How is Bible banned from schools but trans ideology isn’t?
It is interesting the read the controversy about including the Bible in school curricula in Texas when it is an ancient book still read by billions of people around the world.
Meanwhile, at the same time, transgender ideology which the majority of Americans do not believe is mandated in the curricula in Maryland and a number of other states (“Bible-infused school lessons get OK from Texas ed board,” Nov. 22).
— Henry Mosley, Parkville
Expand child tax credit to reduce poverty
Thank you for your article about the Baltimore Children and Youth Fund (“Baltimore taxpayers send millions to a youth fund. How much actually makes it to kids?” Nov. 19). It is critical to ensure that taxpayer dollars intended to support young people are actually improving the lives of children.
In this post-election season, it is important to look at how our federal government could also do more to support children and reduce child poverty. Expansion of the child tax credit (CTC) could make a huge difference in reducing poverty. The temporary CTC expansion in the American Rescue Act reduced child poverty to a historic low of 5.2% in 2021.
Soon-to-be-Vice President JD Vance has supported expansion of the CTC and the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill expanding the credit earlier this year, though it failed in the U.S. Senate. An estimated 400,000 children could be lifted out of poverty were this bill to become law.
As members of Congress work on tax policy next year, I hope they remember that many of the voters who elected them to office are economically struggling and are looking for relief to help meet their basic needs and take care of their families. Hardworking Americans deserve to be prioritized when changes are made to tax policy.
I call on our Maryland congressional delegation including the new members, U.S. Sen.-elect Angela Alsobrooks and U.S. Reps.-elect Johnny Olszewski Jr., Sarah Elfreth and April McClain Delaney, to support expansion of the CTC in 2025 so that more Maryland children can rise out of poverty.
— Lisa Peters, Silver Spring
Feeling abandoned by church closings
I agree 100% with the thoughts of letter writers Bernard Haske of Catonsville (“An ode to St. William of York parish,” Nov. 23) and John Milton Wesley of Columbia (“On the closure of Catholic churches,” Nov. 23).
I appreciate that others have the same thoughts and feelings about the closings. I certainly identify with Haske’s closing sentence about becoming a floater from parish to parish with no spiritual home or abandoning the Baltimore archdiocese altogether — as it has abandoned St. William of York parish (as well as St. Pius X and me).
The archdiocese is so concerned about financial issues they should know that the closure of St. Pius will result in my removing the parish from my will. I’m not a Buffett, Rockefeller or Kennedy but it would have been a tidy sum.
I wonder how many others will follow my action of removing their church from their will?
— Jeannie Hubbard, Towson
A thumbs-up to Sun’s Sunday opinion writers
Excellent commentaries in last Sunday’s edition of The Baltimore Sun beginning with Armstrong Williams (“Armstrong Williams: In America, we have much to be thankful for,” Nov. 24). I’m sure will be pooh-poohed by the far left fascists but he is right on: Learn as much as you can in school, work hard, have a good attitude and good things will happen.
Justin Ready is also correct in his assessment that Maryland’s veterans deserve as much as we can afford to give them (“Let’s show thanks to our Maryland veterans,” Nov. 24).
As for Ashwani Jain who offers advice for the next Democratic National Committee chair, he has a good command of the language, but says nothing (“What I’d do if I were the next DNC chair,” Nov. 24). With his ideas, the GOP will really trounce the next Democratic candidate.
— Lyle Rescott, Marriottsville