Sounding off: Taxpayer money for vaccine compensation is wrong

Where does this idea come from when the government can take taxpayer money and decide to spend it by giving government employees five days of vacation time for simply accepting the covid-19 vaccination? The state treasurer estimates this is going to cost $100 million.

It comes from the arrogance of the government that knows nothing about earning a pay and spending it prudently.

Spending money that is given to you is much easier than spending money you work hard for.

Perhaps the incentive of providing one day of vacation was a reasonable incentive … but five days?

Wake up, Pennsylvania citizens, and vote out these type of politicians who think this subsidy is OK.

If anyone thinks this idea is OK, where does this end?

Where’s the subsidy for the taxpayers who received the vaccine? Will vaccinated Pennsylvania citizens be receiving the same type of reward?

Sorry, state employees, this is not right to spend taxpayer money without having approval of the elected legislators.

Thomas J. Pyo, Hempfield

How far will Republican cult go?

Unwilling to admit that Joe Biden beat Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, unsupportive of efforts to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection, and seemingly unable to differentiate between truth and lies, the cult which has hijacked the once-respected Republican Party has dusted off the Jim Crow playbook used by southern Democrats decades ago, and now works to enact laws that will suppress voting by people of color and others in future election.

As I voted by mail, I wondered how long before they will target me. If the cult’s supporters examine lists of financial contributions, check out lawn signs or read letters to this newspaper, I’m easily identified as a card-carrying liberal. They know that I don’t support their spineless, lying ilk. Is there a target on my back?

Will some Trump toady (think Rep. Guy Reschenthaler) propose a law that a lawn sign is the same as a vote? Or that making an in-kind or financial contribution forfeits the right to cast a ballot? Sound far-fetched? So does prohibiting people from giving a bottle of water or slice of pizza to a person waiting in line to vote. But the cult has already gone down that road in Georgia. I guess that is what happens from drinking too much Kool-Aid.

Glenn R. Plummer, Unity

Don’t trust Biden

I was watching the television set this morning when I saw President Joe Biden arrive at the Capitol to caucus with House Democrats to “close” on his $1.75 trillion infrastructure bill. (For comprehension purposes that is a 1 with 12 zeros after it). Whether you are a Democrat or Republican, you should be livid!

In true fashion of Obamacare, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi claims that the bill needs to be passed to see what is in it. The Democrats themselves cannot agree on what should be in it; in fact it is being referred to as a Democratic wish list with only 9% or so going to actual bridge/road improvement.

On Day 1 this administration destroyed our energy independence, with the ripple effect being high inflation, whether at the grocery store, gas pump or any purchased product. Now as the snowball continues to roll, we are faced with supply shortages. Afghanistan, covid and our southern border only compound our issues.

If something is out of kilter and not working you go back to basics and regroup.

If something is out of kilter you follow the money trail.

If you cannot trust someone in small things you cannot trust them in large.

Romayne K. Levcik, Greensburg

Confiscating guns

On Oct. 26, Gov. Tom Wolf called on the state Legislature to pass more gun control laws. One of the proposals is so-called extreme risk protection orders. These are nothing more than gun confiscation orders.

Using a red flag law, the police or an “angry ex” can petition a judge, requesting that you be stripped of your constitutional rights. And your accuser will be the only one in the room in an “ex parte” hearing.

They don’t have to demonstrate that you have committed a crime. They don’t have to demonstrate that there is any chance that you will ever commit a crime. They only need to show that you are subjectively “dangerous” to someone at the low “preponderance of the evidence” standard. Then your guns are taken away with no due process. Sure, you might get a hearing in 10 days where you can spend $10,000 on attorney’s fees to get your rights back.

Red flag gun confiscation orders are also dangerous to police and citizens. Check out the case of 61-year-old Gary Willis of Ferndale, Md., who was killed in 2018 by police serving a “red flag” order at 5:17 a.m.

I saw the movie “Minority Report,” and America cannot go down that path.

Michael Diehl, McKeesport

Citizens are the losers with legalized gambling

Responding to the mayor of Jeannette, who wrote the letter “Rich get richer through gambling”: Despite mountains of evidence of the negative impact of gambling, Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell, with the support of our Republican General Assembly, “legalized” slot machines and casinos. The property tax “reduction” was the suppository to seal the reprehensible deal. The savvy gambling kingpins made fools out of those ignoring the evidence and set up our citizens to be losers.

Gambling only recycles wealth and doesn’t create new wealth. In order to keep growing their spoils, the gambling interests need to continue to seek more and more ways to snare the gullible into believing that they will “get something for nothing” when the reality is that the vast majority will “get nothing for something.”

Gamblers get to pay the subliminal taxes without credit for doing so and make these bookies wealthy while sucking money out of the legitimate and wealth-creating economy.

Will we ever have elected officials who have the integrity to shut off the legalized thievery?

Dianne M. Berlin, Penryn, Pa.

The writer is vice chair of the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling.

Why aren’t people working?

There’s a worker shortage everywhere, despite some companies offering as much as a $3,000 sign-on bonus if hired. School bus and truck drivers, fast-food and fine-dining workers, warehouse, manufacturing and skilled laborers, police officers, dock workers, grass cutters, babysitters — the list goes on and on.

Teachers and nurses are being told to get a covid-19 shot. If they refuse, they can be fired. Employers are telling them “no jab, no work.”

Young or old, it doesn’t matter. Employers are desperate for workers. They will take your seventh grader; they will take Grandma and Grandpa, 70 to 80 years old. They don’t care. If you can fog a mirror, you’re hired.

So, despite thousands of job openings, employers can’t get people to work. Such is life in today’s America.

George Wesolosky, Leechburg

Adult use cannabis laws can reduce crime, improve law enforcement resources

With homicide rates and gun violence rising nationwide, law enforcement faces significant challenges. It stands to reason that police departments that are freed from marijuana arrests will have more resources to devote to serious crimes.

According to a June 2020 study by the National Institute of Justice on the Effects of Marijuana Legalization on Law Enforcement, “legalization has apparently coincided with an increase in crime clearance rates in several areas, suggesting that legalization may result in a net positive redistribution in police human resource allocation. In addition, fewer persons are being processed by the criminal justice system on nonviolent marijuana possession offenses.”

According to researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service and Appalachian State University, “Our results indicate that medical marijuana laws result in significant reductions in both violent and property crime rates.”

The establishment of a highly regulated adult use market would allow police departments to reallocate resources and reduce the illicit market.

In June, the U.S. Sentencing Commission released analysis that found federal marijuana trafficking cases continued to decline in 2020 as more states have legalized. Other studies have shown that state-level marijuana legislation has significantly undercut marijuana smuggling.

We urge Pennsylvania lawmakers to pass adult use legislation that would allow for the reallocation of critical police resources and reduce the illicit cannabis market in the commonwealth.

Meredith Buettner, Harrisburg

The writer is executive director of the Pennsylvania Cannabis Coalition.