IDAHO REPUBLICANS

Vote out the self-serving and the narrow-minded

What has happened to the party of Abraham Lincoln? Anyone who thinks the leadership of the Republican Party cares about the best interest of the people hasn’t been paying attention.

The majority of current Republican legislators who deliberately attempt to gerrymander legislative districts, and seek to destroy public education in Idaho by turning the system into a mindless profit-making mill, are a disgrace and embarrassment to the few hard-working, honest legislators who are Americans first and really care about Idaho and something more than selfish power.

Hopefully, Republican voters who have better sense will turn out, en masse, this primary and rid the party of the self-serving, narrow-minded, vested-interest individuals who claim to be representing them in the Legislature, but in reality are merely tools of the Koch brothers.

“A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.” The absurd assumption that online courses and computers are better at analyzing children’s learning needs, that teachers are an inconvenience, that class size means nothing, that a scale operator knows more about education, learning, teaching and schools is a notion that belies belief.

How stupid can legislators be? Just follow the Idaho circus and you’ll find out.

LILBURN WESCHE, Boise

Break out a new broom

Every time the subject comes up of why do Idaho voters keep re-electing the GOP to run (ruin?) the state, the smug answer is, “Because the Republican Party represents the real values of the state of Idaho.”

Let me get this straight. Value No. 1 — drunken driving. Well, I guess that one doesn’t count because it was before he was governor. Value No. 2 — getting drunk, driving somebody else’s vehicle and crashing it. Value three — tax dodging. Value four — trying to gerrymander the redistricting map by threatening appointees because they tried to be fair. The Supreme Court called them out on that one. Value five — well, the list goes on.

Citizens of Idaho — isn’t it time we moved beyond our Tammany Hall politics where decisions on the well-being of our poorest, weakest, most powerless members are made by power brokers in a smoke-filled backroom? A new broom sweeps clean.

The Republican Party has always represented the values of arrogance and greed. Let’s give the Democratic Party a broom with which to clean House. And Senate.

If you voted Republican, shame on you!

RAY HEIDT, Marsing

Pay your own lawyers

The Republican Party bosses have been so used to running the state of Idaho their way that they are starting to not even get along with other Republicans. Unfortunately, they are very quick to run to court to address their issues. First, about the restricted primary and now the redistricting commission. I’m getting tired of paying the legal bills for their squabbles.

Fight among yourselves all you want, but pay your own legal bills!

MICHAEL NICKERSON, Middleton

IDAHO BONDS

Cut out the wholesaler

It is time for Idaho municipalities and state government to sell new issue bonds directly to the public, instead of to New York money managers. Selling directly, or through the broker system, would allow Idahoans to purchase bonds and could result in lower interest rates paid by entities.

Vermont, Oregon, Maryland, California and other states are sometimes bypassing money managers and offering individuals a first opportunity to buy through their broker accounts. The dominant state-owned utility in South Carolina directly offers bonds to customers, and the federal government sells at a website, usually at a lower rate than Idaho pays.

There are many ways to plan retirement, but those who prefer a reliable tax-free return should be able to buy new issue Idaho bonds at retail and not suffer price losses and the “trading” and price fluctuation of the bond market. Vermont claims its retail sale of “citizens bonds” resulted in lower interest rates for short-term bonds, saving the state money.

The retail industry has largely eliminated the wholesaler, resulting in reduced prices for consumers. In the 21st Century, our government should do the same thing.

JOHN L. GANNON, Boise

EDUCATION

Smart, safe and healthy children are our priority

Put kids ahead of teachers’ benefits.

Cutting bus routes, maintenance, cleaning, nursing and security staff while maintaining triple raises for teachers and overstaffing administration is not putting children first. More raises without restoring these is lunacy.

Less teacher time in the classroom, due to shorter school years, is almost as helpful as promoting truancy or using class time to rant about teachers’ pay.

Teachers deciding how and what to measure as an indicator of their competence does not make for an unbiased assessment or for realistic goals and objectives.

Educated, safe, healthy kids, not teachers’ benefit packages, should come first.

GENE A. AUWEN JR., Idaho City

STIMULUS

Misleading math

A Jan. 27 letter claimed that jobs created by the stimulus plan cost between $228,000 to $631,000 each.

The Obama stimulus plan created jobs, investing $140 billion in roads, bridges and paying for school repairs. Jobs were a side benefit to these much-needed improvements. Money also went to pay for teacher and police salaries, keeping them at work.

Grants to states paid for food stamps, Medicaid and rental and home heating assistance. These grants reduced pressures on states’ budgets, allowing them to maintain other much-needed services. About $245 billion went to tax cuts and put money directly into the hands of citizens.

How bad would the economy have been without such expenditures? We don’t know for certain, but worse.

For someone to now divide the number of jobs created by all this ancillary spending is stunningly bad methodology. The resulting figure is completely misleading, bogus and not worth the paper it is printed on.

RICHARD RINGELSTETTER, Boise

VETERANS FUNDS

This surplus should stay where it belongs

Where does the state of Idaho get the gall to take federal money earmarked for veterans’ services and give it to other state projects or pay other state bills? (Statesman articles, Dec. 31, 2011, and Jan. 10.)

There is a surplus of $31 million of federal funds the Idaho Legislature wants to pilfer, using $20 million to fund Medicaid and spending a mere $7 million to repair existing state veterans’ facilities.

That money is for veterans’ services and should be used for just that! How about creating new veterans’ facilities, providing greater aid to our disabled vets or assisting unemployed veterans or providing shelter and food for homeless veterans. Injured and disabled vets will still be coming down the pike.

It’s just not right! I call upon all concerned citizens of Idaho, members of veterans organizations, existing VA leaders and employees and anyone else to require our state Legislature to reconsider this decision.

Our veterans have given their arms, legs, eyes and lives so that we can be free. We should be free from thieves who would steal what has been given to them.

DANNY JENSEN, Vietnam veteran, Boise