Letters: Playing politics with health; Commitment to pre-K will pay off in Pa.
Playing politics with health
Senator Jake Corman has been criticizing Gov. Tom Wolf’s requirements that we wear masks in certain public places. Corman says the American people are mature enough to make their own decisions.
Are we? Sen. Corman should read the newspapers. There are now record-breaking COVID spikes all over the country. These have two causes. First are politicians, mainly Republicans, who opened up their economies before those states met basic health guidelines. In some cases, they did this at the behest of Trump and armed, right-wing protesters, for whom Trump has actually expressed support.
Second are Americans themselves. Not everyone acts responsibly. Those who don’t have been shown, time and time again, to spread COVID to others. People get COVID at church, at the beach, at parties and at bars. Then, because they refuse to wear masks, they spread it to others.
Just last week, over 100 students at the University of Washington tested positive for COVID. What does Sen. Corman think is going to happen when 40,000 students return to State College?
Sen. Corman: There is a health emergency. Stop playing politics with our health.
Long-term commitment to pre-K will pay off in Pennsylvania
As a former early education and early intervention provider with extensive familiarity of the quality rating systems and other measures being implemented in Pennsylvania, I feel encouraged by the efforts being put forth to continually improve our youth’s earliest educational experiences. While the gains are evident and commendable in many communities, a considerable lack of access for more than 100,000 eligible 3- and 4-year-old children still exists.
The benefits of early education cannot be overstated. When a child is given access to daily enriching experiences in a safe and supportive environment at an early age, they are more likely to thrive cognitively, physically and socially. Not only do children learn best by engaging with enriching materials and within the context of a familiar routine, they learn from one another as they navigate sharing, personal care routines (i.e. hand-washing, hanging up their own coats, etc.) and even important precautions on playground equipment. The gains that are made in pre-K establish a strong foundation for future success and resilience in learning environments and daily life. Not only does investing in pre-K stand to reduce long-term intervention costs but it supports caregivers’ ability to work, directly stimulating the larger economy.
A long-term commitment to support pre-K in Pennsylvania stands to enrich all communities, whether urban, suburban or rural, by reducing special education, public welfare and incarceration costs.
When all children are ready to learn, all families and communities are better able to thrive.
A crucial time to invest in solar energy
The current pandemic has sadly brought tremendous loss of life and jobs to our nation. Economic recovery efforts that add jobs and revenue to local and state coffers are vital now. One such solution is investing in clean energy, which would attract billions of dollars of private investment, increase local jobs and decrease long-term energy costs for consumers across Pennsylvania. Increasing the state’s solar energy generation goals from the current 0.5% by 2021 to at least 10% solar by 2030 in Pennsylvania would be in alignment with neighboring states and would create more than 65,000 jobs with average wages ranging from $20 to $38 per hour for jobs that span all educational levels.
Operating a local company that provides energy efficiency and solar services, I see firsthand how clean energy is saving businesses and homeowners money. That savings is often directly infused back into our local economy. Increasing our state solar goals will allow companies such as Envinity to expand to hire more diverse, talented people from around the Centre Region and beyond. As we begin to rebuild, now is a crucial time to invest in solar energy and pave the way for economic prosperity at the local level and better health for the next generation. I urge Sen. Corman and Rep. Benninghoff to use their leadership positions to seize on these enormous job opportunities and do their part to mitigate the impacts of global climate change at the local level.
