Let’s tie teacher pay to accountability

To the editor:

Jim Day's Tuesday cartoon alluding to teachers wanting 12 months pay for nine months of work will undoubtedly generate a lot of discussion. My father, a teacher, scrounged for part-time jobs every summer to support his family of six, so I know how tough it can be. But paying teachers the same as year-round, private-sector employees will always be hard to justify, especially when the education establishment can't accomplish its mission.

More days in the classroom should improve student performance significantly. And taxpayers just might support higher salaries in exchange for the improvement (10 percent more class days would trigger a 10 percent increase in base teacher salaries). If we are to continue increasing our investment in public education, we must demand a reasonable return on it.

Tom Keller

HENDERSON

Breathe in

To the editor:

The scientific evidence on the health risks associated with exposure to secondhand smoke is clear. Secondhand smoke is a known cause of lung cancer, heart disease, low-birth-weight births, and chronic lung ailments such as bronchitis and asthma.

Two and a half years ago the voters of Nevada stood up to big tobacco and supported a law that would keep tobacco smoke out of bars and restaurants. Now it's time for our elected officials to stand up to big tobacco by strongly rejecting Senate Bill 372.

We've seen the report from UNLV showing no adverse impact on businesses since the law was enacted. We've seen the poll showing 72 percent of likely voters support the law. Now we see the report proving that casino workers are at greater risk for lung and heart disease because of elevated levels of secondhand smoke exposure.

We ask the Nevada lawmakers to show their concern about the rising costs of health care and help prevent these health issues from ever starting. Oppose big tobacco's back-door efforts to weaken the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act.

Allison A. Stephens

NORTH LAS VEGAS

THE WRITER IS THE NEVADA LEAD AMBASSADOR FOR THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY CANCER ACTION NETWORK.

White power?

To the editor:

I read a story about Maggie Anderson and her husband, who have founded "The Empowerment Experiment," a "movement" which encourages "people" to patronize only black-owned businesses. Do you hear any outcry? Nope.

So, if Jerry Fink -- that's me -- started a "movement" called, say, "Caucasian Empowerment," and urged "people" to patronize only Caucasian-owned businesses, do you think I would draw no adverse reaction?

Whatever happened to Martin Luther King's plea that "people" be judged by "the content of their character and not by the color of their skin"? Has that become passé in the politically correct U.S.A.?

Jerry Fink

LAS VEGAS

Socialized medicine

To the editor:

Being a fiscally responsible individual, I believe reduced costs and better quality of service will come from competition between insurance companies and a single-payer government health care program.

Heath care costs are rising by more than 6 percent a year, and the industry is promising only voluntary efforts to trim that. Recently, the insurance industry and its allies promised President Obama that they'll cut health care cost inflation by 1.5 percent a year.

The insurance companies want us to believe this is a big deal.

Mr. Obama and lots of congressional leaders have committed to that in the past, but insurance companies are trying to talk them out of it.

Congress and the president should not listen to the insurance companies. They should listen to voters.

Congress and the president must pass health care reform this year that gives us the option of a public plan.

Richard Rosenthal

HENDERSON

Fresh air

To the editor:

What a breath of fresh air to read Thomas Sowell's Wednesday commentary, "Meddling regulators caused bank crisis."

Finally, the true story has come out as to how we got into this mess that has brought our country to its financial knees. Mr. Sowell has done his job, and now we must do ours by voting all of the politicians out of office and start all over again. After doing that, we are obligated to stay on top in the future, by paying attention to what goes on in Washington. Otherwise, we'll suffer the consequences of our neglect all over again.

Today, shame on them. Tomorrow, shame on us.

Mercedes H. Barris

HENDERSON