What mask mandate?
Am I missing something?
Front page of 9/8 Northeast Times shows Councilman Henon, Congressman Boyle, Superintendent Hite and others standing right next to each other, indoors, with no masks. Six feet distancing? What am I missing here?
James J. Hegarty
Torresdale
A CLIP alert
Walking on Cottman Avenue and Englewood Street — the even side on the 3400 block — is a space that needs your expert attention. They are a group of lawns that are so ugly and unkept, it is no credit to the neighborhood. A broken sidewalk on Englewood where someone could easily fall was another item of neglect. Please do work here and also ask the store owner at Leon and Cottman to power wash his dirty sidewalk.
If you do not take care of the outside of your property, perhaps renting an apartment would be a better decision.
Come on, Mayfair, spruce up and clean up.
Virginia M. Murphy
Lawndale
Backwards
Mr. President, you’re supposed to keep the troops in Afghanistan, then you remove all Americans and equipment. Then you pull out the troops. Got it?
Fred Wollner
Holmesburg
Taste of their own medicine
The US left all that used military equipment in Afghanistan that some people believe is abhorrent.
Since it was all “used” equipment, let’s see how the Taliban handles all those “your warranty has expired” telephone calls from a different country by a foreign speaker.
Mayer Krain
Modena Park
The cost of living
Philadelphia raised real estate taxes a few years ago. Then, because of a public outcry, they stopped raising those taxes. However, at the same time, a number of utilities and fees for travel started raising their prices.
Water has gone up over the last 8 years. Now, a 3½% increase for 2021, and a 6½% increase for 2022.
Gas has increased 4.4% for 2021.
Electric has proposed an increase for 2021.
The Turnpike prices have been going up over the last 6 years. Now they are proposing a 5% increase this year and more to follow next year.
Local bridges have increased their tolls and some bridges that never had tolls have started them.
Gasoline has increased more than a dollar over the last year and it continues to go up.
Some people are unable to pay for utilities. The city has to find a way to collect what is owed or find other funding, without forcing other citizens (middle class and senior citizens) to cover the total costs. I personally don’t know of any other large city in the country who doesn’t collect utility bills or real estate taxes from those who could afford to pay.
In our city, we pay an 8% sales tax and a sugar tax that charges 1½ cents for every ounce of drinks.
Inflation is up 5.4% from June 2020 and growing. It is the highest since 2008.
Other costs are also going up.
The cost of prescription drugs is out of sight. Food costs keep going up with no end in sight because of COVID-19.
With the minimum wage increasing to $15, prices for all goods and services will increase.
The cost of Medicare and other health insurances will go up, too.
The government has money to provide health care and housing (sometimes in hotels at a great expense, sometimes $360 a night) for tens of thousands of immigrants (many of whom are children) coming into the country illegally. They pay to fly and bus them to different parts of the country. In regard to the surge of immigrants coming across our southern border and being dispersed across the country, many are coming in and testing positive for COVID-19. They are bringing the infection to all parts of the country and that’s another reason for the increase in COVID-19 cases and why they can’t get it under control.
Now we have immigrants coming in from Afghanistan. Biden plans to take care of these people, too. He even prioritized their exit from Afghanistan before Americans over there, at first.
The SNAP government program will give a family of four $36.25 extra a month in food stamps, which is over a 25% percent increase over pre-COVID benefits.
How much more money in taxes will all of these increases and new programs cost the American citizens.
Considering all of the expenses for seniors and the way our government spreads money on those who are not even citizens, they must have money to give to seniors. The increase in Social Security should be upward of 10%.
Larry Chiolan
East Torresdale
You can’t defend Jan. 6
In response to the letter by Al Ulus that the BLM riots were worse than those on Jan. 6, what happened on Jan. 6 is nothing like pro-democracy protests in other countries. Or with the BLM protests of 2020. They were protests against corrupt dictatorships, and BLM was a protest against systemic racism. Unfortunately, unseemly people and criminals used the situation to loot and riot and they were condemned by everyone. You state that Democrats said nothing about it, you are wrong. Every major candidate and congressperson condemned the lawlessness and called for it to end.
The Jan. 6 insurrection was completely different. These were well-prepared and well-equipped militia groups and white supremacists. What were they prepared for? An all-out assault on our Capitol building to stop the certification of the presidential election. Along with some misguided rally-goers, they stormed the Capitol and attacked police like an opposing army. All at the direction of the outgoing president. If it wasn’t for the brave men and women of the Capitol Police, severely outnumbered and outgunned, it could’ve been much worse. Think about what they went through. What if these attackers were able to reach the chambers before they were able to be evacuated? Would they have hanged Mike Pence? Nancy Pelosi? I believe they would have. Do you hate your political opposition that much to condone that? If you do, you are not patriotic or American. That’s how serious Jan. 6 was. And those Republicans who keep trying to downplay it will be remembered in history as traitors.
Dave Chester
Bustleton
A way to keep illegals out
It’s intriguing how the government and the media project who is not getting paid if they don’t raise the debt ceiling. Usually first or second on the list is Social Security checks won’t be sent out. Which is kind of amazing because the government within the last 2 weeks said Medicare is fully funded through 2026 and Social Security is fully funded through 2034. Shouldn’t they be saying Medicaid, welfare and food stamps won’t be funded. Which would probably solve another social problem: illegal immigration. If these social programs aren’t available, why come? Probably the first item that should not be funded is congressional pay until they solve the debt ceiling problem and actually do some work instead of acting like they are in a playground fight.
Richard Donofry
East Torresdale
