Tuition unspoken part of problem
As the father of a college student and a former college student with debt, I read Jay Bookman’s column in the March 22 AJC with great interest (“GA. No. 1 in student debt load,” Opinion). Something that has affected college costs that I never hear discussed is the tuition increases in the late 1990ss in a time of almost no inflation. No one ever questions the Board of Regents about the increases. With the HOPE Scholarship fund flush with money, it went unnoticed. We are paying for that now.
TONY SMITH, AMERICUS
Medicaid not really best answer
Medicaid expansion seems like a good idea. (“The ‘private option’-the red state solution?,” News, March 22). After all, expansion would mean more people would be insured. There are problems with that idea. A Harvard study concluded that outcomes for people with Medicaid were no better and, sometimes, worse than those with no insurance. Many doctors limit or refuse to take Medicaid patients. As Medicaid enrollment increases, many will have coverage but little access. In the long-term, when federal support is reduced or terminated, Medicaid will be too expensive for states to maintain in its present form. Some form of a state program in conjunction with private insurance or health organizations (such as Blue Cross Blue Shield) is the better solution.
EDWARD WATKINS, LILBURN
Celebrities right to speak out
A letter writer to the AJC chastises Elton John for daring to speak out. Perhaps more celebrities should use their influential position to speak out on important issues such as attacks on basic human rights and liberties. Columnist Leonard Pitts points out how Ashley Judd stood up to physical threats, including rape, following some sports comments she made on Twitter. Good for her and for Elton John. We need more people, especially those in the limelight, to stand up and contest the ugly mob thinking that leads to discrimination, misogyny and threats of physical violence.
TOM MCMANUS, ROSWELL
DeKalb needs a bigger shovel
I am disappointed that columnists Bill Torpy (“DeKalb shovel-ready for probe,” News, March 22) and Jim Galloway (“A bold move to stop the bleeding in DeKalb”) failed to note a very important fact in their articles about interin CEO Lee May hiring Mike Bowers to root out corruption — that county government is just one slice of the DeKalb corruption pie. I applaud May’s efforts, but let’s be honest, recent history shows the school system, its board and the Board of Commissioners have not distinguished themselves in regard to best practices, laws or ethics. I hate to be pessimistic but to go with the articles’ analogy, DeKalb is going to need a much bigger shovel if the bleeding is really going to stop.
FAYE ANDRESEN, ATLANTA
