Readers sound off on workers, student loans and Donald Trump

Jersey City: The labor movement has improved working conditions, has created workplace democracy, and has fostered active participation in labor-management decision-making. The many benefits, protections and rights that workers enjoy today would never have existed if it weren’t for the laudable efforts of labor unions. There have been initiatives designed to degrade labor standards, weaken unions and erode workplace protections. Those efforts would have diminished the bargaining power and political influence of organized labor.

Consequently, we should support those candidates for political office who are committed to preserving our workforce. Specifically, we should back those candidates who firmly agree that it is unconscionable to treat workers as irritating speed bumps along the roadway to larger revenues and greater profit margins.

As we enjoy the Labor Day holiday today, let us pay tribute to the American worker and honor those labor leaders committed to social justice and equal economic opportunity for everyone. John Di Genio

Bayside: Amazon and Starbucks are always fighting to stop working families from having a union. Do these companies know how much money union families spend a year with them? They should think about this and then ask whether they still dislike unions. Bill Caramico

Staten Island: I recently saw Joe Biden with a big grin, declaring that the MAGA crowd doesn’t have a clue about the power of the women’s vote, but are about to find out. To that, I say, ladies, Roe, Roe, Roe your vote! Ellen Settanni

White Plains, N.Y.: While many Americans don’t like Trump, at least when he was president we did not have to rely on others for our energy. We were also not in a recession. In my opinion, we are in a recession and inflation is sky-high because President Biden and his administration have spent billions of dollars and have driven our national debt so high that many many future generations will have trouble paying it off. Biden’s only way of solving problems is to spend spend and this is why we are in the trouble we are in. Joan Cocurullo

Bronx: Voicer Michael Quane wants to know why he “should pay $2,000 in taxes to pay for those who breezed through high school and needed loans?” First of all, he won’t be. No one is paying a single cent more in taxes because of this student loan forgiveness. This policy is not paid for and will add to the national debt, not cause an immediate increase in taxes. Even though it adds to the debt, there have been reductions in the debt and the new bill just signed has debt reduction in it which over time may be a wash of the student debt forgiveness. In addition, chances are many of these loans will be defaulted on anyway. We really need to go further and curb the cost of a college education. Allowing people to renegotiate their interest rates is another thing that can help people get out from under their debt. Many of these loans are at exorbitantly high rates. Carol Webb

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Staten Island: I have an idea: There should be a mandatory class for all juniors in high school that covers the cost of going to college. This would have them do a business proposition exercise starting with the cost of the school of their choosing, the degree they aspire to and the average salary for that career/industry, type of loan, interest rate, term of loan, how long it will take to pay back, etc. Not only would this provide real financial business training, but perhaps they would become more informed before taking that student loan and picking a school they can afford. Gina Ottrando

Manhattan: Regarding congestion pricing: Has anyone considered the hiring difficulties it presents for hospitals in the congestion zone, particularly the V.A., Bellevue and NYU Langone along First Ave.? How will they be able to compete for competent doctors, nurses and other staff during evening and overnight hours? These hospitals cannot be reached directly by subway. Many of their staff (again, evening and overnight) come from outer boroughs and drive. Memorial-Sloan Kettering, NewYork-Presbyterian and other uptown hospitals are unaffected and will not have overnight and emergency room staffing issues, while those below 60th St. will not be able to compete. Paul Weissman

Scarborough, N.Y.: Any suggestion that congestion pricing is about reducing air pollution is a farce. It is yet another scheme to fund the woefully bloated MTA budget. If the politicians were serious about cleaning the air, they would pass a law mandating that all MTA buses, taxis and car services must install electric motors by 2025. Congestion pricing will fail because people who don’t have to come into Manhattan won’t. And theaters, restaurants, and concert venues, which employ New Yorkers, will take the hit. Thomas F. Comiskey

Monroe Township, N.J.: I am in total agreement with Voicer Stan Rosenson on congestion pricing. Until recently, I spent the last 65 years as a New York City resident and still travel there five days a week by public transportation. The addition of private transportation companies that add an enormous amount of cruising vehicles to Manhattan is a major source adding to the congestion. In addition, they create a hardship for the medallion taxi owners, who paid a large amount for their medallions only to be dwarfed by the numbers of the competition cruising the streets and looking to illegally pick up street hails. Last, the way the city streets have been carved up to benefit bicyclists also adds to the congestion. As a realist, it is hard not to be cynical. I have a lifetime of experience reading about and wondering how money collected like that is used and kept from falling into a deep bureaucratic hole. Steven Bellish

Maspeth: I have been following the political decisions and media coverage of the changing regulations regarding access to abortion. It seems that the phrase “women’s right to choose” is now used instead of the word abortion. This phrase bothers me because it implies that women have all of the rights and responsibilities regarding the choice to have an abortion. There are certainly situations where women hold all of the responsibility, but I presume that in most cases, the man responsible for impregnating the woman would like to share the rights and responsibilities. I am sure that there are sensitive and compassionate men out there that would be horrified to learn that their sexual partner aborted their baby. I think we should change the term “women’s right to choose” to simply “right to choose.” Sarah Carlson

Ashburn, Va.: We must all acknowledge that former President Trump is a champion of the working man and woman and the rural community. He has won praise for pushing the federal bureaucracy to rush COVID vaccines to the public. Conservatives praise him for appointing staunchly conservative federal judges and Supreme Court justices. There has been rejoicing whenever Trump thumbed his nose at the elites of both political parties, and whenever he threw his critics under the bus. But this is different. He recklessly stored highly classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence and they may have been compromised. This is one step too far, one that should cause no American to rejoice: To protect himself, Trump has now thrown all of us under the bus. Mike Barrett

Chicago: I had a dream the other night, actually it was a very frightening nightmare. It was Election Night 2024 and Donald Trump was declared the outright winner without a single ballot being counted anywhere. There on the balcony at his Florida estate stood the most polarizing figure in the entire history of mankind. He was in full military garb, looking every bit like Fidel Castro, minus the cigar or the masculinity. Not surprisingly, Trump’s first order of business was awarding himself a full pardon, followed closely by the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His acceptance speech was even darker and gloomier than the one he gave at his 2017 inauguration, but then nobody expected anything less. What’s more, the entire affair was covered by the new network “Trump All the Time.” God save us all. Bob Ory