Tax dollars shouldn’t subsidize horse racing

Nowhere in the May 6 article “Maryland officials to vote on Pimlico demolition plans ahead of Preakness” do we hear any voices other than industry insiders and politicians. It is taken as a given that Maryland taxpayers want millions of our hard-earned dollars used to save a private industry that relies on animal exploitation and the human weakness for gambling. This is patently false. Horse racing is falling out of favor in the opinion of many Marylanders, and rightly so. We do not support millions of our state tax dollars being spent on this unreliable project. Maryland faces a huge budget shortfall causing cuts in services and rising taxes and fees. Moreover, costs are rising and there is no reason to believe that the Pimlico investment won’t run into financial trouble. According to the website Construction Dive, “Construction input prices increased at a rapid pace for the third consecutive month in March and have now risen at a 9.7% annualized rate through the first quarter of 2025, making it harder to plan and budget for both public and private sector projects.” One day in the not-so-distant future, we will look back and shake our heads in shame for the abuse of taxpayers and horses alike.

— Ronda Cooperstein, Pikesville

Arguments against value of college don’t hold water

While I generally agree with Armstrong Williams that a wholesale cancellation of student loan debt is probably undesirable, his remarks about the dubious value of college are questionable (“The real cost of student loan forgiveness,” May 6). Mr. Williams criticizes colleges for offering degrees of “diminishing value.” But a college education was not designed primarily to be vocational education. It was designed to expose students to culture, history, great ideas and critical thinking skills. One such skill is identifying logical fallacies and inconsistencies in arguments, both of which errors are exemplified in Mr. Williams’ article. First, he employs the fallacious slippery slope argument, writing that if we forgive student loans, why not forgive car and mortgage loans? But forgiving one type of loan does not logically entail, nor provide any reason for forgiving another type. Second, Mr. Williams claims college degrees are of “low value” with “minimal return on investment.” But then he cites evidence that student loan holders “earn higher incomes over the course of their lifetimes.” Which is it? Are degrees “low value” or do they provide higher lifetime income? They can’t be both.

— Eric Heavner, Towson

What explains Crisfield’s loyalty to Trump?

The Baltimore Sun’s April 28 article about Maryland’s “Trumpiest precinct” (Crisfield) was revealing. As one who has appreciated Crisfield’s seafood, fishing and knowing the captains I fished with over the years, I’ve gotten to know them as honest, good, hard-working people. Thus, I have been taken aback by the loyalty they have shown to a candidate who has none of the values they have shown me over the years. They support a man who is the antithesis of what they believe. Most are religious believers, attend church regularly and are morally decent.

Trump is none of these. Most would give you the shirt off their back if you were in need. Trump is in the process of taking away health care for the neediest among us, attacking immigrants who provide help to the seafood industry that needs them, and as a convicted felon who benefited from due process, is attacking the courts he used to “get off the hook” after he was elected. Trump is surrounded by the wealthiest of us and would not fit in anywhere that Crisfield families live.

He is going to hold a parade in honor of himself that will cost tax dollars paid by these Crisfield residents. He has used his office to enhance the fortunes of his family and billionaire friends who have not helped anyone in Somerset County.

I am at a loss to explain why these good people can watch right-wing media and believe in the propaganda they hear that has turned them into something they are not. I guess it will take more than a letter to the editor to get them back on track — it will take a miracle. I will pray for one.

— Geoff Smoot, Hebron