Reviews | “History won’t be kind to Senator Joe Manchin”

For the publisher:

Re “crucial element of the climate plan likely to be cut” (cover page, October 16):

History will not be lenient with Senator Joe Manchin, who arrogated to himself the right to implement the clean electricity program in President Biden’s budget bill. Apparently, Mr Manchin and the 50 Senate Republicans must see the nation and their own constituents engulfed in even more drought, wildfires, hurricanes and floods before they wake up to the devastation that is happening all over. around them due to the burning of fossil fuels.

Mr. Manchin, of course, represents West Virginia, where coal is king. He therefore chose to trade all hope of a stable future environment for humanity in exchange for a few more years of coal jobs and a cushy environment in the Senate. It is the face of total madness.

Benjamin clay jones
Kalamazoo, Michigan.

For the publisher:

I lived in West Virginia from 1971 to 1996. Few politicians in West Virginia history have held as much power for as many years as Joe Manchin. He failed to modernize and diversify West Virginia’s economy during his years as governor. And now, as a senator, here he is, supporting a dying industry that has devastated the state he claims to love so much and holding us hostage by the greed of the constituency he truly serves.

Joe is not worried about climate change. He can afford to live wherever he wants. And the floods that ravage his beloved West Virginia every year, well, Joe has a yacht to keep him dry no matter how miserable life can be for the citizens he serves.

Elizabeth Baroness Hansen
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

For the publisher:

Taunting Joe Manchin won’t change his vote. We need to convince Joe with funds he can use to drive his people towards saving clean energy and sell this idea at home.

Here is the plan. Detach $ 10 billion from the $ 150 billion earmarked for clean energy. Take $ 3 billion and use it to get clean energy companies to move to West Virginia. Take $ 7 billion and set it aside for the relocation and recycling of displaced miners as the power grid gradually wears off coal and shifts to more sustainable energy sources.

Joe Manchin should be researching exactly that type of legislation that can allow him to continue to have the support of grassroots coal miners, stand up to the declining coal lobby, and position himself as the hourly worker champion.

Dave martsolf
Windham, New Hampshire

For the publisher:

Re “As Manchin Rejects Key Climate Provision, Carbon Tax Gains Support” (press article, October 17):

You write: “A carbon tax… is seen by economists as the most effective way to reduce the emissions of fossil fuels that heat the planet.

A carbon tax would require fossil fuel companies to pay for the damage they knowingly caused to our health and that of the earth. If even part of the funds collected were returned to consumers, this would protect us from rising prices. Such a bill is awaiting action: HR 2307, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. When a border tax adjustment is included, it would also encourage other countries to do the same.

My children and grandchildren would be blessed with a cleaner livable planet, unlike the many disasters we already know.

Maggie Wineburgh freed
Los Angeles

For the publisher:

Fifty Republican senators are silently watching President Biden dump the key climate provision of his reconciliation bill – the clean electricity program – because a Democratic senator selfishly and short-sighted against it.

Isn’t there a Republican senator, only one! – with the courage to come forward and say, “I will support the clean electricity program as a stand-alone bill because it is vital for the survival of the planet, however it affects me.” politically ”? Isn’t there a single Republican with the courage to do the right thing and challenge his party leadership?

Milton cohen
Richardson, Texas

For the publisher:

Despite Senator Joe Manchin’s current personal fortune of several million dollars, he apparently believes his financial well-being depends on income from his own large investments in fossil fuel companies and he will not vote for President Biden’s plan. to help phase out coal and gas-fired power plants. However, I have a solution.

As a retired teacher, I am not one of the super rich, but I would be willing to contribute significantly to a trust fund for Senator Manchin and his family if he supported the bill. Perhaps a GoFundMe campaign could be organized so that Senator Manchin can be assured of the level of financial security he aspires to, without needing the money from coal and oil.

Daniel Lieberfeld
Pittsburgh

Racial equity in child care

For the publisher:

“The Child Care Paradox Democrats Aim to Fix” (cover page, October 10) aptly describes the problem of high child care costs and the divergent views on how to fix our failing system. He notes that Democrats view the affordability of child care as a matter of racial equity.

Attention to racial equity in the child care system is long overdue. The mismatch between the high prices of child care and the low wages of parents for full-time work affects a greater proportion of black and Hispanic families. Capping child care costs at 7 percent of family income, as proposed in the budget reconciliation bill, will address the affordability of all working parents and improve racial equity.

But more action is needed to ensure equitable access. Pre-pandemic, the availability of child care in neighborhoods where black and Hispanic children live was severely limited. Now it’s probably even worse. These neighborhoods must receive adequate resources to strengthen the offer of childcare services.

Responding to the Conservatives’ concerns that more public investment will shut down door-to-door providers or smaller providers will actually improve fairness. Black and Hispanic workers are more likely to work evenings, nights, or weekends and have last-minute schedule changes. The bill should ensure that home providers, who offer more flexible child care hours, are encouraged to enter and stay in the market.

Pamela Joshi
Waltham, Mass.
The author is Senior Research Scientist and Associate Director of the Institute for Children, Youth and Family Policy at Brandeis University.

“Renewal projects in civilian infrastructure”

For the publisher:

Re “More than one way to play dead” (The Conversation, October 12):

This exchange between Gail Collins and Bret Stephens is what we need most. You might think of them as projects to renew a civilian infrastructure that has so sadly eroded and corroded over the past decades.

This proves that people can respectfully disagree, even modulate their own beliefs and perspectives. If more exchanges like this were published, then the media might steer us towards civil collegiality instead of the division that results from presenting only extreme views that irritate the opposition.

Careful, politicians!

Jean-Antoine
Maryville, Tennessee.

A teenager’s perspective on social media

For the publisher:

Re “For teenage girls, Instagram is a cesspool,” by Lindsay Crouse (Opinion, October 9):

Social media is a mirror, revealing our greatest desires and flaws through the content that platforms show us. In the process, businesses hook and attract users. Sadly, this story is repeated every day across the country when unsuspecting teens like me fall prey to a stream that seems to read their minds.

In a world where it is “normal” to be on the phone all the time, addiction to technology is often not taken seriously. This dependence is raw and real. Others should try to figure out what it feels like when you lose half of your friends, your sense of time, and your ability to wake up without instinctively checking your phone.

These are not the complaints of a teenager; these are the effects of an epidemic that is spreading across the country. Individuals, regardless of their age, race or gender, fall prey to these addictions.

Instead of complaining about how kids are always on the phone, our society as a whole should try to help them overcome their issues and raise more awareness of this issue before it’s too late.

Vaishnavi Kumbala
Métairie, La.
The writer is a high school student.