To the Editor:
Re “Rich New Yorkers Take Off, and Census Takes Hit” (news article, July 14):
Throughout the 2020 Census, I’ve been monitoring response rates closely. I expected to see lower response rates in traditionally hard-to-count communities, but I was surprised to see that rates are lagging in neighborhoods that have historically seen higher turnout. I know that we can do better.
The census takes five minutes to complete online but will determine the next decade of funding and representation for New York City.
I head the House Oversight Committee, which released a staff report last month showing that if just 1 percent of our city is undercounted, we could lose $7.3 million in federal funding for our schools and nearly $3.7 million for jobs programs. This funding for these programs is critical as we work to recover from the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Our city has faced unprecedented challenges this year, but New Yorkers have always taken care of our own. That is why I’m asking every New Yorker to help secure a brighter future for our city by logging on to my2020census.gov and filling out the census.
Carolyn B. Maloney
New York
The writer represents New York’s 12th District in the House.
The Real Story in Afghanistan: The Need to Get Out
To the Editor:
Re “Trump Knew, and Did Nothing” (Op-Ed, July 13):
Douglas London is right to raise questions about what President Trump knew about U.S. intelligence reports describing possible Russian bounty payments to the Taliban. But as troubling and confusing as this entire story is, it’s hardly the most important subject.
Analysts, pundits and the news media have paid far more attention to the #BountyGate story over a period of days than they have on the actual war in Afghanistan over the last few months.
If competitors and adversaries like Russia, Iran and Pakistan are deliberately encouraging Taliban fighters to target U.S. troops, it’s because doing so is an easy way of keeping Americans mired in a decades-long civil war with no end in sight. All three are taking advantage of the situation.
If President Trump wants to deprive the Russians of this opportunity, he should extricate the United States from the conflict. The temptation in Washington will be to escalate in Afghanistan and complicate Moscow’s own plans in the country. But this would translate only into more U.S. investment for little gain.
Mr. Trump should instead do the sensible thing and finally pull the roughly 8,000 U.S. troops out of an unwinnable war. A withdrawal would not be a favor to Russia; it would be a favor to ourselves and a belated acknowledgment that long military deployments very often have negative, unforeseen consequences.
Daniel R. DePetris
Astoria, Queens
The writer is a fellow at Defense Priorities, a foreign policy think tank.
Don’t Subsidize Employers on Wages
To the Editor:
Re “How to Give Workers a Raise,” by Bharat Ramamurti and Lindsay Owens (Op-Ed, July 6):
It’s a lovely idea to have the government provide workers the difference between their low-paying job and a decent-paying one. But let’s be clear: This is a government subsidy for businesses. Now they can continue to shortchange workers, while diverting their profits into more wealth for themselves and their shareholders.
Wouldn’t it be preferable to pass a strong minimum-wage bill that compels businesses themselves to pay their workers more? The growing wealth disparities between rich and poor are no accident; more profits now go to the top than ever before. This proposal won’t change that. A strong wage bill would.
Cheryl Greenberg
West Hartford, Conn.