Taxpayers are underdogs
Again, Kenney does not understand what’s going on in the world. He comes out with, “I believe the real underdogs in Philadelphia are our students.” Typical of his mindset. The underdogs in this city are the taxpayers and business owners.
This tax bill is voodoo economics cloaked in smoke and mirrors just like last year’s property tax.
It’s just like the cigarette and soda taxes. When is the last time any accounting numbers were publicized for the cigarette tax. Is the city making any money from it?
And now the illustrious soda tax. From the beginning, the city knew that this was a tax of diminishing return. Well, they didn’t expect it to diminish as quickly as it did. The tax was sold to the public as a conduit to fund preschools and then they added the other programs. The preschool plan was to fund 6,500 children but since the tax came up short, they can’t fund that amount. So, Kenney will hire somebody to tell the 4- and 5-year-olds that they are going to preschool. Who picks who is left out?
It’s a shame that the circus closed because the mayor and City Council should take this show on the road. Don’t forget your Plexiglas because it’s dangerous out there.
Richard Donofry
East Torresdale
Schools demanding money
How many City Council members will vote to increase property taxes on hard-working people to provide more funding to the forever-needing, bottomless pit Philadelphia public schools? And by the way, the Philadelphia public schools have been ranked among the worst in the nation. Nice to see taxpayers are getting a bang for their buck!
Let’s not forget the mayor insisted that the soda tax will help close the deficit in school funding even though a grade school drop-out could have told the mayor that people will buy fewer beverages or go outside the city to buy them.
How many people and businesses will leave the city if property taxes are raised?
And lastly, how many people remaining in the city will vote to re-elect this mayor and any City Council member who approves this tax hike?
Peter DiGiuseppe
Rhawnhurst
We need Clean Power Plan
It is extremely disheartening to hear that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is attempting to repeal the Clean Power Plan, which would limit carbon pollution that contributes to climate change. While our country is being ravaged by storms, wildfires and droughts, repealing the CPP shows a dramatic disconnect between the welfare of the American people and the goals of Mr. Pruitt.
According to a Trump administration’s own analysis, 4,500 premature deaths each year could be prevented by 2030 if we adhere to the Clean Power Plan. This alone is an opportunity that should not be missed. Yet Pruitt is willing to ignore these numbers to score political points with fossil fuel CEO’s and his campaign contributors.
Repealing the CPP will lead to more sick days, more premature deaths and even more extreme weather conditions. This is why I’m taking action and volunteering with Defend Our Future, a non-partisan, student-led group working to defend the EPA and programs like the CPP.
Scott Pruitt’s decision to repeal the Clean Power Plan will endanger America’s public health and intensify the threat of climate change. He is unfit to be Administrator of the EPA.
Amanda McGill
Torresdale
Guns make us less safe
Another mass shooting has occurred. At this point, you wonder what it would take for the president to sign a bill with stricter gun laws. To think, even after the mass shooting in Las Vegas, nothing was done about bump stocks.
Another realization is that someone can order online a weapon that needs to be assembled without any background check. To think that a person must be 21 to get a license for a handgun, but at age 18 can purchase an assault weapon. Also, to think that someone with deep emotional problems can purchase weapons.
Is it all about our rights to have arms? Without stricter gun laws, mass shootings will continue. Certainly, the right to have guns has taken away our right to be safe.
Marie Patton
Fox Chase
