We can’t afford billions for a train to nowhere

To the editor:

It looks as if some people in Congress are looking for an extra $4.9 billion laying around in Washington for a high-speed rail scheme to Nowhere, Calif. Since our government is only $16 trillion in debt, what's an additional $5 billion?

I hope China doesn't run out of money.

There are only two high-speed rail lines in the world that break even: the Paris-Lyon and the Tokyo-Osaka routes. All the others -- including Amtrak -- are highly subsidized. (By guess who?)

If a group of investors wants to build something, go for it. If the project is such a good idea, there should be no problem getting the money. The Dodgers could find private investors for billions of dollars, so if a group of business people want a high-speed train, then why aren't they looking for private investors, too? If the project is such a good idea, there should be no problem getting the money.

Why would anyone from Southern California drive to Victorville, sit and wait for the train to arrive, ride the train to Las Vegas and rent a car to reach their destination when they could have driven or flown faster?

Our government should be thinking of ways to cut the deficit instead of increase it. Would this rail project help the Las Vegas economy? We will not know until it's built, then it may be too late. Kind of like, "Pass the bill, then we'll know what's in it."

C. Jackson

Las Vegas

Dismal records

To the editor:

Our nation's employment situation is tragic, but still somewhat humorous. The only factor keeping "unemployment" at a very poor 8.3 percent is the distorted manipulation utilized by the Labor Department in its statistical calculations. If the true portrayal of the job market was provided, including the millions of workers who abandoned their futile search for employment, the unemployment figure would be well into double digits.

This had to be expected as a consequence of the Obama administration's anti-industry and anti-energy policies, implemented by the president and the Reid-Pelosi entourage. Because many of these politicians are now seeking re-election, they are running from their dismal records, seeking instead faux issues such as crusading for women's rights on social issues and employment discrimination.

However, is protecting women in the job market meaningful when there are no jobs? And what about protecting women's abortive reproduction options, which are universally readily available? Are we not just being sold Antarctic snake-bite kits by a gang of desperate snake oil salesmen?

John Tobin

Las Vegas

Raise was earned

To the editor:

In response to Bob Lafleur's Tuesday letter, "Teacher pay based on everything but performance":

As a veteran teacher (16 years) and one who has just paid $3,000 for classes needed to move up the pay scale -- my husband also paid $3,000 last school year -- I know what I am talking about. Who is Mr. Lafleur to tell me what is important to me? Who is Mr. Lafleur to tell me that the courses I took did not improve my teaching? As a matter of fact, they did.

I implemented new practices in my classroom. I started a seasonal newsletter for all of my students' parents. I also paid for the printing and postage because I wanted to make sure the letters got home and were not lost in backpacks or thrown away. I changed the way I tested some of my students based on new inventories that I got in one of my courses. I could go on and on.

The fact of the matter is that teachers want only what we were told we were getting. We are not talking about continuing education. All teachers must take six credits for license renewal, and that is not a huge hit on the checkbook. There is no pay increase for that. It is required to keep your job.

To clarify, a column was added to our published pay scale several years ago for teachers who paid for and completed certain certificate programs. The cost was $3,000. My husband and I did not have $6,000 to pay, so we had the district take out money from every paycheck for an entire school year. We took quite a hit all of last year. We knew it was an investment in our futures, so we worked our butts off taking classes and writing papers and reading and creating projects and lessons and working full-time at a large high school in town.

We did all of this while making much less money. Now the district doesn't want to honor that, and it's wrong. We would never have spent $6,000 to take enrichment classes. Do I care more about the $6,000 than improving my teaching right now? Yes.

Good teachers don't get into education for the money (it's the summers off, of course). You know what you are going to make, for the most part. But what the Clark County School District is doing in some aspects of this negotiation is completely out of line.

Vicki Steffenhagen

Las Vegas

Eye appealing

To the editor:

It is all too often that people complain about construction on U.S. Highway 95 -- and some of it is justified. I, however, would like to compliment the architectural engineer who designed the landscaping along the U.S. 95 from Lake Mead Boulevard north. It is very eye-appealing and a pleasure to look at. A job well done.

Charles Nola

Las Vegas