Letters to the Editor | May 26, 2025

Early Thursday morning, the Republican-controlled House passed President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. If a simple majority of the Senate concurs with its GOP House colleagues, then the bill becomes law. What exactly can we, the taxpaying electors of Congress, expect to see? The possibilities are economically harrowing: an increase of $2.3 trillion to the current $36 trillion national debt over the next 10 years, rising interest rates as government borrowing becomes more expensive, and untold turmoil in the stock market.

Passage of this bill extends the 2017 tax breaks (Trump’s legacy) for the wealthiest elites and corporations, thus depriving the Treasury of some $4 trillion that would have accrued over the next decade. Our nation’s most needy citizens will feel economic pain when millions lose their healthcare — money saved on Medicaid cuts will offset increased costs for military and immigration deportation spending. It appears the real winners in this 2025 budget debacle will, once again, be those same folks who benefited from the 2017 budget bill: the American oligarchs. American voters have not only met the enemy, but they have also created it.

James L. DeBoy, Lancaster

While the story that Marie Antoinette said, “Let them eat cake!” after she heard starving French peasants had no bread to eat may be apocryphal, the indifference and hardness in the hearts of our legislators as they refuse to properly fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is all too real. For decades, our nation has relied on SNAP to prevent hunger. Even with SNAP, 34 million people in the U.S. still face hunger, including nine million children. The next time you experience hunger, your stomach may growl, and you may run to the kitchen for a PB&J sandwich and a glass of milk. When your hunger subsides, please remember the millions of people in our country who live with hunger daily, with limited food in their kitchens. I challenge you to create a reminder to call your senators to demand full funding for SNAP. We must keep pressing — your voice may make the difference.

Gerri DiLisi, Lansdale

We ask our 18-year-old soldiers to lay down their lives for the nation, yet 65-year-old lawyers in Washington will not stand up for the Constitution.

Jerry Wildeboer, U.S. Army, RVN, Berwyn, wildeboerj@comcast.net

The current political rhetoric shows Americans are passionate about their country. It’s commendable when that passion yields peaceful protests, reasoned arguments, and higher voter turnout. It should be condemned when that passion results in calling someone a Nazi because you differ with their views. Calling someone a follower of Adolf Hitler’s totalitarian political ideology simply because you disagree insults the memory of the millions who fought to stop Hitler and who died because of his ideology. Particularly on Memorial Day, passionate Americans everywhere should agree.

Gerald M. Carey, Millville

In response to the recent op-ed questioning Gov. Josh Shapiro’s commitment to paid family leave, the governor has been leading by example to support working families, starting with the nearly 80,000 employees who work for the commonwealth. In February 2024, the Shapiro administration expanded paid parental leave for commonwealth employees from six weeks to eight weeks. This move directly supports thousands of Pennsylvania families and sets a standard that other employers can follow. That’s not all. The Shapiro administration is offering new benefits to support commonwealth employees who are caregivers to their parents or children due to age, disability, or special needs.

Work is underway to increase the availability of childcare to commonwealth employees in the Capitol Complex. And, beginning in August, waiting periods and buy-ups are being eliminated for new hires to enroll themselves and their dependents in medical, prescription, dental, and vision coverage. This means families will no longer have to worry about gaps in coverage and can keep more hard-earned money in their pockets. While some talk, Shapiro is getting real results for working families in every corner of the commonwealth. Pennsylvania families deserve more than political gestures; they deserve progress. That’s exactly what this administration is delivering.

Neil R. Weaver, secretary, Office of Administration, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

We have a Donald Trump problem. He sees himself as entitled to behave like a dictator despite winning the presidency by one of the smallest popular vote margins in decades. His administration is filled with loyalists, without concern for competence. He bullies our allies and competitors, significantly damaging our reputation in the world. His treatment of vulnerable groups is morally counter to virtually all religions. He is driven by revenge, not by advancing policies that will improve lives.

Even more concerning is the failure of Republicans, who are supposed to be representing the people and defending the Constitution, to stand up to Trump. In my youth, Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy was a popular book highlighting politicians who distinguished themselves by making difficult but morally correct decisions. They risked their popularity and position to do the right thing. When the book is written about GOP politicians of the Trump era, likely book titles will be: Profiles in Cowardice, Profiles in Complicity, or Profiles in Spinelessness. Until Republicans decide to act with courage, we all will suffer the consequences of an unchecked narcissist who envisions the country as an oligarchy.

Arnie Cann, Philadelphia

Community College of Philadelphia is an indispensable institution. CCP is the city’s only public, open-admission institution. The college has provided higher education and support for thousands of the city’s residents, men and women who would otherwise be denied those benefits. The students whom the college serves have found their lives enriched and their career opportunities enlarged.

Over the past decade, Donald Guy Generals has tirelessly and effectively led the college’s efforts. Measured by all relevant criteria, CCP under Generals’ leadership has significantly expanded the range and quality of its educational offerings and support services. In view of that record, why was Generals summarily fired? So far, the explanations Harold T. Epps and his board have offered are vague, self-serving, and unsatisfactory.

Generals, on the other hand, has provided abundant and specific information in his rebuttals. His charge that his dismissal was personal and retaliatory seems quite plausible to many of us who have long admired the work of the college and his accomplishments. It is time for Epps to come clean. Why exactly did he and his board choose to fire a superb academic leader, at the same time threatening the stability of the institution?

Peter Conn, Philadelphia, pconn@english.upenn.edu

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