Revive USAID and restore the US brand

America is known for its generosity: We feed starving children. We stop the spread of deadly diseases. We vaccinate in developing countries. We are a beacon of mercy to the world.

We helped Europe get back on its feet after World War II through the Marshall Plan. We kept Berliners alive with the air lift of essential goods during the blockade. American airmen threw chocolate bars to hungry children as they passed overhead. That is America.

USAID is the arm by which we extend our generosity around the world to save starving children and stop deadly disease. It is the humane thing to do. It is the American thing to do.

Destroying USAID is being done by a non-native — a South African multibillionaire with no regard for America’s brand of mercy and generosity. This travesty has the apparent backing of President Donald Trump and more’s the pity (“The perilously high cost of shutting down USAID,” Feb. 26).

Restore USAID and America’s brand across the world.

— Susan Cochran, Edgewater

Some blunt talk about the weed tax

If the cannabis sales tax is increased by 4,200%, Maryland’s $3.3 billion state budget deficit will be gone in a puff of smoke (“Maryland made $72 million from sales tax on recreational cannabis in 2024,” March 19).

— Van Beall, Ellicott City

Don’t raise state taxes, tighten belts instead

Maryland politicians are being dishonest in how they present the budget deficit. What we are hearing is there is a $3 billion deficit and that taxes must be raised (“Maryland budget deal includes more cuts, fewer tax hikes on individuals,” March 20). Gov. Wes Moore and legislators never state the fact that the projected deficit is about 4% of overall spending.

Think about it, just about any of us can cut our own spending by 4%. We have to because we can’t just go to our employer and force them to pay us more like the state can to taxpayers.

Also, compare the state’s fiscal 2024 budget to the proposed 2026 budget. The increase is 6% in just two years. Have our salaries gone up by 6%? The governor and lawmakers are patting themselves on the back for making hard choices when all they actually did was reduce the increase and are taxing the residents and businesses that pay the bills.

The governor and members of the legislature should be ashamed of themselves and not bragging about their so-called compromise which in the end hurts those whose interests they were sent to Annapolis to represent.

— John Majane III, Germantown

Competition is key to reducing monthly energy bills

There has been seemingly endless talk about the rise in home energy prices in The Baltimore Sun lately. However, by doing a little research using Maryland Energy Choice this past fall, I was able to find a three-year natural gas contract with Direct Energy at 40.9 cents per therm. Without the Energy Choice tool I would have been left with only Constellation Energy at 67 cents per therm.

I see no sensible reason for limiting customer choice at any time, much less a time of high inflation (“Maryland should not limit energy options,” March 19). What was the Maryland legislature thinking last year?

— Barry Caplis, Parkville

Now starting anew for Milford Mill: Ray Rice

Kudos to Milford Mill Academy for naming former Ravens running back Ray Rice its junior varsity football coach (“Ray Rice aims to show next generation his ‘willingness to make it right,'” March 5).

Too often, the concept of second chances consists of hollow rhetoric and hurtful stigma. Milford Mill understands that giving people who have made errors of judgment in their lives an opportunity to contribute to their communities is fundamental to who we are as Americans.

— John R. Leopold, Stoney Beach