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Readers respond: White newcomers dissing Brewerytown's blacks

"They prance around the neighborhood as if they OWN it and look upon the African Americans as if we are the interlopers."

Whites taking over Brewerytown

As a longtime resident of the Brewerytown section of Philadelphia, I have seen the changes in the neighborhood due to gentrification ("Bitterness brewing," Tuesday).

Not all of those changes have been positive. I have no real issue with whites moving into urban areas, except for two things.

First, these folks are given tax abatements to live in lofts and townhouses, while long-term residents' property taxes steadily increase. I could care less about Caucasians living in the "hood," but I don't wish to pay for their existence.

Second, the influx of whites has resulted in bitterness because the whites have shown no respect to those who have lived in the community long before most of them were even born. They prance around the neighborhood as if they OWN it and look upon the African Americans as if we are the interlopers.

Linda D. Bryant, Philadelphia

Raise taxes on Pa.’s wealthy

Pennsylvania has a large projected budget deficit for the upcoming fiscal year ("Pa. lawmakers are masters of their Puniverse," Wednesday). Some estimates are in the $2 billion to $3 billion range.

Increased gambling won't fill that gap, and neither will a severance tax on shale gas, although that should be taxed. Only increased taxes on income will bring in sufficient revenues.

Even Republicans aren't suggesting we can cut government services or education funding to close the gap. What's the solution? Increase taxes on the wealthy. According to taxfoundation.org, Pennsylvania has the second-lowest income tax on high earners, 3.07 percent. Only North Dakota (2.9 percent) has a lower rate, and it has a severance tax on shale oil. A small increase in wealthy Pennsylvanians' taxes won't hurt them. They can afford it.

James Aleo, Philadelphia

Ezra Pound’s bigoted side

The article, "Penn conference explores all things Pound" (Tuesday) extolled the brilliance and literary/artistic genius of influential University of Pennsylvania alum Ezra Pound. Pound was an undeniable cultural force, and the story described the writer/polymath's influence and contributions. It also raised the question of why the international conference has taken 27 years to be held at Penn.

I would suggest that this might be, at least in part, attributable to the poet's strident anti-Semitism and unabashed support for fascism and Nazism, even as Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler were achieving international prominence. I am surprised at this glaring omission.

John Eliot Fisher, Elkins Park

DNC protesters not like Va. shooter

In commenting on last week's conviction of six political demonstrators for breaching a fence at the Democratic National Convention, acting U.S. Attorney Louis D. Lappen stated that the conviction "and security concerns are underscored by the tragic events of this morning's shooting in a Virginia park targeting members of Congress" ("6 DNC protesters found guilty by judge," June 23). His statement likens the demonstrators' actions to those of a would-be assassin. This is a false comparison.

The judge ruled that five of the demonstrators (I represented one of them) never intended anyone physical harm and found that their actions were sufficiently punished with a small fine. He deferred his ruling on the sixth defendant.

Lappen is free to offer his views on the outcome of cases his office prosecutes. But, commentary equating political protest with murder is unwise, dangerous, and seems directly out of the Trump administration playbook for harshly responding to dissent. We should expect better from our region's chief federal law enforcement officer.

Jonathan H. Feinberg, Philadelphia, jfeinberg@krlawphila.com

50 percent of black fathers are absent

I was surprised to read that the common perception of high absenteeism among black fathers is a "myth" and a "stereotype" and the result of "cognitive laziness"("Don't fall for stereotypes about the black father," June 16).

I expected to learn the rates of absenteeism among black fathers, but the commentary never provided them.
So I looked up the data. The U.S. Census Bureau statistics released in 1990, 2000, and 2010 revealed that about 50 percent of black children lived in homes without fathers, compared to about 26 percent of Hispanic children and 17 percent of white children. Yet, the statistics showed a significant decrease in black children in fatherless homes, from 51.1 percent in 2000 to 48.5 percent in 2010.

Rather than complain about our cognitive laziness, the commentary writers would better serve black families by figuring out why the rates of fatherless black children decreased between 2000 and 2010. The answer might lead to measures by which we can support and accelerate the trend.

William J. Maffucci, Voorhees, wmaffucci@sogtlaw.com

N.J. schools need funding

The political school funding plan put forward by New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester) conveniently allows 21 of the 24 Democratic senators to see funding increases, while most Republican districts lose. The Senate president has not shared his methodology, yet he creates his own definitions of "overfunded," "fully funded," and "underfunded," all of which are out of step with school boards, the Rutgers Education Law Center, and many of the 17 education organizations that oppose his plan.

The tragedy is that New Jersey has children in overcrowded schools such as Red Bank and Freehold Borough, where new funds are desperately needed. Sweeney's political funding plan takes funds from overtaxed districts such as Ocean Township, where residents overpay their local fair share by $8 million. That's not an answer.

For this year's budget, we need to add state dollars targeted to high-enrollment, underfunded schools. We cannot further tax the overtaxed. Let's work on a real bipartisan solution that does good, not harm.

Jennifer Beck, state senator (R., Monmouth), Red Bank, senbeck@njleg.org