EDUCATION
Response to "SAT scores tied to family wealth" Metro, Oct. 6
I don’t think the AJC told us anything we didn’t already know when it comes to SAT scores and family wealth.
Schools in more affluent neighborhoods will have higher test scores than those with a higher poverty level. It was interesting, though, to read about a school like Norcross High School, which has a high level of students in need and has overcome that through high student expectation and teacher collaboration. The strategies this school employed should be studied and replicated in similar schools.
The one factor that wasn’t mentioned in this article — and one which I feel has an equally high correlation with SAT scores — is the educational level of the parents in that community. I feel that this correlation should have been more thoroughly researched, and included.
JERRY SCHWARTZ, ALPHARETTA
CAMPAIGN FINANCE
Money issues spark
suspicion, cynicism
I used to like George Will, but in his golden years, he seems to mostly rant about the evil of campaign finance laws (“Remember, incumbents wrote contribution rules,” Opinion, Oct. 6).
My question is this: In this era of sky-high cynicism about the government and our political process, and the unprecedented low public opinion of Congress, how can Mr. Will possibly think that our problem is too little money flowing into the coffers of our politicians? Whatever happened to common sense?
ROBERT VOBEJDA, MARIETTA
COMMENTARY
Cartoon kid with gun
goes beyond good taste
It appears that Mike Luckovich has made the transition from being a political cartoon satirist to a political cartoon meanie (Opinion, Oct. 6). This shift in character is clear in the recent cartoon showing a “Republican” kid aiming a gun at a lady while trick-or-treating.
I only hope AJC management and other editorial staff have an understanding of what constitutes common decency and good taste.
BRUCE V. DARDEN, LAWRENCEVILLE
FEDERAL DEFICIT
Runaway spending is
true threat to country
In response to Maureen Dowd’s very creative column (“Welcome to the world wrought by Ted Cruz,” Opinion, Oct. 6), runaway government spending and debt, which I believe will be exacerbated by Obamacare, are what truly threaten the survival of the country.
Conservatives are trying to put on the brakes before we plunge into the abyss. In my view, opposition to Obamacare is not about trying to deny health coverage to people. Rather, it is about government spending, an aversion to inefficient and ineffective central planning, and a belief that Obamacare will actually make the health care system worse.
It’s a shame that opposition to national, liberal programs is often characterized as being evil or stupid. Conservatives care about the country and about people — but don’t see massive federal programs as the solution to every problem.
DANA R. HERMANSON, MARIETTA
HEALTH CARE
Early mornings worst
time to try logging on
Regarding “Delays still plague exchange site” (News, Oct. 9), recently, the AJC described the experiences of a person attempting to log on to HealthCare.gov to create an account at 5 a.m. and having trouble doing so. Trying to log on to any web system at that time is more than likely going to result in problems.
Late Sunday evening and early mornings are the times large systems are taken down to a minimum level for system administrators to perform needed system maintenance. Do you have a bank account? Try logging in to your account at 5 a.m. on a Sunday and see what happens. It was an uninformed decision by the AJC to report this person’s problem when most large systems have the same problem.
LARRY E. ELVEBAK II, ALPHARETTA
