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Published: Aug 27, 2008

Taking Its Toll

I feel compelled to respond to Jay Nachman's "For Whom the Tolls Toll" [Slant, Aug. 21, 2008]. For a big-city columnist, traveling through rural Pennsylvania might seem boring. But for many, the rural character of the I-80 corridor is by far preferable to the daily grind of bumper-to-bumper commutes, the "interesting" high-density housing complexes and strip malls Jay prefers.

It's easy for someone who rarely uses I-80 to be cavalier about tolling because it's not your ox that's being gored. In reality, tolling I-80 will weaken the state's economy. Hundreds of businesses along the corridor will be adversely affected, rendering them less competitive and able to survive in the global marketplace.

Pennsylvania has a need for additional revenues to fund road and bridge repairs. And, while it's true that tolling I-80 might help to some extent, the revenues from tolling will be offset by the decline in the state's tax base as a result. There are alternatives, which would not inflict the kinds of wounds on the state's economy that would result from Act 44.

Your readers should demand the legislature hold hearings on other proposals, take testimony from advocates and opponents, listen to experts and then deliberate in search of the best solution. This deliberative process was sadly missed when Act 44 was passed because many in the Pennsylvania legislature exhibit the same contempt for rural Pennsylvania as was reflected in your column.

Ed Edwards

President, Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce

Spokesperson, The Alliance to Stop I-80 Tolling
Bloomsburg, Pa.

David Faris approaches the Russo-Georgian conflict as a detached observer [Slant, "Georgia on our Minds," Aug. 14, 2008]. It is apparent that no one in his family ever escaped a Siberian prison camp, gave compulsory service to the Soviet Army or faced resettlement for disagreeing with the prevailing ideology. As a second generation Ukrainian-American, I feel obligated to respond to his commentary.

There is an uncomfortable parallel between the United States' involvement in Iraq and the events in Eastern Europe — any admonition from the U.S. could be construed as hypocrisy. However, Faris overlooks the ties between the U.S. and the former Soviet Socialist Republics that developed in the wake of the Soviet Union's dissolution.

When satellite nations gained independence from Russia's centuries-long oppression, they solicited and received support from the U.S. They needed diplomatic recognition as sovereign states from the White House, invited western commerce in order to build national economic infrastructures and looked to the U.S. system of government as a model for creating a democratic society. Perhaps Faris' perception is so clouded by cynical American narcissism that he can't conceive of Russia's behavior as a serious threat to the national sovereignty of an entire people.

In April 2008, Ukraine and Georgia sought admission to NATO. France and Germany voted against their induction because Russia threatened to interrupt oil supplies to Northern Europe. And now Russia tests the waters of imperialistic re-consolidation. Anything less than a condemnation from the U.S. implies not only an abandonment of support, but also the abandonment of the ideal of national sovereignty. The Eastern European community in Philadelphia stands in solidarity with the Georgian people.

Nina Sofia Bilynsky
Fairmount

Hamels is someone I had doubts about and now I trust [Cover Story, "We Need a Hero," E. James Beale, August 21, 2008].

Beale is someone I would hate to lose trust in, but someone whose name I don't know enough.

Blake Dawson
Via Citypaper.net

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