Letters: Billionaires don’t pay their fair share; Engeman letter missed the point

Editor’s note: The Centre Daily Times welcomes letters endorsing candidates in the May 18 primary election and will accept letters that are received by May 10. Letters are subject to editing, must be based on facts and should avoid attacks on other candidates.

Billionaires don’t pay their fair share

Musk and Bezos are multi-billionaires with more money than the bottom 40% of Americans combined.

So how much is a billion dollars?

A stack of a billion dollar bills is over 60 miles high, weighs over 2 million pounds, and exceeds 35,000 cubic feet in volume.

I can’t even imagine a safe big enough for that much cash.

A handful of America’s billionaires have more money than 90% of us all added together.

Who needs this much money and how did billionaires get so much money?

They do not pay a fair tax ... taxes paid by billionaires has decreased 79% since 1980. Political donations can get them billions of dollar in tax cuts through so called “loopholes,” but tax loopholes are far and few for the middle class.

Taxpayers clean up their messes and toxic pollution.

Taxpayers subsidize health costs for underpaid workers.

Taxpayers bail out and subsidize their businesses and build the infrastructure they need.

It certainly looks like the billionaires are not paying a fair share.

Current tax policies and trillion dollar oversea tax avoidance havens are causing poverty and income inequality to many, while enabling an obscene acquisition of wealth by a handful of people. We need proper taxation of these billionaire oligarchs.

President Biden’s new USA infrastructure plan, The American Jobs Plan, would rebuild our crumbling bridges, fight climate change, and add many high paying jobs to troubled local economies, all while leveling the tax system so the billionaires pay their fair share.

Engeman letter missed the point

In a garbled letter that otherwise reveals a striving for erudition, State College Borough Councilperson Janet Engeman attempts to separate and excuse the concepts of history and systemic racism from the shooting death of local resident Osaze Osagie.

It’s of course true that even if our region and the State College police force have a history of racism (and they do), “history,” as Ms. Engeman says, “never killed anyone.” But she proceeds to ask a question she evidently considers rhetorical: “Does anyone believe that the police officers who answered that fateful call wanted to kill Osaze?”

In a way, that’s the very question at the heart of the legal charge the borough and its police force now face. No, the officers surely weren’t planning to kill Osaze. At issue, however, is their attitude and the resulting response when the opportunity presented itself.

Time for new leaders in State College

As vaccinations roll out and the federal government expands visitation guidelines, more and more people can finally visit friends and family members living in long-term care communities. The nightmare is far from over, but all of us owe an enormous debt to the staff who have kept residents safe and connected during the pandemic. These dedicated professionals, especially certified nursing assistants, are underpaid, overworked, and grappling with the trauma of the last year.

Entering into post-pandemic life, how can our community show up for these providers like they have shown up for our elders? I’ll tell you how — strengthening and fully funding social services, fighting for more affordable housing in the borough, improving public transportation options, and pushing for a fairer, living wage.

If we want to go beyond words and show support for the people caring for Centre County’s older adults we need leadership with practical and progressive ideas, and that is why I support Central Pennsylvania United’s slate of candidates for Borough Council.

Divine Lipscomb, Gopal Balachandran and Richard Biever are committed to centering policies that will support working people in the borough. Now is our time to step away from leaders of the past to elect the fresh and diverse leaders of tomorrow.