feign surprise at finding my grandchildren, “Ah, there you are!” It’s the same with our economy.

Since we talk about prices at the pump a good amount, major news outlets reported big profits for major gas companies in 2023. Exxon Mobil alone reported $36 billion in profit for the year. No need to pull back the curtain on this one. Republicans in Congress will not pass legislation that would help low-income consumers like Andy’s neighbors. Companies and the super wealthy continue to grow their wealth and pay virtually no taxes. Give Joe Biden a second term and a Democratic House and Senate and Andy and Jennifer’s neighbors won’t have to hide from creditors or seek ways to pay their bills.

Elaine Gorman, Philadelphia

In the past few months, while Joe Biden has lagged in the polls (and enjoyed damp, soggy approval ratings) he has sent dozens of emails trying to remind us how bad Donald Trump was and urging progressives (the mailing list I’m on), to donate. His reasoning: “C’mon.” He began his prior campaign in Philly at a Comcast fundraiser that was $5,000 a plate. If he’s relying on me for a $10 contribution while I’m living paycheck to paycheck, we’re screwed. It’s encouraging that he’s finally found a work-around to forgive student loans. His nonresponse to the Palestinian deaths in the war in Gaza has been abhorrent. Trying to get us to jump on the Biden train because Trump would be worse is why Democrats lose. “Blue no matter who” will not win a general election. “I’m not as bad as Trump” is not going to rally enough support to defeat the man who wants to suspend the Constitution if reelected. Biden needs a better campaign, now.

Nate Craig, Portland, sidenate@gmail.com

Amnesty International reiterates its call for the immediate and unconditional release of all civilian hostages, some of them children, who have been held in the occupied Gaza Strip since being abducted by Hamas and other armed groups on Oct. 7. Hostage-taking and the abduction of civilians are prohibited by international law and are war crimes. Hostages must be treated humanely and in accordance with international law.

Since the attacks on Oct. 7, Israel has laid siege to the Gaza Strip and bombarded its civilians, rendering Gaza nearly uninhabitable and cutting off civilians from basic necessities. These actions are unlawful and may constitute war crimes. Amnesty International is calling for a permanent and immediate cease-fire, the end to all weapons transfers to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestine and the dismantlement of Israel’s apartheid system. Amnesty International calls on Israel to end its unlawful occupation of Palestine as integral to stop systematic human rights violations. Over the years, Israel’s military occupation has evolved into a perpetual occupation in flagrant violation of international law. Amnesty International condemns any human rights abuses, regardless of the perpetrator.

David Rendell, area coordinator, Amnesty International for N.J. and Eastern Pa.

As if inflation hasn’t harmed consumers enough already, President Joe Biden is not taking action to prevent tax cuts introduced during the Trump administration from expiring. Also, he has proposed raising taxes on corporations. When corporations’ costs increase, they have to make adjustments to offset those additional costs. The adjustments can include increasing prices for their products and/or cutting staff. Neither of these “adjustments” is good for Americans, particularly lower- and middle-class consumers. Biden’s tax proposal also includes increasing the capital gains tax to 44%. Taxing capital gains means less investment, it means less economic growth, and it means the rise in people’s standards of living is going to slow dramatically. Voters need to keep these types of strategies by Biden in mind when deciding which party to support when casting their ballots.

Richard Wozniak, St. Augustine, Fla.

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