Letters to the Editor | Aug. 2, 2023

Peco’s plan to clear a homeless encampment from its riverside property in Norristown should not be labeled a “coda.” Rather, the utility, the county, and Norristown Borough officials might consider this action an overture that leads to a thoughtfully composed and far more substantial effort to address the scarcity of temporary shelter and affordable housing. Elsewhere, in exploring the fate of underused office buildings, experts suggest tax abatements, tax credits, and “really attractive financing programs” as incentives that could trigger the conversion of office buildings to apartments. Why not harness these very same incentives in tackling the affordable housing crisis? A true public-private partnership with Peco, Montgomery County leadership, the building trades unions, and the real estate community could advocate for state and federal funding that would serve the housing needs of economically challenged residents while also generating jobs and a reasonable return on investment.

Sydelle Zove, Whitemarsh Township, sydelle.zove@gmail.com

To paraphrase Upton Sinclair, it’s difficult to get a man to understand something when his power and position depend on his not understanding it. Climate change denial is expected behavior from congressional members beholden to their campaign donors who are fossil fuel billionaires. Since 2010, the oil and gas industry has spent $659 million in campaign donations and $1.7 billion in lobbying, per OpenSecrets.org. In 2022, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin was the top recipient of campaign donations by the oil and gas industry in the U.S. Senate, likely due to his efforts to block the EPA plan to cut power plants’ greenhouse gas emissions. Why does Big Oil spend big money on politics? Because it buys a big return on investment. As Americans work for energy policy changes to avert a possible climate Armageddon, we must also pass a constitutional amendment to disable the legalized corruption of unlimited political spending.

Marie Henselder Kimmel, volunteer coordinator, New Jersey chapter, citizen advocacy group American Promise, Cherry Hill, americanpromisenj@gmail.com

I totally agree with columnist Solomon Jones’ call to boycott Florida — and I would include Texas as well. I have been saying the same thing to friends and relatives for almost two years. We would usually go to Florida for a winter vacation but have decided to spend our vacation time and money elsewhere. Last year we went to San Diego, and we had a great trip along with great weather. Why should we support a state with such egregious abuses toward Black people and the LGBTQ community with our tax dollars? It’s not as though there aren’t other places to go.

I feel the same way about the so-called flyover states that claim us coastal people don’t care about them. (What do you want us to do, stopover in Omaha, Neb., to say hello?) They also claim we need middle America. And yes, we do to a certain extent, but they need us more. If we don’t consume their products, they are out of business, and we’ll find other sources. That was apparent during the pandemic when restaurants shut down and farmers had to dump their products. I’m sorry that happened, but consumerism works both ways, and these states that think they can dictate to others will need to learn how it works.

Bill Grosso, Philadelphia

According to a recent op-ed by state House Majority Leader Matt Bradford, “There is no budget impasse.” But Gov. Josh Shapiro hasn’t signed any budget into law, and lawmakers aren’t reconvening until mid-September. If that’s not an impasse, I don’t know what is. Bradford doesn’t stop there. Writing that “there could be no deal on vouchers,” he suggested that Shapiro didn’t support Lifeline Scholarships. But just two weeks before this mess, Shapiro was on national television affirming his support of the scholarship program.

It’s clear that Bradford is playing political games — while we’re the ones who suffer. Bradford and his Democratic colleagues keep promising “significant investments in our schools,” but we are not seeing the results. If anything, things are getting worse. And while they continue their games, kids are still trapped in failing schools. Bradford needs to stop gaslighting voters and get back to work. The first thing he should do? Give Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable kids a lifeline.

Joy Converse, Philadelphia

The epic blockbuster Oppenheimer tells the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the brilliant but morally conflicted director of the Manhattan Project, which resulted in the creation of the atomic bomb and the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which claimed more than 200,000 lives. Oppenheimer agonized over the atrocity his work had enabled but salved his conscience with the dubious calculation that his responsibility for building the bomb didn’t extend to the decision to use it.

We see similar arguments being advanced today by some of the proponents of generative artificial intelligence. Although the dangers of unchecked AI are evident and unquantifiable, a few AI start-ups are mounting Manhattan Projects of their own to build ever more powerful AI systems, sell them for others to use, and reap billions of dollars in profits before rules can be written to put sensible guardrails on the uses of AI. Congress needs to act now to slow this mad rush toward potential tragedy. If the House can pass regulatory legislation (without adding culture war poison pills), the Senate would surely concur, and President Joe Biden can be counted on to sign it into law.

Charles Ault, Haverford

Columnist Jennifer Stefano, still smarting from the Lifeline Scholarships fiasco, needed an outlet for her ire. She chose to use a friend’s life-threatening malady as a tool. Stefano blames Gov. Josh Shapiro for the difficulty her ailing friend is having with telemedicine regulations since it seems that pandemic waivers on some restrictions to this service have expired under his watch. Her friend’s condition deserves sympathy and support, not misguided vitriol at Gov. Shapiro.

Stefano ignores the fact that the legislature passes laws, and until recently, was controlled by a Republican majority. Instead of spending countless hours and millions of taxpayer dollars contesting the 2020 election results, they instead could have looked at flaws in health-care regulations and created bills to offer relief to Stefano’s friend and all Pennsylvanians. Does Stefano need reminding that the GOP has been trying for years to decrease access to health care? I’m sure everyone wishes her friend well. But Stefano’s weaponization of a friend’s illness was as misguided as it was shameful.

J. Savage, Philadelphia

. . .

In sharing her friend’s struggle with cancer, columnist Jennifer Stefano shifts the difficulty of obtaining approval for her care to Gov. Josh Shapiro. In doing this, she avoids the fact that the Commonwealth Foundation (where she serves as executive vice president) opposes single-payer government-run health care, favoring for-profit private insurance. The ongoing outcome of private insurance is increasing costs, growing deficits, denials of care, declining longevity, infant mortality, and millions of people burdened with unpaid medical bills or bankruptcy. She rants about bureaucracy hurting her friend’s possibility of obtaining lifesaving care while, by omission, indirectly supporting a solution the Republican Party opposes.

Joel H. Beldner, Glenmoore

I am a guide at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. One of the objects I cover on my tour is a tall case clock by Peter Hill from around 1801. Hill was the enslaved assistant to Burlington clockmaker Joseph Hollinshead, from whom he learned his trade. It wasn’t until Hollinshead manumitted him on April 16, 1795, however, that Hill was able to profit from his learned skills, when he set up shop on the east side of High Street in Burlington. He was also then free to marry, which he did. The profits from his business allowed Hill to purchase property in 1801. This may be one of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ purported instances in which skills learned by slaves “could be applied for their personal benefit.” But the important distinction is that Hill couldn’t profit (or marry) until he had been freed; his skills gave him no personal benefit while he remained an enslaved person.

Jim Siegel, Philadelphia

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