Outside Philly, Economy at Fore of Voters’ Minds

Rabbi Dan Aronson of Ohev Shalom in Bucks County, Pa. Image by Dave Warner
ELKINS PARK, PA. — Edward Lichstein, a Democratic Party committeeman, stood outside the neighborhood library on a crisp, 40-degree morning, handing out sample ballots, and pondering the issues voters are facing this Election Day.
“There are really a lot of Jewish poor people, who are really suffering because of the economy,” Lichstein, 63, said, standing in the shade of the sycamore trees that line the parking lot outside the library.

Rabbi Dan Aronson of Ohev Shalom in Bucks County, Pa. Image by Dave Warner
“If they start cutting programs,” he said, referring to the Congress to be elected today, “it will make it very difficult for these people.”
As he spoke, the rush-hour traffic whirred by on nearby Old York Road, leading to Center City Philadelphia, some 12 miles to the south. Elkins Park, a leafy Cheltenham Township enclave founded in 1746, is now home to about 19,000 people, many of them Jews; three large synagogues line Old York Road.
Rabbi Dan Aronson, 46, who is the director of congregational learning at Ohev Shalom, a Conservative synagogue in nearby Bucks County, cast his vote Tuesday as well, with what he considers to be fundamental American rights on his mind. Among those he listed women’s reproductive rights, medical care and education, as well as gay rights and gay marriage.
He said he believes the government is on the right track on those issues, and that his main concern on Election Day was “voting my values.” At the same time, he recognized that the economy is struggling, and that, too, was on his mind as he entered the library polling place.
Nobody has to remind Dell Davis, 58, about the depressed economy, which has diminished her retirement fund. She quit her job in sales some time ago. “I was in sales,” she said as she took a break from her role as a poll worker, sitting under a tree, smoking a cigarette, “Now I’m walking dogs.”
Stephen Karpowitz, 70, a retailer, emerged from the polling place in a hurry to get to work for the day. He figures that American government attitudes toward Israel haven’t really budged much in the past 60 years, so he doesn’t dwell on that issue now.
Rather, he said, he said he voted straight Democratic, because while he is disappointed that the Obama administration has not been as bold as it should have, its policies are better than the Republican alternatives. He said President Obama just was not able to deal strongly with an entrenched opposition in Congress on health care and economic issues.
Dave Warner is a journalist who lives in the Philadelphia area. He can be reached at [email protected].
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Fast Forward Why the Antisemitism Awareness Act now has a religious liberty clause to protect ‘Jews killed Jesus’ statements
- 2
Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
- 3
News School Israel trip turns ‘terrifying’ for LA students attacked by Israeli teens
- 4
Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
In Case You Missed It
-
Culture Cardinals are Catholic not Jewish — so why do they all wear yarmulkes?
-
Fast Forward Halal restaurant opening in Congress is like ‘Muslim conquest of Jerusalem,’ says GOP congressman
-
Fast Forward Germany formally classifies far-right AfD party as extremist, in blow to Nazi-linked populist movement
-
Fast Forward Trump taps shock jock Sid Rosenberg and a Haredi newspaper publisher for Holocaust Memorial Council
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.