Poor Decisions In OC
Editor:
(The following was addressed to the Ocean City Mayor and Council.)
Coming to Ocean City has been a sacred tradition in my family starting with vacations as a young child to my family owning a condo in North Ocean City for over 20 years. We are now disgusted with how the city leadership for the sake of money in the pockets of a few are encouraging an element of our society who thrive on violence and me-first philosophy to take over our family resort.
Over the 4th of July weekend, Ocean City was the only resort town in Delmarva that didn’t require masks and social distancing in public areas. This just encouraged those who do not care about the common good to flock there. Pictures from the Boardwalk Cam of people without masks pushing together just puts everyone in the area in danger of COVID-19 spreading to all those places that those people go home to. These decisions by O.C. politicians truthfully put many O.C. citizens in harm’s way. My heart goes out to waitstaff in restaurants, store workers, lifeguards and first responders whose lives and the lives of their family members were carelessly put in danger.
As a condo owner in O.C. that pays taxes double what I pay on my twice as big home in Delaware, the poor decisions you are making are not only devaluing my property, but making it impossible for my family and I to even enjoy it. I have heard many friends and family comment on how your decisions are ruining the O.C. that they love. I even doubt that the better restaurants and hotels made money this weekend because that is not the kind of patrons your lawless decisions are appealing to.
I pray the politicians running O.C. will start doing some responsible governing before it is too late, and they ruin this summer and our beloved town. How can you not require masks by workers in restaurants and stores to protect the common good? How can you continue to allow people without masks and no sense of social distancing to pack public places? Since there has been so much violence at ridiculous hours like 2 a.m., why isn’t there a curfew in place? If lack of revenue is the concern, follow the lead of Delaware beaches and fine those not following the mandates. Please O.C. Mayor and Council do the right things to protect those who pay the taxes that pay your salaries.
Sharon Pitcher
Ocean City
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Immigration Halt Support
Editor:
Maryland’s economy is in free-fall. Over 600,000 of the state’s three million workers have filed for unemployment since the coronavirus struck.
Despite this widespread joblessness, Maryland’s leaders have pressed to bring in more foreign workers. Gov. Larry Hogan has repeatedly urged the federal government to issue more guest-worker visas, especially for our seafood industry, which for many generations depended on locals.
Thankfully, the Trump administration put an end to this madness. The president just signed an executive order suspending the entry of most new foreign guest workers through the end of 2020. The president should get a lot of credit for doing the right thing despite opposition from Silicon Valley CEOs and other corporate lobbyists who yield tremendous influence in D.C. However, a short-term solution will not fix a long-standing problem.
I harbor no hostility towards immigrants. In fact, I’m an immigrant myself. I came to this country legally from Bangladesh in hopes of achieving the American dream. And I have nothing but empathy for others who come here in search of a better life.
But I also have empathy for my fellow Marylanders who have lost their livelihoods. It’s time to prioritize the needs of these citizens and legal permanent residents — by ensuring they don’t have to compete for scarce jobs with new workers coming from abroad.
Earlier this year, Hogan and Congressman Andy Harris (R), who represents the Eastern Shore, called on the Trump administration to issue additional guest-worker visas for Maryland’s crab-picking industry. Even in March, after the coronavirus crisis had already begun, Congressman Harris called the supposed shortage of these H-2B visas — which businesses use to bring in seasonal workers for non-agricultural jobs like construction, landscaping, and meat and seafood processing — a “debilitating issue for the economy.”
And the governor warned in January that “local seafood processors will be unable to open for business” if they can’t hire guest workers.
These claims are fearmongering, pure and simple. There has never been a shortage of Americans willing to fill such jobs. Fifty-two percent of seafood hand packers and packagers were born here in America. Many of the remaining 48 percent are naturalized citizens like me. Only a relatively small percentage are guest workers.
And especially now, as the unemployment rate soars to levels not seen since the Great Depression, it’s ludicrous to claim that businesses can’t find enough Americans.
In reality, seafood processors and other businesses clamor for these visas because guest workers will accept lower wages. The average laborer in the meat, poultry, and fish cutting and trimming sector earns $11.39 per hour — but H-2B guest workers in that industry earn just $8.25 per hour, according to an Economic Policy Institute review of federal data from 2012. That means employers increase their profit by $3.14 per hour, a 28 percent discount.
Marylanders face competition not only from guest workers, but also from illegal immigrants. Unscrupulous businesses often hire these vulnerable laborers and treat them terribly. Nearly four in 10 illegal aliens have been paid less than minimum wage.
