EDUCATION
College chiefs get more at the expense of others
Regarding “Despite budget cuts, three college presidents get salary boost” (ajc.com, June 14), each of these men would very likely agree that higher education is what builds a stronger America and a better future for not only the U.S., but the world. Each one of these men is taking far more than they need.
The University System of Georgia provides their housing, expense accounts to cover entertainment (which can be rather lavish), their medical expenses and pensions. We have a budget for education. We give salary increases at the top at the expense of those who will never make it to the middle (i.e., preschool programs that are being cut).
This logic and culture are fine examples of politicians running the government as if it were a private company, and the taxpayers were merely consumers. Caveat emptor. Perhaps we made a stupid mistake in electing the people who come up with these brilliant decisions, but it’s more embarrassing that we sit around being stupid while the elected run wild at our expense.
Allyana Ziolko, Atlanta
ELECTIONS
Even in small towns, it’s easy to get a photo ID
Regarding Cynthia Tucker’s “Voter suppression is un-American” (Opinion, June 15), I would like to offer a different opinion.
I have witnessed voter fraud several times, in several different areas. Like Tucker’s small town in Alabama, I grew up in a small town in Mississippi, but it could be the same in any of the poor, rural communities anywhere in the U.S.
My elderly mother still lives alone in one of those poor, rural communities in Mississippi. She has never driven a car, and depends on neighbors and friends for rides to the doctor and to buy groceries. She votes in every election with her state-issued photo ID. It is a very simple and easy process — even without a birth certificate!
There is no real reason to oppose voter identification, except for voter fraud. I fully understand the picture that Tucker painted, however, there is a simple answer. It takes no more effort to obtain a state-issued photo ID than it does to sign up for any of the Democrat give-away programs.
Schnia Clifford, Alpharetta
ELECTIONS
Tough allegations, but where’s the proof?
Once again, Cynthia Tucker scrounges to make another unsubstantiated claim regarding the Georgia requirement to provide photo identification before voting (“Voter suppression is un-American,” Opinion, June 15).
She opines that it is the intent of Republicans to make it inconvenient (preferably impossible) for Democratic voters to cast their ballots. She bemoans the strict voting requirements that insist on photo identification as being a huge burden. She states that voter impersonation is virtually nonexistent (but offers no data to support this claim). She says that requiring a photo ID would cause voter suppression (but offers nothing to substantiate the statement).
Tucker needs to either back up her claims, or move on to a topic where she can provide proof.
Rusty Rushton, Mableton
