Regarding “Tax the vape,” Tuesday, encouraging any government to use taxation of any product or activity in order to make it “less appealing” to its citizens is fraught with high risk to our freedoms. It doesn’t take much imagination to see where that could lead.
The Constitution of the United States of America defines the purpose of laying and collecting taxes; and to control its citizens’ behavior is not one of them.
GENE NOVAK
Oak Harbor, Ohio
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Keep water clean
Annually, throughout the nation, thousands of people die from contaminated water and hundreds of millions of dollars are spent treating water-borne illnesses. Clean water is essential in providing quality care. Health care is one of the most water-intensive industries — washing hands, giving newborns their first baths, as well as the vast amount of laundry generated every day in hospitals and other healthcare facilities.
Ohio has a history of incidents impacting our water supply. In 1969, the Cuyahoga River caught on fire, helping to usher in the first comprehensive law to address water quality, the Clean Water Act, now the Clean Water Rule. In 2014, an algae bloom shut down Toledo’s water intake from Lake Erie, interrupting access to clean water throughout the area. Sebring, Ohio had lead, a potent neurotoxic heavy metal, in its municipal water system in circumstances reminiscent of Flint, Michigan. There is no safe level of lead, and children are especially vulnerable to its neurological impacts.
It is vital that strong regulations such as the Clean Water Rule are in place to protect public health. I belong to the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, which works with groups like the Children’s Environmental Health Network and the Fresh Water Alliance to shed light on water contamination issues impacting health. Our state policymakers need to support the Clean Water Rule, which the Trump Administration is rolling back. Our policymakers must continue supporting science-based, common-sense regulations to protect our drinking water.The health of Toledo communities and families would be jeopardized if the Clean Water Rule is repealed.
PATRICIA B. STRASSER
Sylvania
The writer has a PhD in nursing.
Don’t pay scrubbers
I strongly agree with the Jan. 30 letter writer that the three leaders and educators suspended in the data scrubbing should not be compensated with pay and benefits while they are on their suspensions (”No surprise in TPS story,” Wednesday).
It doesn’t speak very well to students and parents who look to them as role models; simply put, breaking and/or stretching the rules is okay for some, but not for others.
ROBERT SLASINSKI
West Toledo
First Published February 4, 2019, 11:30 a.m.
