Extreme blowhards and complacent snobs
What is the point of the Ohio Constitution if neither political party in the Statehouse will follow it?
Ohioans are once again being forced to endure severely gerrymandered Congressional maps that are unconstitutional.Recently, Democrats and Republicans on the Ohio Redistricting Commission announced a “deal” that circumvents the will of the people.
But there is no deal to be made here. The people of Ohio made the rules for redistricting via constitutional amendment, and the committee is required to follow them.Instead, these entitled politicians continue their downward spiral into their shared delusions of grandeur. This isn’t a deal. It’s an agreement for our politicians to break the law together.Gerrymandering leaves Ohio stuck with the two worst types of politicians: extreme blowhards who care only for attention, and complacent snobs who have never worked an honest day in their life.In a time where it’s already difficult to find a politician who isn’t foaming at the mouth for corporate money, gerrymandering ensures Ohio will remain #30 in education, #34 in health care and #39 in the economy.Maybe the better question is: If neither political party will follow the Constitution, what is the point of them?
Jordan McLaughlin, New Albany
Cowardice wrapped in protocol
Re “Were Ohio lawmakers ‘cold’ when they voted against funding SNAP? It’s complicated,” Nov. 6: Asher Peck contends that Ohio legislators “did the right thing” by declining to tap the state’s $4 billion rainy day fund while 1.4 million Ohioans experienced food insecurity.
Save the civics lesson.
A statute that prohibits compassion isn’t justice — it’s cowardice wrapped in protocol.
Peck claims the Budget Stabilization Fund wasn’t designed to “replace entitlement programs.”
That reasoning might appease bookkeepers, but it condemns our collective conscience. When a child in Zanesville rises to bare shelves, it’s raining. When a grandmother in Dayton foregoes meals so her grandchildren can eat, it’s a deluge. The law exists to serve citizens, not restrain kindness.
As Chris Fussell observed, “In any bureaucracy, there’s a natural tendency to let the system become an excuse for inaction.” That’s precisely what transpired — officials concealed themselves behind procedures while community members queued for sustenance. I drive past a church here in Hilliard weekly; the procession of vehicles is endless.
Other states — conservative and liberal alike — discovered methods to assist. Ohio discovered justifications. The rainy day fund remained untouched, and the residents were abandoned in the downpour.
Ray Watford, Hilliard
Columbus isn’t age-friendly
Re “We already have enough people,” Oct. 30 and “Yes, in my backyard,” Nov. 1: I agree with Thomas Dugan’s letter, and what Edward Thomas’ letter is missing is that Columbus doesn’t take care of its aging population.
They can state that we are a great city, but as someone aging myself with a disability who experiences the barriers, Columbus is not age-friendly. It has nothing to do with NIMBYism; the quality of life is shrinking.
Emily Prieto, Columbus
Don’t waste the soybeans
What would it take to pay farmers for the soybeans China won’t buy, can them and put them on the shelves of our empty food pantries? It would be such a shame to see this highly nutritious food go to waste.
Sabrina Bobrow, Columbus
Setting students up for success
The success sequence is extraordinarily simple:
Complete all three and you have less than a 5% chance of becoming poor.
Let me repeat that. Complete the success sequence and, no matter the demographic, and you have less than a 5% chance of becoming poor (4% chance for Blacks, 3% for Hispanics, and 3% for Whites).
“Poverty” in 2022 was defined as being at or $29,678 annual income for a family of four, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
According to a report by the Institute for Family Studies and the American Enterprise Institute, the racial gaps in poverty become virtually closed by the time participants reach the mid-30s. Amazing.
Fortunately, the Ohio Senate just passed Senate Bill 156, which makes the success sequence part of the curriculum in public schools.
There are critics (unbelievably enough). Thankfully, the report also surveyed parents.
More than three-quarters of American parents (76%) say they favor teaching it in public schools.
The support is broad-based among the public. More than 70% of Democrats and 85% of Republicans favor teaching students the success sequence, as do 68% of Black Americans, 74% of Hispanic Americans and 72% of those adults who did not follow the success sequence themselves.
Kudos to State Sen. Al Cutrona, R-Canfield, for introducing the bill. Well done!
John Herrington, Columbus
Trump ate cake while kids had nothing to eat
Please look up some pictures or videos of President Donald Trump’s lavish, glittering Mar-a-Lago Halloween “Great Gatsby” themed party. This, while millions are on the eve of losing SNAP and health care.
By the way, 1 in 5 of our American children receive SNAP benefits. 1 in 5!
SNAP helps more children than any other program except Medicaid. In fact, nearly 40% of SNAP benefit recipients are children.
So — let them eat cake.
It’s too bad Madame DeFarge isn’t still around. But maybe there are some in our beleaguered minority representative government knitting up metaphorical shrouds for this homegrown aristocracy.
Vernon Will, Worthington
JD’s jarring disconnect
Talk about subtle propaganda, Vice President JD Vance was asked at the Turning Point USA event Oct. 29, held on the Ole Miss campus, about his wife, Usha Vance, who practices Hinduism, which is the religion of her family.
Vance downplayed his wife’s Hindu identity, claiming that when he met Usha he considered her an “agnostic or atheist” like himself, and that she “did not grow up Christian … she grew up in a Hindu family, but not a particularly religious family in either direction.”
Vance was baptized Catholic in 2019.
He added the couple decided to raise the family as Christian, and that he hopes his wife converts to Christianity, but he respects her free will.
Some see him downplaying his wife’s Hindu identity as disrespectful. But he did express tolerance, which raises the question of why he showed up for the event in the first place.
Considering that the founder of Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk — who was assassinated Sept. 10 — embraced Christian nationalism, which is decidedly intolerant. The ideology holds that to be a true American, one must be a Christian.
As it turns out, Vance’s use of subtle propaganda resulted in a jarring disconnect.
John E. Reinier, Sr., Columbus
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio lawmakers decided to break the law together. Redistricting deal a sham | Letters
Reporting by Letters to the Editor / The Columbus Dispatch
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