US birthday grant an expensive mistake

The national debt is hurtling toward $40 trillion, Pennsylvania roads are getting worn out and school taxes are going up across the Lehigh Valley.

Meanwhile, four elected officials announced May 28 that they have secured $1 million of state money (taxpayers’ money) for events marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The mutual admiration society that gathered in Easton for this spendthrift celebration included state Reps. Robert Freeman, D-Easton, and Ann Flood, R-Northampton; and state Sens. Lisa Boscola, D-Bethlehem, and Nick Miller, D-Allentown.

So it was a bipartisan pork-barrel party. Meanwhile, two senior centers in Northampton County will close at the end of June because of the loss of $370,000 in state funding.

The country, the state and the Lehigh Valley have to wake up to the fiscal mess we are in. It’s time to stop spending millions of taxpayers’ dollars on anything that is not essential. The government has the authority to compel us to pay taxes; it should show some respect by not burning public funds on frivolity.

The sooner the national, state and local governments face fiscal reality, the better. We already face serious problems. No July 4 celebration can cover that up.

— Jeff Ward, Bethlehem

Democratic Party should offer positive stance

Some so-called political experts argue that Democratic Party must present to voters not just what the party is against — i.e. President Trump — but, what it is in favor of.

So, I propose this: Democrats are for a strong military and law enforcement that is paid for by patriotic Americans who honorably pay their Internal Revenue Service taxes yearly; and, for hiring back the IRS agents fired by Trump to investigate and collect the approximately $1 trillion of annual unpaid IRS taxes (the “tax gap”) from American tax cheaters.

I still wonder, “What is Donald Trump hiding from us in his IRS returns that he won’t show them?”

— Reggie Regrut, Phillipsburg

Pa. needs strict regulations on data centers

Gov. Shapiro just released the Governor’s Responsible Infrastructure Development Standards, which he said are designed to protect Pennsylvanians and establish strict guardrails to hold data center developers accountable. But “accountable” for what? Artificial intelligence firms can build massive facilities, bulldozing grounds that once housed millions of birds, squirrels and trees on millions of acres. Do Pennsylvania citizens really want AI-generated chipmunks running around on acres of artificial turf? To what end? I for one do not. Pennsylvania already has 52 data centers, with 53 more in the works, according to SpotlightPA. I want legislation with teeth. Pennsylvania legislators from the Lehigh Valley and the rest of the state need to act now to establish enforceable standards. Otherwise, owners of these data centers can do what they wish when and where they wish.

— Jill Hirt, Upper Saucon Township

Discussion with members of Trump Cabinet not helpful

Rep. Ryan Mackenzie brought two Cabinet secretaries, Sean Duffy from Transportation and Agriculture’s Brooke Rollins, to the Lehigh Valley last month. According to reports, they answered questions from “struggling farmers” about the rising cost of fertilizer and diesel fuel due to the war in Iran. It wasn’t a roundtable discussion as much as it was an exercise in avoidance, deflection and disingenuousness. Mackenzie was the moderator; there was little, if any, advance notice; and there were no explanations as to how or why the local participants and venue were selected. Secretary Duffy wanted to blame President Biden, despite record fossil fuel production and clean energy initiatives during his administration. Donald Trump’s decision to attack Iran is the problem, not anything Joe Biden did. It’s not as simple as taking credit for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, as they’ve done by replacing Biden’s name on signs at job sites with the current president’s name. You can’t “rebrand” a war. When questioned about multiple cancellations of local emergency food aid, Secretary Rollins responded, “news to me.” She is administering a 10-year, $187 billion reduction in food assistance Rep. Mackenzie voted for. Why should that be “news” to her?

— Lawrence Gasda, Bethlehem

Colon cancer screening saves lives

I am a retired register of wills and recorder of deeds by profession, which means I know what people look like when they’re doing the paperwork to prepare for the best and worst chapters of their lives. Through this work, I’ve learned that life happens. We can’t make the good things come faster, and, as someone who has faced both cancer and cardiac disease, I know we also can’t stop the bad things from happening. What we can do is be prepared. And when it comes to our health, preventive screening is key.

Colorectal cancer, for example, is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. In Pennsylvania, 34% of diagnosed cases are terminal. That doesn’t have to be the case — when caught early, colorectal cancer has one of the highest five-year survival rates of all cancers. Still, people put off getting screened because traditional methods can seem invasive and uncomfortable. Thankfully, there’s a new way to get screened.

The Shield test, the first Food and Drug Administration-approved primary, noninvasive blood-based screening option for average-risk adults 45 or older, can test for colorectal cancer with a quick blood draw. Blood tests like this give people an easier screening option and can help save lives.

— Josephine Ferro, East Stroudsburg 

The Morning Call publishes letters from readers online and in print several times a week. Submit a letter to the editor at letters@mcall.com. The views expressed in this piece are those of its individual author(s), and should not be interpreted as reflecting the views of this publication.

Happy birthday America!

It’s been 250 years since the Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia declared on July 4, 1776, that all men have “certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

With the country’s anniversary fast approaching we would like to hear what those words suggest to you and what it means to be an American two and a half centuries later.

Please submit replies of 200 words or less to the editor at letters@mcall.com. The Morning Call will run the best replies as we approach the holiday.