I was hoping to find an informative discourse in the op-ed column "The Estate Tax, R.I.P.: Contrary to Popular Belief, the Estate Tax Concentrates Wealth," by Antony Davies and Pavel Yakovlev (Feb. 10), but alas I did not. The apparent main premise of the commentary, that the "death tax" consolidates wealth, is propped up with a jumble of apparently unrelated statistics, and comes across as a hollow talking point with not enough substance behind it.

It should also be noted that the American Family Business Institute footnoted in the article is a single-issue 501(c)(6) trade association marketed as nodeathtax.org, so the outcomes of the study were probably a fait accompli given the organization that underwrote it.

While normally I'm in favor of supporting green initiatives, I have to cry foul on my tax dollars going to support such an initiative for a luxury condominium development ("Grant to Fund Solar Power System at Squirrel Hill Condos," Feb. 22).

This development purports to be a green, sustainable development -- with units starting at $600,000, according to several sources. Why should my tax money go toward installing solar units on a building in which I could not afford to live? And does anyone else see the irony of this "sustainable" development that caters only to the extremely wealthy, that necessitates the destruction of existing houses, and features a design that clashes with the existing block in both scale and architecture? How, exactly, is this "sustainable"?

As a longtime resident of Squirrel Hill, I am disgusted with what has been happening to my neighborhood over the past decade. I am one of those young, highly educated types that this region is trying to retain -- but you're allowing the unchecked development like this that is destroying the charm, character, affordability and diversity that makes Pittsburgh appealing.

I am also extremely disappointed that my pleas to elected officials to this effect have not been acknowledged. When will we stop putting development for the sake of development above the interests of the people who actually live in the community?

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