Letters to the Editor | Oct. 18, 2022

Michaelle Bond’s article on how big investors are moving into the city’s rental market fails to mention the city’s responsibility for this trend. This city is seriously anti-landlord, and small housing providers are selling out. During the pandemic, Philly’s courts actually protected nonpaying working tenants from eviction — unheard of in other cities. I lost six months’ rent to a scamming tenant and have no recourse to recovery. City Council recently passed a law saying a housing provider cannot reject an applicant with past evictions and poor credit. Who in their right mind would want to stay in this business? There are many other insane regulations driving mom-and-pop housing providers to sell to big investors. As long as the city sees small housing providers as adversaries and refuses to dialogue with them on their challenges and frustrations, they will continue to sell out to big investors. The crisis in affordable housing will only get worse.

Pauline Rosenberg, Philadelphia

The heartbreaking op-ed by Margaret Guthrie regarding the “golden years” compelled me to write. How can we as a nation let our seniors fall into poverty, choosing between eating, medication, paying the rent, or buying food? It’s time the politicians in Washington, D.C., who do not face these concerns and are probably indifferent to them, remove the salary cap for paying into Social Security. Currently, all those who make over $147,000 do not pay into the fund on anything above that amount. Why is this? Social Security taxes should be paid on all income: the corporate provided luxury homes, limousines, airplanes, and nauseatingly exorbitant bonuses. Those who make over the cap get an immediate tax break of 6.2% for all income earned over $147,000, plus employers do not have to pay their share. Isn’t that great for those who earn more and the companies that employ them, while starving Social Security of income that could be used to help raise our elderly out of poverty and allow their “golden years” to be lived with dignity and respect? If there is a cap, it should be on who can collect Social Security, keeping the rich from benefiting once again. For the young of our nation and those looking at retirement, it’s time to get involved politically and bombard our elected politicians to remove this cap and level the playing field, so that we can be proud as a nation with how we respect and honor our elderly.

Marianne Gottschall, Phoenixville

Wawa is shutting down two more Center City stores because of ongoing violence. The city that was the birthplace of this company’s phenomenal success says it was forced to close stores because of out-of-control crime.

Another black eye for the city, in addition to a great loss for those of us who live and work here.

Mayor Jim Kenney, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw, and District Attorney Larry Krasner: What are we doing about this? Hello? Anyone listening?

Tim Gettings, Philadelphia

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