Carson’s experience ideal for HUD post
The president-elect has nominated Dr. Ben Carson to serve as secretary for Housing and Urban Development. This is a superb strategy.
Carson grew up in inner-city Detroit. He understands low-income communities and the people he will serve, having real-world experience. He grasps toxic issues of equity, poverty and violence that public-housing residents often face. He describes a violent episode he had as a youth, in which he could have been the perpetrator.
His mom started him on a good career path at an early age. She turned off the TV and made him read books. He rose from failing in school to become one of the leading pediatric neurosurgeons in the world. His history of successfully separating Siamese twins at birth is legendary. This allows him to be a great role model.
His governance experience adds credentials with large organizations and includes corporate boards such as Costco, Kellogg and Vaccinogen.
As a child’s physician, he grasps health equity. He can implement policies that address social determinants of health — housing security, health, food security and transportation — in an integrated way. These factors drive poor health outcomes for moms, infants and children, and young adults including childhood obesity, toxic stress, preterm births, infant deaths and higher asthma rates.
In short, Carson can help heal urban America by applying a health-equity lens to HUD.
Kevin Sherin, M.D. Orlando
Campaigning over, now get to work
After reading the Sentinel article about U.S. Representative-elect Stephanie Murphy, I was left as empty as the day she was elected (“Murphy: Focus on needs of Americans,” Friday).
When will her campaign communications end and her legislative voice begin? The entire campaign was introducing her like a new retail product. Now that she’s been elected, why are the local paper and political bloggers trying to sell her to us all over again?
The real news is the transition and how slow her communication team is working in providing us the information we need as a community. How many offices will she open to assist the community? Where will her new office(s) be? Who will be her chief of staff? Where can people who have needs today contact her? What will she do to take care of veterans and seniors? Will she have a conservative voice in her administration?
The final question would be how she intends to change the tone in Washington, D.C., when she’s quoted saying, “I’m willing to work with anyone who’s willing to work with me.” Isn’t that the same hardliner tone in Washington already?
Joel Hawksley Winter Park
Aid for responders?
Wednesday letter-writer Nicole Proffitt suggests that from the $27 million distribution to Pulse victims or their families, Pulse first responders deserve additional payoff for doing their jobs. She writes that she knows one police officer who “has not been able to work since the shooting” because he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
If this officer suffers from PTSD, he’s in the wrong line of work. It’s like someone who is allergic to peanuts looking for a job in a peanut factory. Would an extra few thousand dollars make this officer all better and ready to return to duty, for which my tax dollars are utilized?
Dominic Abrusci Clermont
