A bill of goods
Re "My data center plan will kill your electric bill," Aug. 6: According to Vivek Ramaswamy's guest column, his plan for data centers has "the potential to power so many homes, most of Ohio’s counties would fit entirely within a benefit zone – which means every resident in the county would pay nothing for their electricity if a data center were built there."
Pay nothing for their electricity?
Reading between the lines suggests he is talking about the energy itself, not the transmission and distribution costs that customers pay. Electric bills consist of charges for all three components, with the latter two comprising roughly half of the total charge. The "excess power" that is put into the grid is essentially doing what a retail energy provider
does, except that, in his proposal, the data center is the provider and no charge for its energy would be made. It would not eliminate the entire electric bill unless some provision for covering the "wires" charges is also made.
He should have clarified this. He either does not understand how electric bills are structured, or he chose not to address it in order to sell his proposal.
Steve McLoughlin, Reynoldsburg
Haitian migrants are our neighbors
As the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, we are deeply disappointed by the decision to end temporary protected status for Haitian immigrants.
We are encouraged by Gov. Mike DeWine's recognition of the upstanding Haitian community that has become our neighbor here in Ohio. We join him in acknowledging that ending this humanitarian program and targeting Haitians for mass deportations is a mistake that serves neither Ohio nor our nation.
For years, the United States has recognized that Haiti's people have endured extraordinary hardships, including rampant gang violence, political instability, economic collapse and repeated natural disasters. TPS was granted because returning them would place them at serious risk. Today, those conditions have not meaningfully improved. Yet instead of responding with compassion, we are witnessing policies that increasingly portray Haitian migrants as a problem rather than as our neighbors.
Our Catholic faith calls us to welcome the stranger, protect the vulnerable and uphold the dignity of every human person. The Missionaries of the Precious Blood have long stood with those whose blood has been shed through violence, poverty and injustice. We urge our elected leaders to reconsider this decision and pursue immigration policies that recognize Haiti's ongoing crisis and the inherent dignity of those seeking safety.
V. Rev. Jeffrey Kirch, Dayton
Moreno should resign
I was an ER doctor for 42 years and retired after COVID-19 and after seeing 200,000 patients. Bernie Moreno, you need to resign immediately! Enough said.
Glenn Ciolli, Dublin
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Add electricity bills to list of things Ramaswamy doesn't understand | Letters
