Letters to the Editor | June 26, 2025
Inquirer readers on round funding, Iran's credible nuclear threat, and the Solar for Schools program.
Road tax
In the recent Inquirer article, “Not just SEPTA,” state Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman said that “there is not a type of subsidized transportation infrastructure in rural areas as there is in urban areas.” Wrong — Pittman himself drives for free on taxpayer-provided roads every day. Do gasoline taxes and tolls cover road costs? No. According to the latest data from the Tax Foundation, Pennsylvania’s gas taxes and other user fees cover less than 75% of our road costs. The rest is subsidized by the state.
James G. Lertola, Kennett Square
Credible threat
The prime minister of Israel does not possess magical powers that enable him to trick other countries into joining wars, as Michael de Adder’s June 20 editorial cartoon in The Inquirer suggested. President Donald Trump made his decision to strike Iran’s nuclear weapons development sites based on his own assessment of what was in the best interests of the United States, not as a result of some kind of Zionist conspiracy, as the cartoon implied. How many times do Iran’s leaders need to shout “Death to America” before the international community finally recognizes that they mean what they say?
Rafael Medoff, director, the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, Washington, D.C.
Solars for schools
Congratulations and thanks to State Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler and her staff for the hard work of bringing the state program “Solar for Schools” to fruition. I was thrilled to learn that 25 Philadelphia-area schools received grants to install solar panels. This idea is good on so many levels. First, it will lower the cost of running a school, which means either less money spent by taxpayers or more money into different school programs. These savings will be substantial for underfunded schools, such as those in the Upper Darby School District that received more than $2 million from grants this cycle. Next, it means jobs for those already with the skills to install solar or training, and jobs for those with the desire. And last, it’s a teaching moment for the community, the schools, and, most of all, for children to learn about solar in action as a way to care for our environment — our home, our Earth.
Kate Rojas, Philadelphia, [email protected]
Domestic deployment
As a U.S. Military Academy graduate, Sen. Dave McCormick knows that our nation’s military has a distinguished history of defending America from foreign adversaries. That distinguished history does not, and, as a moral and constitutional matter, has never included fighting and harming people who live and work within America’s borders. Our military’s distinguished history must not be sullied or dishonored by commanding our troops to use force on American soil against citizens and immigrants. McCormick is in a unique position — as a West Pointer and as a senator — to speak out against the deployment of military personnel to Los Angeles and potentially other U.S. cities. Sen. McCormick: Your voice is crucial since, for obvious reasons, our troops cannot speak up for themselves or jeopardize their service by declining orders. West Pointers must do what the enlisted person cannot do: publicly say no to the use of American troops on American soil.
Frank Thomas, Haverford, [email protected]
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