Letters to the Editor | Feb. 16, 2024

On Feb. 6, and again on Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, the cochair of the Problem Solvers Caucus, voted to impeach Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, releasing a statement in between that said that “we cannot play politics with our national security.” The sheer hypocrisy of this statement is breathtaking and, sadly, all too common for this so-called representative. Fitzpatrick and his MAGA Republican colleagues were playing the most cynical and hypocritical politics by creating a media circus around impeaching Mayorkas to cater to their presumed presidential candidate’s stated desire that there be no border compromise. Time and again we have seen Fitzpatrick throw aside his self-proclaimed moderate positions and cast his vote in support of MAGA priorities. Bucks County deserves better. We need a real problem solver, not one who says he will solve problems, but votes to create them.

Alison Levine, Carversville

The Inquirer Editorial Board has in the past endorsed U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick and cited his independence. Yet for the past year, we have seen Fitzpatrick vote repeatedly in favor of the most extreme right-wing agenda, including the recent vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. What were the “high crimes and misdemeanors” that are required for impeachment? Sadly, Republicans could not answer this question, and Fitzpatrick — no longer independent — marched right along with the worst of his party and voted to impeach. Hopefully, the Editorial Board will come to its senses, examine the record, and cease to endorse this extremist. Someone voting “all MAGA, all the time” does not deserve to represent voters in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Thomas Rogers, North Wales

Editor’s note: The Inquirer endorsed Rep. Fitzpatrick’s opponent, Ashley Ehasz, in the November 2022 election and Steve Santarsiero in 2016.

President Joe Biden’s approval rating for his handling of inflation is under 30%. It’s understandable that people who have been hurt by higher prices for essentials like food and energy are angry, and it is only human nature that they would look for someone to blame. But there is no basis whatsoever in saying that someone is Biden — or even Donald Trump, for that matter — because inflation was a worldwide phenomenon. Among countries in Western Europe, the median rate at its peak in 2022 was 8.2%, essentially the same as in the U.S. Moreover, the fact that the two numbers were equivalent, points almost irrefutably to a common cause, that being the immense disruption to supply and demand caused by the pandemic. So, if you want to see Biden defeated in November, that is your right, but voting to oust him based on a widely promulgated lie is about as unpatriotic as unpatriotic gets.

Gary Blackburn, Newtown

Chinatown businesses and residents are protesting a proposed arena in their neighborhood, while Sixers management claims crowds coming to see events will be a boon to restaurants and nearby businesses. The Sixers brush off worries about worsening local traffic, asserting proximity to transit means few people will drive. But we have a control group: the current arena’s neighborhood. I’m not hearing about anyone protesting about the Sixers leaving the area.

If SEPTA is capable of adding frequent, high-capacity night owl buses/trains/shuttles to get suburbanites home after events, why hasn’t it already done so? Why haven’t some of those parking spaces near the current arena become the type of retail the Sixers claim will spring up in the Fashion District once the arena arrives? You can’t expect ticket holders to suddenly decide to start taking a two-hour public transit odyssey after a late event, including walking after midnight. They certainly won’t stay late to eat if they must worry about missing an infrequent bus. Perhaps the Sports Complex and SEPTA should show us they can solve the too-many-cars problem before moving it into a densely populated neighborhood.

Eileen K. Carpenter, Philadelphia

It’s time for Philadelphia to be bold. World-class cities don’t allow opportunities to pass them by, they grab hold and make them a reality. Over the years, various developers have broken the mold with projects like One Penn Center, Liberty Place, and the Comcast Center. Look at the evolution of University City, and what is happening with residential construction at the Navy Yard, joining our health-care and life sciences communities. These have been landmark projects that have propelled our city forward. We need to keep that up.

We have a new opportunity with 76 Place to revitalize Market East. It’s a bold project that will light up an area that needs it. Are there challenges? Of course there are. The development team recognizes those obstacles and vows to include solutions. Let’s hold them to that standard. We don’t have many people who are willing to invest billions of their own dollars without looking for the city to chip in, so let’s embrace this project and look for more. Those cities that stop trying to grow will get left behind. We have new leadership in place to get more done and now is the time. There is risk for everyone here, but let’s be bold.

Bradley J. Korman, co-CEO, Korman Communities

Gov. Josh Shapiro wants to make college more affordable. He wants to make a productive career upon graduation more of a certainty. He wants to make higher education the real pathway to social mobility we like to tell ourselves it is. Look, if the man can galvanize folks to reopen I-95 in two weeks, I’m not betting against him on this, because things must change.

College is a critical path for young people on their way to a life of financial security and personal flourishing. But as an investment, it isn’t delivering for too many young people — especially for those who are Black, brown, and low-income. Pennsylvania students pay nearly $9,000 more per year to attend the state’s colleges and universities than their peers do in their respective states on average. Black and brown students carry the most debt along with first-generation college graduates. Black graduates, on average, owe $25,000 more in student loan debt than their white peers. Couple this with the fact that the state’s youth unemployment rate (which includes recent college grads) typically runs more than double the overall adult rate, and we have a state chock full of financially strained, underemployed young people.

Penn State president Neeli Bendapudi has already endorsed the major tenets of Shapiro’s plan, and even Republican leaders are saying positive things. In reality, we’re miles away from any ticker-tape moments, but the fact that even GOP leadership isn’t dismissing the effort out of hand is an indication of how compelling, sensible, and just plain smart the governor’s plan is. It’s also just the right thing to do. An adequately and equitably funded K-12 system with robust connections to affordable, high-quality higher ed that leads to long-term employability would be nothing short of transformational for the lives of our young people, and for the future of our state’s economy.

Sharif El-Mekki, Philadelphia

France has joined the U.S. in sanctioning Israeli settlers. I’m curious about the judicial proceedings in both countries. Was there a trial, witnesses, lawyers, evidence, a judge? Any due process at all? How does one make observations and judgments from so far away? Whose judicial system was used? Whose testimony was this based on? Will France or the U.S. withhold aid to the Palestinian people over the Palestinian Authority’s “pay to slay” program, which provides lifelong stipends to the families of terrorists? That’s an official program that rewards violence. These sanctions strike me as very one-sided. To both the U.S. and France: What gives?

Margalit Whitmore, Philadelphia

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