EDUCATION

Make bonus system fair

A recent report showed that the schools located in upscale neighborhoods such as Seven Oakes, Eagle Hills and Hunter elementary were given a grade of 2.0, which means the teachers are eligible for a bonus.

School such as Whittier, Jefferson, Monroe, etc., were graded as .5 or .25, which means that the teachers in those schools do not receive a bonus.

Some of our best teachers work in older schools. A bonus system should be fair.

DARRELL W. BROCK, Boise

HEALTH EXCHANGE

Feds might do better than GOP leadership

John Blaisdell (Nov. 7 letter) is worried about federal goons taking over Idaho’s health insurance exchange rather than the state of Idaho handling it.

We might take a minute to review just who it was that put us in this predicament. Send a thank you note to Rep. Lawerence Denney and the rest of the Republican politburo that wander the halls of the Statehouse.

They have failed every step of the way on this issue. First they filed suit in the hopes that the Roberts Supreme Court would overturn Obamacare. Wrong! He stabbed them in the back and upheld the law. Pretty funny stuff, actually. Then they went to plan B; Elect Romney and he will repeal it. Wrong! The ham-handed Etch-a-Sketch candidate lost.

Another hilarious blunder on the part of the masters with an R by their names. Further, it may be to we little people’s advantage to have the feds handle it. These politicians and insurance companies do not have your interests in mind. At least the feds would provide a fair and level playing field, unlike the insurance company representatives in the Idaho Statehouse.

Idaho! It’s time to start pulling a different lever. You just missed another chance.

CHRIS MORRIS, Caldwell

HEALTH CARE

It’s not ‘Obamacare’

Please remind your reporters that the health care reform bill passed by Congress in 2010 and upheld by the Supreme Court this year is called the “Affordable Care Act,” not “Obamacare.”

I expect to find references to “Obamacare” in letters to the editor or in the essays in the Sunday Insight section because they are opinion pieces. I do not expect to see it used in news stories because they are supposed to represent objective reporting. However, on the Sunday, Oct. 28, front page, Audrey Dutton reported on local physicians’ practices being purchased by St. Luke’s and Saint Al’s. When she referred to “the heart of Obamacare” instead of the Affordable Care Act, her negative opinion of this law slipped into the article. It made me doubt whether she was objective enough to cover the complicated ramifications of this law. Like you, and probably like Ms. Dutton, I believe that words matter. What you call the health care reform law matters.

BARBARA OLIC-HAMILTON, Boise

CITY RAISES

Pay increases don’t match with real world

In reading the Oct. 30 article about the mayor and City Council receiving pay raises. I have a few observations. Over the last five years my home’s value is down 30 percent (40 percent of current value), but the taxes are up 10 percent. A building I rent for retirement income has gone down in value 3 percent, but the taxes are up 43 percent. Is this the kind of management we should reward with a pay increase? Did they not know what these positions paid when they ran for office? I haven’t been able to raise my rents or increase my income much less take a 20 percent increase in pay. If the mayor and City Council don’t like what the job pays, try the private sector, the real world, where your income or lack of it is based on performance. As the article stated, the private sector in the Boise area has decreased by 2.5 percent while the government sector has increased by 6.7 percent. It seems that if there are less people able to pay in (2.5 percent) and more people taking out (6.7 percent) the last thing we can afford is a pay raise. This raise makes about as much sense as the Trolley Folly.

DENNIS MCDOWELL, Boise

PRIORITIES

There are bigger issues than Bronco football

Black Saturday in Boise. The sky is falling, and the Earth will stop turning — yes, the Boise State Broncos lost a football game. Big deal!

If this community, state and nation would pay as much attention, and money, to develop excellent academic programs, including the hiring of top-notch professors, and paying them accordingly, maybe — just maybe — the U.S.A. could get back on top in this world’s rankings.

We worry more about our sports team rankings than we do many much more important issues facing the state, and the nation. Debt, unemployment, health care, education, etc.

Think about it folks. Are our priorities really for the best for all America, or TV commercials and those that dine at that trough?

DALE R. TANKERSLEY, Boise

CLIMATE CHANGE

Research supports global warming

Most scientists believe in climate change; many people do not. By the time we become convinced, our planet will be unlivable. Consumers should boycott Exxon Mobil for its indifference to our planet’s health.

I believe burning all the oil already stored by oil companies would destroy the atmosphere for human life on Earth. Mankind should halt drilling as is suggested in “Big Oil CEO Says Oil Drilling in Arctic Spells Disaster.” This, and two other articles by the Common Dreams.org staff should be read: “100 Million Dead, Trillion of Dollars Lost from Climate Change by 2030, Estimates Study,” and “Obama’s First Rule About ‘Climate Change’: Don’t Say ‘Climate Change’.”

Other articles from Common Dreams.org are: “Yes, Global Warming Systemically Caused Hurricane Sandy,” by George Lakoff, and “Candidates Flee East Coast as Frankenstorm Takes Revenge for their Ignoring Climate Change,” by Juan Cole. Also see, “Watchdog: Storm Released ‘Staggering’ Amount of Pollution Into Hudson,” wherein Sandy’s damage in eastern New York is judged to be the equivalent of an Exxon Valdez spill.

Imagine a sea level rise of 45 feet, changing one-third of the planet’s land forms! Does humankind want to save our planet? Where is our outcry?

LEWIS B. SMITH, Boise

FOOD STAMPS

Consider all factors before judging others

In regard to the woman who was appalled by the customer who used their “food stamps” to purchase a beverage at a coffee shop.

First of all, so much for personal space when swiping a credit/debit or Idaho Quest card! Are you the reason they have privacy shields at card machines? Secondly, have you walked in her shoes?

Do you know her personal situation? It’s possible that she was celebrating a birthday, new job, or maybe she was just bone-tired from working two minimum-wage paying jobs and needed a pick-me–up? You should be thankful that you don’t need assistance. Please worry about more important things (e.g. Hurricane Sandy), than judging your neighbor’s purchases.

SUZANNE ALBANESE, Boise