It’s up to Arizona voters to remember how legislators have treated our kids

While it appears Arizona Department of Economic Security Director Clarence Carter is about to get thrown under the bus as Gov. Jan Brewer fiddles over the fires that represent Arizona’s vulnerable children, state legislators must be held accountable as co-conspirators of this mess.

Our state has failed miserably in investing in our future. We underfund public schools to satisfy for-profit education combines. We thinned down access to public health care, compromising the future of kids and families. Our funding of children’s services is among the lowest of all the states. The list goes on and on.

What’s worse is the cavalier attitude our “representatives” display when talking about the state budget. I’ve seen my share of state legislators pontificate about slashing social-service funding with a glint in their eyes and smirks on their faces. It’s truly shameful.

Remember the children as you enter the voting booth.

— Jeff Jameson

In Arizona, CPS has hopeless job

It’s ridiculous that people think firing Arizona Department of Economic Security Director Clarence Carter will fix what’s wrong with Child Protective Services.

What’s wrong is Arizona is full of derelict parents and an ignorant government that values children so little that it doesn’t provide CPS enough money to hire competent staff to protect these kids. Why on earth would an intelligent college grad take a job there for $30,000 a year, especially when they can work 60-hour weeks and never even come close to investigating all of the reports?

Arizona has the money; it just chooses to spend it in other areas like cushy pension bonuses and special interests. To comment on letters, columns and editorials, go to opinions.azcentral.com.