Readers sound off on the SBA, arresting Trump and bank failures

Manhattan: Like many of my fellow small business owners here in New York, I’m approaching 2023 with strong, if wary, optimism. After three years of doing everything possible to ensure that my café, Wattle Cafe, survived the COVID crisis, I’m excited to be looking to expand. I’m not alone: A new Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Voices survey found that more than half of small business owners across the U.S. are planning to add employees this year.

And yet, we still remain cautious of what might be around the corner. Inflation and interest rates continue to hit our bottom lines, and finding qualified workers remains our number one challenge. Here in New York, 35% of small business owners can’t find qualified workers because we’re forced to compete with bigger companies for pay and benefits.

Small business owners have stepped up to the plate, addressing these challenges with creativity and innovation. And yet, at the same time, the Small Business Administration, the part of the federal government that is supposed to help small businesses like mine, remains decidedly stuck in the past. Can you imagine still having to fax in a loan application? Or untangle a mountain of paperwork and wait months for an answer because of backlogs? That’s the reality of today’s SBA.

That’s why I’m calling on Congress to join us in a bipartisan effort to modernize the SBA to ensure that small businesses finally get the support they need. We’ve had to work smart and efficiently to survive this new normal. Let’s get the SBA geared up to do the same. Ana Ivkosic

Manhattan: I feel so proud of my son. He quit smoking unhealthy cigarettes and now continuously smokes medical marijuana. I especially want to thank Gov. Hochul, Mayor Adams and all the members of the City Council for their leadership in redirecting my son to a new and healthy lifestyle. Aden Gerhart

Wyckoff, N.J.: In “ ‘Get over it,’ sez mayor” (March 18), you quote Mayor Adams as saying, “Some people, they see me go to Mass and they get upset because I believe in God and faith, but, you know, all I can say is get over it.” This is the classic straw-dog argument. No one is begrudging the mayor his personal faith. That is guaranteed to him under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. What people are objecting to is when Adams makes statements that suggest government and religion should be intertwined. That is antithetical to long-accepted principles of separation of church and state. Folks should not let Adams get away with refuting an argument that no one has made while still threatening the prohibition against the government regulating the establishment of religion. Marc Schaeffer

Manhattan: Within a few short generations, we moved away from school prayer, crowded churches and a belief that “God is on our side.” Although the woke belief — historically inaccurate — that Thomas Jefferson called for separation of church and state both in practice and thought, and thus preclude Mayor Adams’ statement, what is Adams actually saying? He spoke of principles of a loving God who wants him and us to care for our neighbors in need. This society has so devolved that the mere mention of a Supreme Being cannot be tolerated. If you think about his words, a stronger religious foundation could only benefit so many lost children and families in this increasingly violent and aimless society. Wouldn’t you love to be a fly on St. Peter’s pearly gates when those who not only are intolerant of religion, but openly hostile to the mere mention of God, face judgment day? John Brindisi

Kew Gardens Hills: To Voicer Ed Greenspan: I share your view that the Oscars telecast is a waste of viewers’ time. Comedian Johnny Carson, who hosted the Oscars many times, called it: “Two hours of sparkling entertainment spread out over a four-hour show.” This year’s event was two hours of entertainment stretched to three hours and 35 minutes. The “In Memoriam” segment sparked controversy for omitting some famous names. But what really belongs in memoriam is the entire awards TV program, which has bored viewers for the past 70 years. The Oscars need a final fadeout. Richard Reif

Plainview, L.I.: Question of the day: Will Aaron Rodgers do more for the Jets than the combined efforts of all-stars Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Ben Simmons did for the Nets? Richard Siegelman

Richmond Hill: To Voicer John Lemandri: We were once known as the arsenal of democracy, but we can’t give all the weapons away. The A-10 would make a dent in the Russian invaders‚ but we don’t have an infinite supply of them. We stopped making them decades ago. We would have to train up the Ukrainian pilots first and then lash up a supply base for weapons and maintenance. Robert Clolery

Manhattan: OMG! I agree with Daffy Donald! Dirty Don said that the biggest threat to world peace is “ourselves,” and I think he’s absolutely right! “Ourselves” are the seditionists in the Republican Party and his loyal un-woke mob of MAGA morons who insist the election was stolen and spout Putin propaganda to foment an American civil war. Prove me wrong! Eugene Rodriguez

Stockholm, N.J.: So, Donald Trump cheats on his first wife, cheats on his second wife and then cheats on his third wife, and in between, beds a porn star and a Playboy Playmate. Who does he think he is, Tiger Woods? Nat Saraceni

Dayton, Ohio: The March 19 Daily News editorial “Perp walk Trump” is about the likely arrest and indictment of Donald Trump by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Trump says, “PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!” He’s actually asking for a repeat of Jan. 6, 2021. President Biden should pardon Trump and say it’s not because Trump deserves it, but because this nation needs to quit giving so much attention to a man who cares only about himself and nothing about America and Americans. Vic Presutti

Brooklyn: I’m not a Trump fan, but to be arrested over a sex worker who needs to be in the news every day is overkill. Unlike Putin, Trump doesn’t need cuffs to surrender. Do not embarrass the U.S. any further — Stormy Daniels did enough! Lisa DeSantis

Manhattan: The Washington Examiner recently posted an article by Matt Lamb called “Texas man rightly sues women who facilitated abortion of his pre-born child.” I am post-born. Although I was lucky to get good parents, lots of us aren’t. Some of us do not receive an education, health care, counseling, a roof over our heads or even food. Equal rights for the post-born, please! Some of us get trafficked or abused, and most often the source of this abuse is a “natural” parent or the live-in partner of such. Some of the post-born who land into a certain gender get fewer privileges than those who land into another gender. Some of us turn up post-born to mothers who know we are destined for pain yet are forced by politicians to have us show up and live, horribly. Why must we suffer? Where, Mr. Lamb, are our rights? Kathryn Nocerino

White Rock, British Columbia: Re the collapse of Switzerland’s Credit Suisse bank: Never underestimate the need for a scapegoat, especially an easy one, in such major bank failures. The 2007-08 financial crisis resulted in the biggest, and perhaps the most culpably corrupt, mainstream U.S. bankers not being criminally indicted. Rather, they were given their usual multi-million-dollar performance bonuses (as though nothing ever happened) via taxpayer-funded bailout. In those big bankers’ stead, the Justice Department, in a classically cowardice act, only charged some officials with a relatively small-potatoes Chinese-American community bank that couldn’t really fight back and who looked different from most other Americans. Frank Sterle Jr.