EDITORIAL
BY DHIREN SHAH
Hello Readers,
Former President Donald Trump has been indicted in a Florida Federal Court. Trump surrendered to authorities there and tight security was provided in case of any mishap. It is no secret that he is a target for many US citizens, especially the Democrats. However, in the case of classified documents, he thought he could do anything as president.
He was the president, now he is the former president. Being president, he might have a lot of rights, but being a former president, he is like one of us. I don’t know what the truth is and what is not concerning if he really could declassify documents per his rights. But there is one thing that is pretty sure, which is he has been targeted by the Democratic machine since he became the presidential nominee for the Republican Party in 2016.
The 37-count indictment is unusual for a president, but it happened. He pleaded not guilty. So, for a short period of time, he knows that he will be in the news all the time. He said to his daughter that positive or negative news is good, as long as he is in the news.
Newark is trying to have rent control for the residents. As per the news, it will be 5% per year. However, 5% per year is too much for the residents. If a resident lives in a one-bedroom apartment, the rent is about $1400. 5% after one year will be $1470 and after five years it will be $1,786.79. What happens after 10 to 15 years of a rent raise? Can the resident afford “only” a 5% raise? They are the backbone of Newark. My suggestion is that for the first few years, the rent hike should be about 4%, and after 5 years the rent hike should be about 2%. The older the apartment or building or house, the cost goes down for the landlord. I think the council should revisit the possibilities of affordability. This is my opinion.
Also, the money most of the tenants pay does not stay within the community, except getting more properties for the landlords. I gave an example of Newark, but it applies to everywhere, including Orange, East Orange, West Orange, South Orange, Irvington, Maplewood, Bloomfield, Montclair, Belleville and so on.
The shootings are getting worse in Newark and the surrounding areas. However, politics are more important to the higher persons who hold the post to serve the people. I am not giving any name, however, when I ask our readers, they always tell me that after 20 years, the quality of life in the urban area has not gotten dramatically worse, but not better either. It only got better for the friends and family members of the elected officials. Some of the members have two jobs in government offices or powerful companies like Verizon, PSE&G, NJ Transit, and others. Once elected, if they were working before with the same company, I don’t have problem with those working two jobs in the government. But once they get elected, if the county or any other government or semi-government organization offers them a job, I do not agree with that.
We might have heard on June 13 that in Nottingham, an attack left three dead. The same thing is happening in the United States almost every day or every week. Mass shootings have become a part of life in America. This is the past few years: 2014: 272, 2015: 336, 2016: 383, 2017: 348, 2018: 336, 2019: 415, 2020: 610, 2021: 690, 2022: 646, 2023: 290. The government and the president must do something about the mass shootings and gun violence to save the lives and stop the misery of innocent people.
Have a wonderful week. I’ll talk to you next week.
