Newsday letters to the editor for Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017

Tax reform bill will hurt senior citizens

As a senior citizen with a fixed income, I’m very upset with the tax bill passed by the House of Representatives [“Support, derision for tax reform,” Letters, Nov. 16].

The exclusion of the medical deduction would affect millions of people. The cost of basic Medicare, together with the cost of health insurance, prescription insurance, long-term health insurance, dental bills and out-of-pocket costs of drugs(which become the entire amount when the drug cap is reached), will cause older people to pay much more.

The exclusion of the property tax deduction after $10,000 would also affect Long Islanders disproportionately. We would be forced to give up our homes and not get a decent amount for selling them, as there would be a lesser benefit for someone to buy rather than rent.

Where will it end?

Dorothy Rose Seiden, North Woodmere

Read the entire Second Amendment

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State” — those are the words at the beginning of the Second Amendment [“Little change in wake of shootings,” Letters, Nov. 17]. Too many people ignore this part of the sentence. What if we were to disregard the first 12 words in the First Amendment or any other?

There is no reference to defending yourself in your home or business in the Second Amendment.

Are we to view the mass killings in Texas, Nevada, Florida, Connecticut, etc., as a level of collateral damage the Founding Fathers thought we should be willing to tolerate so that “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed”?

They had no concept of the advances technology would bring. The scale of the recent mass killings would not be possible with technology in the 1790s.

In laws enacted by states, perhaps we should distinguish between a modern bullet and what filled a musket: gun powder, a small lead ball and crumpled paper.

Larry Wiltse, Glen Head

Upset by name of new Hudson bridge

I resent and am opposed to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and the State Legislature naming the new Tappan Zee bridge after his father [“Guv criticizes petition against Cuomo bridge,” News, Nov. 17].

Who gave the governor the right to even consider naming the new span the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge?

I don’t belong to any political or conspiracy group, as the governor suggests, that opposes this name. Mario Cuomo was just another politician who does not rate having a bridge named after him.

Why can’t the bridge be named after my father, Harry Brown? If Cuomo needs to rename something, by all means, let him rename the Cross Bronx Expressway the Mario Cuomo Snailway.

Allen Brown,Smithtown

If we’re going to name a public project, it should never be for a politician! I propose that only heroes be given this honor: police, firefighters or military.

Perhaps the Fighting 69th Bridge, the 82nd Airborne Screaming Eagles Tunnel, Navy SEAL Lt. Michael Murphy Stadium or Purple Heart Veterans Memorial Highway. Only heroes!

Peter Kelly,Medford

Even tax bill ignores climate change

Congratulations to community leaders who have made Southampton the second town on Long Island to receive a Climate Smart certification [“Green vacuum makes officials see red,” News, Nov. 10].

As our federal leadership continues to embarrass and betray its citizens by refusing to acknowledge human-caused climate change as one of the most pressing global issues of our time, state and local officials represent hope to keep up with the rest of the world.

As if President Donald Trump’s intent to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement weren’t bad enough, Republican tax legislation threatens to further undermine our ability to take action against climate change. It aims to repeal tax credits for electric vehicles and clean energy production without touching giant tax loopholes for oil companies.

Now more than ever, for the sake of our prosperity, we must pressure congressional representatives to block these poisonous measures.

Annette Kattau, Patchogue