U.S. must stop extending debt ceiling into infinity or face dire consequences

Extending the debt ceiling leaves us $17 trillion in debt and counting. That’s over $50,000 for every person in this once-great country, and that includes my 2-year-old grandson.

Now, just for a moment, think about that. Two years old and over $50,000 in debt.

In the passing of this latest bill, we as citizens get to pay the bill that supports the modern-day American dream: “The party never ends, and the road to the cliff goes on forever.” Or does it ?

— Laurence Tripp,

Retention hurts kids in long run

Regarding “No free pass for 3rdgraders” Wednesday):

Move on When Reading brings back memories of the first-grade playground and hearing my peers call retained students “flunkers;” no doubt an experience that forms a child’s self-concept around their ability to be successful. For too many of these unnamed peers, it was the beginning of a gradual process of educational disengagement leading to dropping out of high school eight to 10 years later.

Arizona officials project 1,500 students will be retained at the conclusion of this school year.

Decades of research show that retained children are more likely to drop out of high school, to have increased absenteeism from school and to engage in problem behaviors. Much research highlights that children of poverty, of minority status, primarily Black and Hispanic males, are most frequently affected by retention.

Given the strong association of retention with dropping out of high school and inflated dropout rates of economically disadvantaged and minority students, we must question whether short-term test-score gains are worth the long-term negative consequences of dropping out of high school.

— Juan Medrano, To comment on letters, columns and editorials, go to opinions.azcentral.com.