Letters to the Editor | Aug. 14, 2024

The 2024 Olympics in Paris have come to an end. For 16 days, athletes from 206 nations around the world held us spellbound with their astonishing abilities. The Olympics brought 12,714 competitors together. We sent nearly 600 athletes. Look at these last names, and you will see that their families came from all over the world: Huske, Biles, Embiid, Ledecky, Lyles, Giuliano, Fink. That is and always has been the magic of America, that people from all over the world can come here and make their lives here. We can be proud of our athletes, Americans all. U-S-A!

Sheryl Kalick, Philadelphia

We were all amazed by Simone Biles’ courageous and spectacular performance at the Olympics. Several sports commentators called her the greatest athlete of all time. However, at the 2024 Olympics, there was another athlete who broke a record of all previous athletes. His name is Mijaín López Núñez, and he represented the nation of Cuba in wrestling. He won a record-setting fifth consecutive gold medal. His first was in 2008 in Beijing.

Recently, Major League Baseball recognized the records of professional players who competed in the Negro Leagues. As a result, it now recognizes Josh Gibson as the greatest hitter of all time. However, there is another all-star from the Negro Leagues whom few people know of. His name was Martín Dihigo Llanos, and he was also Cuban. Dihigo was outstanding at many positions, including pitcher. He was inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1977.

The United States has maintained a trade embargo against Cuba since 1962. One of the reasons why people in this country know little about the history of Cuban sports is because of that embargo. There are many other areas where Cuba has made outstanding contributions. These include medicine, agriculture, music, dancing, and artistic expression. These facts begin to underscore the enormity of benefits we would gain by ending the embargo.

Steven Halpern, Philadelphia, hnbpjs@gmail.com

The saddest parts of The Inquirer article, “How speculators fueled a nightmare for Kensington residents,” are those lines portraying city inaction: “often with little intervention from City Hall,” “taken only 200 owners … to court,” “plans … still being developed,” and “The city could sue, but has not done so.” Only a full, organized, concerted push by all of the city’s agencies can solve this problem. If a landlord finds it cheaper for the city to clean up his property, it means the city isn’t charging enough. If a landlord dumps chickens on a property, arrest him. If he leaves property open to drug dealing, charge him with complicity. If he doesn’t pay taxes, seize the property. Vulture capitalists are taking advantage of the city, which seems to be engaged in an agency-by-agency defense. It’s time for a full-court press.

Stephen E. Phillips, Philadelphia, stephen.phillips.33701@gmail.com

Reading Kyle Sammin’s recent column suggesting a real estate tax plan that could, theoretically, reduce or eliminate Philly’s onerous wage tax was a head-scratching exercise. Sammin suggests a plan where only the actual land value would be subject to taxes, any improvements to the property, structures, additions, rehabilitation, etc., would not be considered. He extols the simplicity and inherent fairness of this dubious methodology and naively contends that new housing would spring like wildflowers on vacant lots since the new structures would not impact the owners’ tax burden. Who would reap the benefits of this gentrification on steroids?

Consider a scenario of a longtime, low-income resident whose property, unfortunately, has fallen into disrepair having to pay the same tax — remember, land only — as the dazzling new house next door with quadruple the market value. It seems more than a bit sophomoric.

Did Sammin consider just how regressive such a tax structure would be? How does he suppose all the lost revenue from wage tax cuts or elimination would be recompensed? In one of the poorest major cities in the nation, many economically challenged (poor) homeowners struggling to maintain a roof over their heads would be paying increased real estate tax on their modest dwelling while the McMansion next door would likely see a decrease. Presented as a fair and simple solution by a conservative mindset, this plan is neither.

J. Savage, Philadelphia

The account of the Pennsylvania legislature’s approval of a deeply flawed carbon capture bill is a distressing read that calls for a vigorous public response. The legislative process described was so irregular as to be rigged. The bill, SB 831, was referred not to the House committee of jurisdiction — the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee — but rather to the Consumer Protection, Technology and Utilities Committee. There, it was approved without a public hearing or a committee debate in less than five minutes. While several state representatives protested these irregularities on the House floor, the House ultimately approved SB 831, and Gov. Josh Shapiro signed it into law.

The new law creates a weak regulatory framework for technologies that are still on the drawing board. Given the state’s decades of drilling and thousands of abandoned wells, it is a questionable site for technologies that involve long-term underground storage. The law imposes liabilities on taxpayers for carbon capture projects that fail or produce harmful results. Its protections for property owners whose land lies above or adjacent to carbon capture sites are inadequate.

It is no wonder concerned individuals and groups are petitioning the legislature to reconsider. I have added my name to this call, and I encourage other readers to do so. Carbon capture is an important yet still uncertain technology that requires open and transparent consideration under normal legislative rules.

Elaine Fultz, Philadelphia

Candidates with running mates in glass houses shouldn’t be throwing stones. Regardless of the dubious argument of Republican JD Vance’s attack on Democrat Tim Walz, Donald Trump at best managed to escape military service due to his connections, or at worst was a draft dodger. Ask Trump which foot had the bone spurs. Show us the X-rays or the surgical report on their removal. Vance should stop whining about a technical misunderstanding. Walz served in the National Guard for 24 years and could have been called up at any time. Neither Vance nor Walz were in combat — and Trump was probably laughing about how clever he was to not have to serve his country at all.

Sam Goldwasser, Bala Cynwyd, samslaser@gmail.com

Why haven’t the Democrats done more to counteract the misinformation in Republican ads? Joe Biden and Kamala Harris did not cause inflation. COVID-19 caused worldwide inflation (Trump’s tax cuts did triple the deficit). Actually, Biden’s policies have dealt with inflation better than most other countries (although if you listen to some ads, it was Bob Casey’s single vote that caused inflation).

Regarding immigration, the Biden administration is on track to deport more people who are in the country illegally than Trump (so did Barack Obama). Trump’s so-called policy was blocking entry to legal asylum-seekers using COVID as an excuse. Though Trump did build a partial wall, which is basically an ineffective, expensive eyesore. Also, he separated immigrant children from their parents. At least Harris did point out that Trump showed he really wasn’t interested in immigration, but rather in his own election when he had the Republicans defeat the bipartisan border bill.

Douglas Olsen, Willingboro

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