Climate projects are worth every cent

The Miami Herald’s front-page article on Oct. 14 “Spending on climate projects pays off” is on the money.

How nice to know that doing the right thing for the economy is doing the right thing for the environment. That’s why I urge our representatives in the House to champion HR

763, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act.

The act puts a price on carbon emissions at the point of extraction and returns the fees collected to all citizens.

The result? Innovation in alternative energy sources is spurred and new jobs are created. America’s emissions are projected to be reduced some 40 percent in the first 12 years.

Talk about a win-win situation. We can’t afford, not to act.

– Kathryn Carroll, Miami

RAISE LOW WAGES

As I was filling in my ballot, it occurred to me that many people think the presidential election is the only important part of the Florida ballot.

But there are many more issues that we need to consider to repair our society.

All three of the major religions have thoughts about charity and generosity: Zakat, or charity, is the third pillar of Islam.

In Christianity, charity is an obligation toward humanity. In Judaism, the term Tikkun Olam means “to repair the world.”

The words “essential workers” have been a major part of our conversations during the COVID-19 pandemic. So why aren’t we doing everything possible to protect them and others making low wages?

They aren’t asking for handouts.

They are only asking to be paid a decent salary to support their families.

I understand that raising Florida’s minimum wage, as Amendment 2 would do, might cause some layoffs. But in the end we all need to give a little for these raises to be a reality.

Support this amendment for the good of humanity.

– Bonnie Webman

Miami

OUTDATED COLLEGE

The Electoral College is outdated. There is no reason we shouldn’t elect our presidents by a nationwide popular vote.

The candidate with the most votes should win.

When we vote for many other offices, the candidate who gets the most votes wins. It should be the same for president.

– Carlos Nunez, West Palm Beach

TAX DEADBEAT

President Trump received medical care costing at hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of dollars. Few, if any, of the 8 million people in the United States who have contracted COVID-19 receive such care.

It is appropriate for the taxpayers to pay their president’s medical bills, but I would feel better if the beneficiary were also a taxpayer.

– Robert E. French,

Boca Raton

TERM LIMITS

It’s time to repair the partisan divide on the Supreme Court by imposing term limits and a replacement schedule. Justices’ terms must be long enough to minimize politicization, but not so long that we have a judiciary of patriarchs and matriarchs.

We should create a maximum term of 18 years with a nine-member court or 22 years with an 11-member court. The replacement would occur at the end of the first and third years of a presidential term to minimize the impact on elections.

To qualify, a nominee must have at least four years’ judicial experience at the District Court level plus four years in circuit court level. These requirements would ensure candidates are experienced and have a record to examine during confirmation.

These changes will create a less politicized, more diverse, more representative and more qualified Supreme Court.

Republicans’ abuse of the judicial appointment process can, and must, be fixed.

– Sam Dobrow, Miami

CAMPAIGN CASH

Our politics are polluted with amounts of personal and special-interest money beyond imagination. The cost of campaigns boggles the mind. It is all wrong.

There is only one way to get money out of politics. We must advocate for campaigns that are financed only by taxpayer money. Every qualified candidate gets the same amount of money. Perhaps financial restraints will cause candidates to be more aspirational and less transactional.

Financial limitations might also force candidates to focus on policy matters, reducing the number of attacks campaigns make, as well.

– Richard Masington,

Coral Gables

NATION ON THE BRINK

In his Oct. 12 letters, Jaime Suchlicki — my friend and former historydepartment colleague — analyzed the historical differences between Germany and Cuba on the one hand and the United States on the other.

His analysis is accurate, but fails to invalidate the issue he addresses: A second Trump term will lead to the end of our constitutional republic.

With a 6-3 conservative Supreme Court majority to rubber-stamp his actions and a toothless impeachment process because the Senate will not remove him from office even if Democrats gain a majority, President Trump will run through all the guardrails and trample upon constitutional safeguards with impunity.

Trump believes, and has said so publicly, Article II of the Constitution allows him to do whatever he wishes, and he has indicated, not very subtly, a preference for authoritarianism, even if he has not said it. Our Constitution, constitutional republic and long-standing twoparty system are the envy of the world, a point Suchlicki’s letter correctly makes, but they are not indestructible.

We have done an excellent job of protecting ourselves against against foreign enemies, but are we as proficient when it comes to self-destruction? This election might tell.

– Whittington Johnson,

Miami