Too often, Maryland officials turn a blind eye to this problem — or worse, actively abet it. Earlier this year, lawmakers introduced several “sanctuary” bills that would have forbid local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities. Such policies merely encourage more illegal immigration, thus perpetuating a cycle of abuse and wage theft that hurts legal and illegal workers alike. The bills didn’t pass, but lawmakers will surely reintroduce them next year.
Maryland’s legal residents — both native-born and immigrant — deserve better. In other states, elected officials have already stepped up to protect their citizens.
Many states require some or all businesses to use E-Verify, a free online tool that assesses whether newly hired laborers are authorized to work in the United States. Just across the Mason Dixon Line, for instance, all Pennsylvania construction firms must start using E-Verify this fall, thanks to a bill passed by the Keystone State’s Republican legislature and signed into law by its Democrat governor. There’s no reason Maryland shouldn’t follow Pennsylvania’s example.
President Trump did the right thing when he suspended new H-2B and other guest worker visas during the pandemic. That will go a long way to relieve pressure on Maryland’s struggling workers.
Hundreds of thousands of Marylanders have lost their livelihoods. In a crisis like this, it’s insane that our state officials wanted to continue allowing guest-workers and illegal immigrants to take jobs that’d otherwise go to Maryland’s citizens and legal permanent residents.
Shakil Hamid
(The writer is an immigrant from Bangladesh who lives in Gaithersburg, Md.)
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A Take On Current Affairs
Editor:
Here are some undeniable truths:
*Jim Comey answered, “I don’t know.” “I don’t remember.”, and “I don’t recall” 236 times while under oath. He remembered enough to write a book.
*Not one feminist has defended Sarah Sanders. It seems women’s rights only matter if those women are liberal.
*Every woman has the right to be believed unless you are raped by Bill Clinton, beaten by Keith Ellison, groped by Cory Booker, or killed by Ted Kennedy.
*Chelsea Clinton got out of college and got a job at NBC that paid $900,000 per year. Her mom flies around the country speaking out about white privilege.
*If walls and guns don’t work; then why are celebrities and politicians surrounded by them?
*Liberals: “Don’t let unvaccinated kids into our schools!” Same liberals: “Let thousands of unvaccinated illegal immigrants in!”
*You know that you live in a great country when even the people that absolutely detest it refuse to leave.
*The law allowing for separation of children from their parents who cross the border illegally was signed by Bill Clinton in 1997. Why is it a problem now?
*In 2018, 68 people were killed by mass shootings. In that same year, 2,000 people were killed by illegal aliens.
*Democrats say that you can’t give a lethal injection to killers, rapists, pedophiles, and school shooters. But, you can give a lethal injection to an infant.
*Liberals are against foreign interference in our elections but want illegals to vote.
*Trump’s wall costs less than the Obamacare website.
*It is easier to kill and American child than it is to deport an illegal alien.
*60 years ago, Venezuela was 4th on the world economic freedom index. Today they are 179th and their citizens are dying of starvation. In only 10 years, Venezuela was destroyed by democratic socialism.
*Russia donated $0.00 to the Trump campaign. Russia donated $145,600,000 To the Clinton Foundation. BUT, Trump was the one investigated.
*Liberals feel the same way about firearms as they do about wealth. It is okay for them, but not for you.
*A party that supports abortion over life, illegal aliens over its citizens, and refugees over its veterans is lecturing me on morals!
*If you think capitalism is the problem, there are 195 other countries where you can get a whole lot less of it. Why don’t you move there??
*We spend $18 billion a year on healthcare for illegals and the Democrats can’t find $5 billion for border security.
*Alexandria Ocasio Cortez wants to ban cars, ban planes, give out universal income and thinks socialism works. She calls Donald Trump crazy?!?
*Bill Clinton paid $850,000 to Paula Jones to get her to go away. I don’t remember the FBI raiding his lawyer’s office.
*The problem with socialism is that sooner or later, you run out of other people’s money.
*The electoral college worked fine until Hillary Clinton lost in 2016. The Democrats now want to abolish it.
*The Supreme Court has had 9 justices since 1868. Now the Democrats say that it needs to be expanded to nullify the conservatives on the court.
*It is now clear. Bob Mueller quit digging when all of the tunnels led back to Hillary and Obama.
*Katy Perry: “No barriers. No borders. We all just need to coexist.” She lives in a $19 million mansion in a gated community, surrounded by security.
*Maxine Waters thinks voted ID is racist, and at the same time requires one to attend her town hall meetings.
*We are one election away from open borders, socialism, gun confiscation, and full-term abortion nationally. We are fighting evil.
How can any thinking, patriotic individual vote Democrat?
Dennis Evans
Berlin.