POLITICS
So glad legislators have it better than the rest of us
Regarding “Decision shields some lobbyist expenses from public” ( ajc.com, April 5): That’s nice. That’s very, very nice. While our legislators work hard to pass bills that tax our Social Security incomes and pensions, they can eat well and grow fat — while we seniors figure out how to cut our utility and food bills.
Allyana Ziolko, Atlanta
EDUCATION
Critic of college sports doesn’t go far enough
Maggie Severns gets it right with respect to the state of academic achievement among college sports today (“Madness: Freshmen playing college ball,” Opinion, April 4). But she doesn’t go far enough.
To improve academic outcomes, the NCAA should require all scholarship athletes to meet the same average achievement on the SAT or ACT required of the average of all freshmen enrollees of that year. Junior college enrollees should be subject to a higher standard as well. This step would substantially improve academic outcomes of those we call “student athletes.”
Edward A. Watkins, Lilburn
IMMIGRATION
Let illegal immigrants have government jobs
Instead of fighting the never-ending wave of illegal workers and those lobbying to keep black market labor, wouldn’t it be easier and cheaper just to allow government workers to be illegal? Most of the anger toward illegal labor is that the taxpayer is paying the carrying costs. The strain of losing jobs to illegal workers has had a huge effect and lowered the standard of living for many citizens. The unfairness of our system is what folks are upset about (not that someone is from another country).
It’s a shock at first to think of solving the problem this way, but at least the anger from the workers in the private job sector might subside, and we would not have to criminalize illegal workers. More savings would be realized when we don’t have to prosecute and jail workers who don’t have papers. To me (a taxpayer), this system seems more fair.
Some sports fans call this leveling the playing field.
Lynn Everitt, Hoschton
ROADS
Priorities are foolishly mired in asphalt
Why is it that some metro public libraries have had to close, schools have had to close or cut back, and the federal government is having a budget nightmare — while road construction is still humming along around Atlanta? Our society seems to put road construction as a priority ahead of even the education of its own children.
How stupid our present society will look to future generations when they see that we thought adding roads, and funding relatively low-wage road construction jobs, was more beneficial to the future of our nation than enlightening young minds.
It’s no wonder that China, the European Union and India are all catching up to the United States. That is why we have to import minds from other countries. They see the worth in the intellectual development of their people — rather than getting so mired in asphalt.
Will Lance, Atlanta
