Feedback: Want to fix Electoral College? Get rid of it
Americans claim to value the concept of one person, one vote above other democratic principles. Our government uses it to measure the quality of emerging foreign democracies, citing American practice as the fairest of all.
To believe this requires one to turn a blind eye to the grotesquely gerrymandered districts that corrupted our recent election and to ignore the actions of the current Legislature. The Free Press article on a GOP plan to change the way Michigan allocates its electoral votes describes ongoing tinkering with presidential elections aimed, not at making them more democratic, but to advance the power of one party.
The only correction to the Electoral College worth attention is abolishment. And if legislators truly believed in fostering honest representation of voters, they would outlaw the practice of creating gerrymandered districts that favor one party.
Peter A. Pascaris
West Bloomfield
Time for Snyder to stand up to GOP fringe
When I wrote to the Free Press before the November elections, I included my belief that Gov. Rick Snyder would not stand up to the radical elements in his party by using his influence and, when necessary, his veto. I hope that I was wrong!
In 2010 and in 2014, Republicans threw unlimited money into campaigns in order to control Congress and as many state governments as possible. In 2014, their job was easier because, under redistricting, only a handful of state and federal elected offices are competitive.
With that accomplished, their next step is to change presidential elections so that Democratic turnout doesn’t matter. If the Democratic candidate wins the popular count in Michigan by even a million votes, it won’t matter!
The onus is on Snyder to stop this coup, at least in Michigan.
Allen Halper
West Bloomfield
A call to institute tolls on state freeways
The state Senate approved a gas tax that will hurt working-class drivers. The truckers who come into Michigan from Canada, Ohio and Indiana won’t buy gas in Michigan. They will buy it prior to entry because we don’t have toll entrances and exits.
I agree that the tax on gas is appropriate, but get tollbooths and charge folks who enter our state a tax, too.
Harold Weisberg
East Lansing
Do the roadwork job right the first time
Before retiring, in my travels to work down I-94, the highway was being worked on for the same repairs every summer and still seems to be. Does the state not hold its contractors to any type of quality of workmanship? Is there no guarantee that there is any life expectancy from these repairs?
I grew up in St. Clair Shores when I-94 was being built, and there were few, if any, repairs in the freeway’s first 40-50 years. Was it better material used back then, or more honest contractors, inspectors and politicians? Other roads throughout the state are going through the same re-repairs, which in my estimation is an elaborate scam on the people of this state and a drain on our tax dollars. Yes, we have bad winters and more traffic, but if these roads are engineered correctly and repaired correctly the first time, how many more roads could have been repaired? How much in our tax dollars could have been saved or put to other road improvements?
Jim Williams
Harper Woods
Detroit proved pleasant surprise for this Texan
This past summer, I visited Detroit as an escort for my boys to a tournament at Cobo Center. When I heard it was to be held in Detroit, like most folks who don’t live there, I thought “Detroit?! What are they thinking?”
I dropped off the boys at Cobo Center and decided to explore. I started at the RiverWalk and was floored. People were walking and riding bikes up and down the riverfront. I saw many white and black families, all smiling, all getting along, and all enjoying the beautiful Friday afternoon. I went to the concession area, sat down, enjoyed a bratwurst and struck up a conversation with a woman and her family. She told me about all the city and developers have done the past few years, cleaning up downtown, moving jobs there and revitalizing the image of Detroit. I told her you don’t hear that on the national news.
I walked up Woodward Avenue, took the People Mover and admired the unbelievable architecture of the old downtown buildings. I made it past Ford Field and Comerica Park. I drove further and saw Wayne State and more fabulous architecture.
I could not believe it. The Motor City had dusted itself off and decided it, too, was a great city, despite the former mayor, despite the state of the auto industry, that it was going to rise up again and start being one of the greatest American cities in history again. Kudos to Detroit for having that all-important American spirit of not giving up, fighting the good fight and showing the country that you can be great again.
Dave Collier
Dallas
Here’s hoping for some fiscal responsibility
When you have mayors who think they can spend $2 for every $1 of revenue, it’s a death sentence. You and I have to balance our budgets why shouldn’t the government? I think Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan will finally align spending with revenue. You hardworking pensioners trusted the unions. You trusted the prior mayors who squandered millions of your pension money. When Detroit’s population dropped, changes had to be made but nothing was done. Gov. Rick Snyder saw the problem and forced change. Snyder saved most of your pensions.
Bernie Moore
Livonia