Charlotte’s MLS investment raises important questions for me

I question return on MLS investment

The Charlotte mayor and City Council’s ongoing rhetoric about being a “woke” body of leaders is in jeopardy if they use the political playbook of scant transparency and public input regarding committing millions in public funds to ultra-wealthy pro sports owners.

Charlotte is nationally ranked dead last in upward mobility, indicating a failure in other public city systems. That raises questions concerning the public’s return on these investments.

Imagine the City Council being “awake” on the CEO/employee pay gap (361 times more than the average worker) and asking David Tepper to fund his MLS/city requests himself. That would “faithfully discharge the duties of public office” and give social justice advocates something to cheer about.

Scott Bryan, Charlotte

The blame game on student performance

Regarding “Schools chief says 70,000 students wrongly promoted” (Dec. 16):

Human nature does not change. Look at early human history; Adam blamed Eve for having him eat the forbidden fruit. Eve blamed the serpent for beguiling her. So we see that ever since the Garden of Eden people have been blaming others for their shortcomings. The school promotion story is a perfect added: example of such finger-pointing. Both sides cannot be right.

Bob Burroughs, Charlotte

Trade democracy for this? Not worth it.

The facts are clear on President Trump. Yes, he used my tax dollars to try and force Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden. This is inherently dangerous to our democracy.

Are Sens. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis going to let every U.S. president do this moving forward?

If there is nothing wrong with what Trump did, then will Burr and Tillis also seek foreign help for their elections? If not, they must have a reason. Logically, this same reason would apply to the president.

Getting conservative judges and legislation is not worth abandoning the future of America.

Asa Rafidi, Charlotte

Electoral College is the best option

I get a little tired of people complaining about the Electoral College. If we were to depend on the popular vote alone to decide our national elections, we Carolinians wouldn’t have to vote at all because the popular vote of the top four states would decide all national elections. So I ask: Do you want California, Texas, Florida and New York to make our voting choice?

Paul Korry, Fort Mill

Unprecedented level of obstruction

Op-ed writer Marc Thiessen (Dec. 15) fails to make a distinction between the proper use of executive privilege and a large scale cover-up.

The Trump administration ordered every single potential witness not to testify and withheld a massive amount of requested documents. Can executive privilege be invoked for the entire State Department? Should Ambassador Gordon Sondland be prevented from accessing his own notes and emails?

Trump’s actions clearly fall into the realm of obstruction on a level never before seen.

Barry Jordan, Charlotte

Put the brakes on EV tax credits

In deciding whether to extend the federal $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit, Sen. Thom Tillis and his fellow legislators should consider what would be best for all Americans, not just the wealthy.

The average buyer of an EV earns more than $150,000 per year. N.C. taxpayer dollars should not fund a $7,500 tax credit for those buyers. On a national scale, the EV tax credit is a $9.7 billion subsidy to the EV industry. That’s taxpayer dollars subsidizing Americans who can readily afford to buy their own cars.

The EV tax credit is a reward for the wealthy paid for by moderate- and low-income consumers. To extend the tax credit would be a disservice to most North Carolinians. Congress should put the brakes on such a bad idea.

Margaret Currin, Raleigh

A way to help drivers and wildlife

The writer is CEO of NC Wildlife Federation.

You really can’t understand how strongly North Carolina needs safe wildlife crossings unless you’ve seen what happens when a truck hits a bear. Wildlife collisions are dangerous for drivers; imagine a 900-pound bull elk hitting your windshield at 60 miles per hour.

The good news is that right now, Congress is currently making decisions about the future of transportation funding that could help alleviate this problem.

It’s important that Sens. Burr and Tillis ensure any final transportation funding bill includes vital investments in local efforts to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and improve habitat connectivity.

Tim Gestwicki, Charlotte