After Hurricane Ian, politicians are quick to ask for federal aid they once criticized

The people of Florida elected a line-up of demagogues who decry “socialism” and use the term as a scare tactic, a “dog whistle.” The fear that they allude to is that the federal government will take money from their constituents, in the form of taxes, and give it to others, in the form of social safety net spending. They call this spending “handouts” and fabricate a list of ills that result from the handouts.

Now these same elected officials are requesting massive government spending (a “handout”) to assist in the recovery from Hurricane Ian. It is a perfectly acceptable request.

What I find to be totally unacceptable is the gross hypocrisy of those political leaders who used the dog whistle on the one hand and seek socialized solutions to problems on the other hand. Worse than hypocrisy is the unwillingness of those leaders to assist the poor, the disadvantaged and the immigrants in our society who need the help of others.

Indeed, I would like to see political leaders from all of the poorer states acknowledge the gigantic economic transfer of wealth from the Northeast, Illinois and California to those poorer states. They should further stipulate that this is what ought to be done in a fair and equitable society and affirm the principle of government assistance when and where needed. And, they should acknowledge that economic hardship is no different than hardship wrought by natural disaster.

Hopefully, federal assistance will be swift, efficient and effective for Florida and anywhere else it is needed.

Robert A. Weisman, Belmont Gardens

Misleading numbers have no place in civic discourse

In a recent op-ed, Mailee Smith of the Illinois Policy Institute claims that Amendment 1 on collective bargaining rights could wildly increase property taxes, as it pertains to public workers. She is oddly specific: in Cook County, “the median homeowner could pay at least an additional $2,935 in property taxes during the next four years if voters approve Amendment 1. In ... Effingham County, property taxes on the typical home would rise by $743.”

But how would union “bosses” be able to do this? Smith never says. She does not tell us precisely how public workers bargaining “to protect their economic welfare and safety at work” (the actual language of Amendment 1) would result in these scarily precise property tax increases. So I went to the IPI’s website looking for answers.

Surprise! There is none, not even a hypothetical example of how a specific work safety issue bargained for by county employees will increase my taxes by X-amount of dollars. Just the usual jumbo word salad of anti-tax buzzwords and anti-union dog whistles.

Taxpayers deserve honest discussion of the pros and cons of proposals that profoundly affect us. Scaremongers like Smith and the IPI have no place in our civic discourse.

Marie Jordan, Westmont

America needs National Popular Vote Compact

It’s no surprise to most that American democracy is in crisis. From the Jan. 6 insurrection to assaults on voting rights to the undemocratic character of the Supreme Court, democracy in America faces challenges like never before. For these reasons it is all the more important that we reaffirm the most fundamental of democratic ideas: that every person’s vote should count equally.

In presidential elections, the Electoral College allows candidates to ignore the voices of millions of Americans because their state reliably votes for one party, and a majority of Americans want to change that. In a recent poll by Pew Research Center, over 50% of all Americans in every age bracket support “changing the current system so the candidate who receives the most votes wins.” I can’t help but agree. In America’s long expansion of the franchise and equality of democracy, it’s simply the right thing to do.

The National Popular Vote Compact would guarantee the presidency to the candidate who wins the most popular votes in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The bill has already been passed in 16 states representing 195 electoral votes, and states representing only 75 more electoral votes are needed to take another step to fix the way America elects our president.

Illinois is part of the compact but the rest of the Midwest is not. Chicagoans can inform their families and friends in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio and other Midwestern states of the importance of one person, one vote. They can urge their states to join the compact.

Together, we can preserve the democratic tradition we hold so dear.

Alexander Dean, Lincoln Park