An opinion piece about redistricting that ignores the Republican Party’s ongoing policies of restricting the right to vote is misleading. And not to mention that President Donald Trump’s right-wing Supreme Court has been a great supporter of the Southern states’ gerrymandering is puzzling to me. Praising Sen. Bill Ferguson without explaining the MAGA move to redistrict is not very persuasive.

In Mr. Baron’s op-ed about Baltimore rising, he thinks New Yorkers are going to “flee as Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani implements his agenda.” One should note that Baltimore has a serious problem with poverty. In other words, there is rampant inequality in Baltimore and much of the United States. And capitalism is sure not solving this problem. In our capitalist system, Mr. Moneybags has much more access to politicians. In other words, many legislators take campaign donations that influence them, and not for the good.

I will close with the issue of medical care since the Democratic Party tried to save some semblance of what was available. The U.S. is almost all alone in allowing corporations to run the health care system. Where is improved Medicare for All? Capitalism has proved it is incapable of providing adequate and inexpensive health care for all. I would rather try socialism as the answer.

— Max Obuszewski, Baltimore

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Our favorable location hasn’t stopped our decades-long decline, and it alone won’t fuel a turnaround. Meanwhile, the economic policies that have caused a disinvestment crisis and fueled population flight remain impediments to a true revival.

And the apparent affordability of housing here is partly an illusion. The city’s tax rate on residential and business property is more than double that available a few miles away in the surrounding county, and that will be reflected in monthly mortgage bills. Every $100,000 a prospective home- or business-owner borrows to invest in the city carries a mortgage payment (for principle, interest and taxes) that is $95 (or 13%) higher than in the county. Insurance and utility charges are usually significantly higher in the city as well.

These disadvantages, plus higher crime rates and lower-quality schools, drive down property values and make it harder for city residents to build equity and wealth, and for city businesses to survive.

Mr. Baron is quite correct that Baltimore has many attractions and enormous potential — but the city will grow and prosper only if we get our policy act together.

— Stephen J.K. Walters, Baltimore

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He stood brashly in stoic silence for his photo op as Dr. Mehmet Oz and two others assisted the man. Trump’s body language reflected his annoyance with the incident. His eyes were empty and hollow.

He had no empathy for the unconscious man. He did not care.

Everyone should be concerned by Trump’s detachment. It is disturbing in isolation and sociopathic in recurrence.

— Mel Tansill, Catonsville

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Having said all that, it is clear that Lamar Jackson has demonstrated that he is the best of all current and recent quarterbacks (“Ravens win 3rd straight, 27-19 over Vikings,” Nov. 9). His performance, when healthy, in the past five or six years proves that he is not only an excellent passer and the best runner of all modern quarterbacks but also as smart as or smarter than all other quarterbacks when it comes to ability to read the situation, the opposition and the field and attack accordingly. He has no peer in those areas.

In fact, he has so regularly shown how smart he is in football that I am convinced he would be successful in any area or field of endeavor to which he applied himself. The Ravens are fortunate in having the services of Lamar Jackson. Even with their current record, now that he is healthy, they still have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs and, conceivably, going all the way.

— Harris Factor, Columbia

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Gov. Wes Moore is moving ahead with a redistricting plan. He gets it. He knows that Democrats keep losing elections because they won’t play by the same rules as the GOP. Yes, gerrymandering is undemocratic. It lets politicians choose their voters instead of the other way around. If congressional Republicans hadn’t blocked H.R. 1 in 2019 and 2021, partisan gerrymandering would have been prohibited. But they did.

Virginia and Indiana may soon join red states like Texas, Missouri and North Carolina in rigging the game in favor of Republicans. Blue states need to play just as dirty. California is trying. Maryland should too.

— Herb Cromwell, Catonsville

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In my view, the best way to achieve this goal is to replace our partisan primary system with a two-round system. Under this approach, the first round would be open to all candidates for a given office. If no one received a simple majority of the vote, the top two candidates would face off in a second round. This system is successfully used in many countries around the world and in several jurisdictions in the United States.

While I am not naïve enough to believe that Baltimoreans would elect a Republican mayor any time soon under a two-round system, the format would give candidates with diverse ideas a greater platform to be heard.

— Sean Tully, Baltimore

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Mr. Chrzanowski is woefully unrealistic. My young adult friend is working her tail off and still cannot scrape together enough each month to feed herself and her daughter. She is not alone. In Maryland, nearly 700,000 receive SNAP benefits, and many of them are likely in her very situation.

The Sun’s co-owner Armstrong Williams points out that SNAP has fraud and theft issues (“The uncomfortable truth about SNAP,” Nov. 4). I heartily agree; those issues should be fixed. Indeed, The Sun has covered efforts to reduce theft and fraud. Earlier this year, improvements were introduced to make new EBT cards more secure. These improvements should continue.

Mr. Armstrong states that Democrats “believe people should remain on these programs [meaning SNAP] for as long as they want, not as long as they need.” Does Mr. Armstrong know anyone who receives SNAP? Does he realize what a headache applying for SNAP is? Would anyone undertake the burdensome process unless they truly needed the food?

Before anyone promotes ending SNAP, our society needs to address the underlying problems with common-sense solutions. What about livable minimum wages? Universal financial literacy classes? Enhanced emphasis on and awareness of apprenticeship pathways to careers? Until everyone has alternatives to working for pennies at fast food restaurants, SNAP is a vital safety net.

Sens. Angela Alsobrooks and Chris Van Hollen, and all Maryland members of Congress including my representative Kweisi Mfume, please insist that the administration pay full SNAP benefits now. Go back to D.C. and address the above-mentioned problems (and many more) facing our country.

— Jan Kleinman, Baltimore

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Despite unfounded fears of some that New York will become an Islamic city, the reality is these election results show there is less bias, less Islamophobia and more open-mindedness among Democratic voters, especially young voters. According to The Baltimore Sun, Mamdani won 75% of the young vote, and 9 out of 10 Muslims voted for him.

As a Muslim American, it is my hope that Mr. Mamdani and Ms. Hashmi do follow Islamic guidelines in their governance; Islam teaches that the wealthy should be taxed to take care of the less fortunate, that the need of the community is greater than the need of the individual, that all humans are entitled to the same rights, that children and the elderly should receive care and compassion, that mothers should be the most revered in society, and that the leader of the people should be the one who serves them. It seems these ideas sounded pretty good to the people of New York City and the state of Virginia.

— Ruqaiya Asad, Frederick

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Most politicians in Maryland are trying to avoid the deployment of the National Guard in Baltimore, and “Che” Scott sends Trump almost an invitation to send them in with his irresponsible challenge to fight on. Any resultant bloodshed on the streets of Baltimore will be on Scott’s hands. His irresponsible behavior will rule out any hopes for governor he may have in the future.

— Stas Chrzanowski, Baltimore

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— Loni Reynolds, Baltimore

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