YOU SAY: letters to the editor
Professional testing
Re: Dec. 8 letter, “Teacher certification test.”
Like doctors, lawyers and engineers, teachers should have a professional organization which has a good deal of control over a teacher’s undergraduate curriculum, and standardized professional testing to enter the profession. The test would include questions on both the subject matter being taught and on teaching itself. This test would be in place of, or in addition to, the state mandated test for teachers.
Don’t let church dictate
Re: Dec. 9 article, “Public health, religion collide.”
Our Constitution guarantees freedom of speech along with freedom of religion and prohibits making laws respecting an establishment of religion. Martin Luther overcame the Catholic Church’s bid for power cloaked in piety and threats. With some exceptions, I see the American people as honoring the different religions in our country. No one would deny a Catholic from practicing birth control or from having an abortion. However, I believe that health and general welfare of the people rises above established religions and should be free for all. Thus, the Catholic Church should not be able to dictate their religious principles for the proposed new teaching hospital and reserve the benefits for the likeminded.
Saving cedars?
Re: Dec. 8 article, “City, homeowner in fight over trees.”
I read the article Saturday about the Westlake tree ordinance and was stunned by the absurdity of such a regulation. In our current extended drought, the city of Westlake — instead of creating obstacles — should be begging its residents to remove as many dead trees as possible before they become fuel for fires. To protect cedars, even live ones, is particularly stupid. They are water-guzzling, pollen-emitting, invasive plants that are good for nothing but strangling out more beneficial and attractive plants, fueling forest fires, and making fence posts. I’m happy I live outside of Westlake because I delighted in getting rid of the cedars on my property. I just hope that I live far enough out that the dead tree-fueled inferno of what used to be Westlake burns out before it gets here.
Care with contracts
Re: Dec. 5 editorial, “Put cost overruns in perspective.”
“Overruns are almost inevitable. ...” Is this the community standard on ethics? An agreement between two parties should rest on mutual trust, no? And a question for our city manager: Do you not insert guarantees, penalties in your contracts, and in something this big, did you personally and carefully review it?
Government as business
For years, conservatives have preached that the government should be run more like a business. If a business loses money, it only has a few ways to become profitable. The first is to reduce costs by cutting labor and supply costs. The government can reduce its expenses by cutting programs, operating more efficiently, reducing workers, etc. Secondly, a business would increase prices to improve its revenue. One way the government increases revenue is by raising taxes. If a person needs money, they wouldn’t borrow from their broke brother-in-law, but from their rich uncle. Likewise, the government would raise taxes on the wealthy and not the middle class. If a business, like our government, was borrowing 40 percent of its operating expenses, and it wanted to cut its borrowing, it couldn’t remain in business if it couldn’t raise its prices. Grover Norquist is wrong and so are the anti-tax politicians.
Onerous tests
Re: Dec. 10 commentary, “Give education reform a fair chance to work.”
Surprise, surprise. Sandy Kress, a current lobbyist for Pearson, the British testing company with a $468 million, five-year contract with Texas, argues in favor of the new tests. He believes that these new tests will guarantee the state’s constitutional responsibilities for “a general diffusion of knowledge” among the population. But Article 7 of the Texas Constitution is more specific. It calls for the “support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools.”
Article 7 is about the state’s obligation to support public schools, not to test them. Texas did not meet this standard when it cut $5.4 billion for public education in the current biennium. Texas successfully educated its citizens for over a century without these increasingly onerous standardized tests.
Avoiding the cliff
Re: Dec. 7 article, “Fiscal cliff talks highlight warring factions of GOP.”
Ways to avoid the fiscal cliff: 1. Bring our troops home from Afghanistan. This would save not only money but also lives. 2. Stop sending foreign aid. 3. Government salary cuts. Starting at the very top — the president — and go all the way down to federal workers, wherever they are (Washington, D.C., and other states), using reasonable percentages, anywhere from 10 to 20 percent. The higher the salary, the higher the cut. Going down to the bottom, lowest salary, lowest cut. Some congressmen want to shut down government, making it smaller. That would just add more to the unemployment. Better to take a salary cut than to lose a job.
I hope Congress can get together for the benefit of our country. The Austin American-Statesman encourages email and faxes from readers. Please include a full name, address and daytime and evening phone numbers.We edit letters for brevity, grammar, style and clarity. Edited letters address a single idea and do not exceed 150 words.Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters become property of the Austin AmericanStatesman. Send emails to letters@ statesman.com. Mail to: Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 670,Austin,TX 78767.