Trump must use wartime powers to speed up production of medical supplies. Stop waiting

Wartime powers

Kevin Siers’ March 25 cartoon of “Trump, the wartime president” made me cry. Although President Trump declared a national emergency on March 13, as of March 26 he was refusing to use his lawful wartime powers to nationalize U.S. industry to confront this unprecedented pandemic.

Why isn’t he listening to N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo who is pleading for life-saving equipment which U.S. companies could be making? Production is weeks behind.

I am grateful for leaders like Cuomo who are preparing for the future. What is happening in N.Y. is coming to all of the U.S. Ensuring the safety of our health care workers by nationalizing companies to produce what we need as quickly as possibly is a “no-brainer.”

My granddaughter, who works in the ICU at Duke hospital, is among them. If anything happens to her, I will hold the president personally responsible. The buck stops with him.

Charlotte Speltz, Apex

Releasing prisoners

The coronavirus may very well do what politicians have failed to do: solve the overpopulation problem in our prisons. In America, “the land of the free,” we incarcerate more people (about 2 million) than any other country, including China which has four times the population.

Enter the coronavirus. As it spreads through our overcrowded prisons, the result may be devastating. About 200,000 inmates nationwide are over the age of 55 and most of them are non-violent offenders who could have been released and punished in other less-costly — and more effective — ways, like community service and home confinement, which many Americans are now learning is not an easy punishment.

Instead, many prisoners may die.

Joseph Jordan, Butner

The writer is a federal prisoner.

Put inmates to work

Regarding “Cut COVID-19 risks in NC jails and prisons,” (March 24 Editorial) and related articles.

There has been much talk about the need to release prisoners from the dangerously crowded confines of their incarceration. But living in crowded, not to mention overcrowded, space is always dangerous.

A much more rational, safe and effective way to deal with prisoners would be to confine them on productive farms. The environment would promote health instead of disease. They would live productive lives contributing to society, and their lives would more approximate the outside world, which they’ll eventually have to learn to accommodate. Plus, farm tasks would appeal to the different strengths and skills of prisoners.

Farm workers create a kind of community, with inherent obligations to each other that can restore broken human beings and create responsible people.

Jonathan Gerard, Durham

A living wage

Four Republican U.S. senators tried to block the coronavirus aid bill because some people might receive more income on unemployment than by working. Is there any better argument than that to guarantee all workers a living wage?

Susan Siegel, Carrboro

NC senators

It would be very helpful if North Carolina’s two U.S. senators would hold a town hall-style press conference and tell us exactly what the stimulus bill will do for our citizens, hospitals, health care institutions, and our community. We’ve all heard enough politicizing about coronavirus. It might be nice to hear some truths and have the ability to ask questions.

Stephen Berg, Chapel Hill

NC legislature

What is the N.C. legislature doing to help residents in this time of crisis over the coronavirus? The governor and the courts are acting. But we need discussion and legislation that will help working people and small businesses immediately.

Two important and long overdue things the N.C. legislature could do are expand Medicaid, which the federal government will pay the bulk of, and expand unemployment benefits.

This is a time for leadership, which includes clarity, vision and empathy, something the GOP-dominated legislature is in dire need of - which is especially obvious now.

Debra Kaufman, Mebane

Pistol permits

Regarding “Wake sheriff should not have suspended pistol permit applications amid coronavirus,” (March 26 Forum):

I applaud Sheriff Gerald Baker’s action to slow the rush of new pistol purchases.

To survive this crisis citizens need Clorox wipes, hand sanitizer, soap and water, not pistols. The Second Amendment might still apply, but the “right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” is unalienable and given by the Creator — check the Declaration of Independence. I’m pretty sure the Creator had nothing to do with the Second Amendment.

Thanks Sheriff Baker!

Rosemary Harrell, Mebane

This story was originally published March 26, 2020 at 12:01 PM.