Sounding off: Trump’s actions, Fetterman, Steelers among week’s topics
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The ripple effects of deportations
There are communities throughout our country that have suffered from lack of investment and employment opportunities. Immigrants moved into these neglected areas, gradually revitalizing them by bringing small businesses, restaurants and jobs. They have nurtured a sense of community, creating spaces where folks could socialize, meet neighbors and form friendships.
We have a president who won reelection by stirring up dissension among people throughout our country. His threats to further disrupt communities with mass deportations will hurt everyone — not just those facing deportation.
The ripple effects of this policy will be economically devastating for most Americans. Farmers are already concerned about losing money as crops go unharvested due to a shortage of migrant labor. This will inevitably drive up food prices. Furthermore, deportations are expensive. Aviation fuel costs alone for the six-month deportation program are expected to exceed half a trillion dollars. We will bear the financial burden while billionaires profit from the policies they have their proxy president put in place.
“People Get Ready,” written by Curtis Mayfield in 1965, is a song about redemption using the metaphor of a train picking up passengers on a journey toward salvation. It offers hope but warns against prioritizing selfish interests over the well-being of others.
There ain’t no room for the hopeless sinner
Who would hurt all mankind just to save his own.
I hope that we will awaken to the better angels of our nature and our best interests as responsible citizens before it is too late for our country.
Kathleen Acklin
Highland Park
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Kids taking over the Treasury
I gotta quit reading news on my phone and in newspapers. I get enraged.
I read that Elon Musk recruited six kids to help him in his Department of Government Efficiency, effectively taking over the Treasury Department and thereby Social Security.
Those kids are under 25 years old. One is 19. How does a 19- or 24-year-old know what it takes to survive long term in this world? What is their experience in life’s realities? Have they raised a family? Competed for jobs? Constantly paid bills? Taken their kids to hospitals? Buried parents and friends? Tried to live on minimum wage?
I am 81 years old and lived through these things in my lifetime. Now, a group of youngsters are going to take control of my Social Security? To what end? Well, senior citizens, if you voted Republican in this past election, you voted against your own self-interest. Politicians never do that!
Richard Dulemba
Washington Township, Westmoreland County
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Fetterman’s objectivity refreshing
It’s been a breath of fresh air to see Sen. John Fetterman being objective in putting Pennsylvanians’ interests above political alliances.
As Cabinet choices move through the confirmation process, Fetterman and Sen. Dave McCormick have a singular opportunity to play a critical role in restoring the health of all Americans.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has dedicated his career to caring deeply about the well-being of people and the planet, balanced with a keen appreciation for economics. He understands that these interests can be mutually supportive. With Pennsylvania’s unique leading role in health care, energy, agriculture and advanced technology, Kennedy’s positions benefit our citizens.
I’m confident Fetterman and McCormick recognize that confirming Kennedy as secretary of Health and Human Services is a vote for restoring our faith in health care and government. With their support, we truly will be strong in mind, body and economy.
Diane Liska
Penn Township, Westmoreland County
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Vilifying DEI will only hurt us
The idea that diversity initiatives compromise the quality of the workforce is a dangerous fiction. Building a diverse workforce isn’t about charity. It’s about bringing talents and perspectives into the workforce that allow us to generate better solutions to real problems.
We know, for instance, that being treated by Black doctors significantly improves health outcomes for Black patients. We also know that diverse teams produce more ideas, better critiques of those ideas and ultimately better work. We need people in the workforce who have critical knowledge, represent a range of backgrounds and experiences, and can shape smarter approaches. Otherwise, we not only squander talent from which we could greatly benefit, we also waste resources.
When we make no effort to create inclusive, equitable work environments, the high-quality, diverse candidates we work so hard to recruit leave and take their talents and perspectives elsewhere. Their experiences serve as a warning to others to steer clear, which makes future recruitment efforts more expensive and less effective. Creating fair, productive, welcoming work environments is not only the right thing to do; it’s good business.
This is no time to pull back on DEI efforts; it’s time to refine them, find out what works and what doesn’t, and do it smarter. And it’s time to double down on the values that underlie these initiatives to advance the goals of our institutions and the quality of our work.
Marie Norman
Squirrel Hill
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Democrats’ rebellion against Trump is selfish
Now that the Democrats have lost their selfish hold on the American people, they are rebelling against a duly elected president and his appointees. In my opinion, it’s not because of their concern for the American people who had to endure four long years of a liberal, woke, incompetent Biden administration but because of their one-sided concern for themselves.
It’s about time we return to a commonsense society based on deep Christian and family values. And yes, we deeply thank our good God for protecting President Trump from all evil intentions.
Rene A. Marquis
Jeannette
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Pittsburgh and Pa. rapidly dying for a reason
Recent statistics show that Pittsburgh is the fifth fastest dying city in the country and Pennsylvania is the 10th fastest dying state. Having been in the construction industry for over 30 years and working with corporations from all over the country, I’ve learned that the main reasons the major private developers are hesitant to come into Pennsylvania, especially Pittsburgh, are dubious politicians, a hostile union labor force, excessive taxes, crumbling infrastructure and the low quality of living available to their employees.
For example, taxpayer-funded projects are rigged to keep out the more reasonably priced non-union contractors, even if they pay as much or more than union shops. They are blocked out by nonessential provisions inserted in the bidding process and contracts designed so that only union shops can comply with them. If Pennsylvania were a “right to work” state and allowed merit shops to compete on road construction projects, PennDOT alone could easily cut $3 billion to $4 billion from its bloated $10 billion budget. Imagine the additional billions that would be saved if merit shops were allowed to build schools, public housing, government buildings and other infrastructure projects as well.
As long as we keep electing pawns that are beholden to union bosses and their dirty money, we shall reap what we sow.
E. Joseph Biss
Greensburg
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Steelers need a new standard
As a young man and a spoiled Steelers fan of the 1970s, the pithy adage of “The standard is the standard” would have had a lot more “chops” then; today, not so much. As a “’Burgher” on the outside looking in, the translation of that adage is more to the tune of “lose, lose, lose, lose, lose, oh well, better luck next year” and of course, “give us more money.”
It’s time for a new, up-to-date adage, like “second place ain’t so bad,” or “if you can’t beat them, watch them on TV.” You know, something more apt.
Mike Daly
Carnegie