A vote for Balderson, Husted is a vote against democracy
Our system of checks and balances is broken. The president wages war, imposes taxes in the form of tariffs and weakens established alliances, all without a murmur of dissent from the Republican-controlled Congress.
President Donald Trump used a pocket rescission to cancel $810 million that Congress had allocated for health and education programs. The response from Republicans in Congress to these attacks on their constitutional control over taxes, spending, foreign affairs, and waging war is a stunning silence.
Rep. Troy Balderson and Sen. Jon Husted are among those shirking their constitutional duties.
They consistently voted for the president’s wars and tax cuts that
have increased our debt to $40 trillion.
They approve, by their silence, his seizing of congressional powers.
There are no signs they will start questioning Trump’s actions over the next two years.
Voting for these and other enablers of an imperial presidency is a vote against our democracy. Voting for their opponents, Jerrad Christian and Sherrod Brown, at the very least sends a strong message to those in power that we will not let this or any other president trample our cherished Constitution and the checks it provides on any president’s imperial ambitions.
Edward Schortman, Granville'
Where is my 'electricity' holiday?
I drive an electric car. My choice. Ohio already charges me $200 annually for this choice. This yearly fee increases to $231 when I renew my registration this year. If I drove a gasoline-powered car getting 30 miles per gallon, based on my usual annual mileage, I would pay about $60 a year in gasoline tax to the State of Ohio.
I am already overcharged by about $140 per year by Ohio to help maintain the roadways. This will increase to a nearly $200 yearly penalty for me to drive an electric vehicle.
Now, given the gasoline tax holiday, I would have three months tax-free or roughly $15 saved if I paid gas tax at the pump.
As we all know, electricity prices have gone way up in the last few years. This also financially impacts citizens, but in a less visible manner.
I wonder if the State of Ohio is willing to shave $15 off my next electric bill. It isn’t much, but every little bit helps.
Bill Fraser, Powell
How many more must drown?
Re "Tragedies bring a call for change," Oct. 4: These tragedies are a result of the power that the development community has over may Andrew Ginther and city council development policies.
Developers and their lobbyists whine about anything that interferes with their precious profit margins. Fencing can be installed with gates that allow for maintenance work. Fencing restricts wildlife from accessing a retention pond? Give me a break! And two-year-olds and other young children can’t read danger signs.
This has been a problem for years now. And the argument from the Columbus Apartment Association lobbyists is BS. So why do some people take special precautions for their children by placing safety latches on cabinet doors to keep them from getting into cleaning products and dangerous chemicals?
Why are child-resistant caps mandated for prescription drugs and cleaning products? What about stair safety gates to keep children from falling down stairs? Or securing children's bedroom dressers to the wall due to the possibility of a child pulling one on top of themselves?
Let’s do away with child car seats while we’re at it. Furthermore, the city code requires that residents install a fence no less than 48 inches tall around a swimming or wading pool. How is a retention pond any different? How about our city hall officials doing the right thing by writing long-awaited legislation that requires fencing around these retention ponds instead of catering exclusively to the needs of developers for a change? How many more drownings will it take?
Joe Motil, Columbus
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: A vote for Balderson and Husted is a vote against America | Letters
