Letters to the editor: Idaho Freedom Foundation, higher education, benefits, Biden, CDC, virtue

Idaho Freedom Foundation

Idaho Freedom Foundation lies, again.

Idaho’s colleges and universities recently began releasing the results of costly independent investigations into charges by certain members of our state legislature that our universities were secretly indoctrinating students into something called critical race theory. It turns out they were not. But the lies and distortions had to be addressed. So our colleges and universities were forced to put important classes on hold and divert precious time, attention and money away from the vital mission of teaching our young people not what to think but how to think — a skill sorely needed by some of our lawmakers. As with most efforts to destroy the public good in Idaho, the allegations originated with the Idaho Freedom Foundation.

I wonder, when do we, as citizens, get to hold them and their dupes in the legislature liable for the damage their knowing lies and distortions continue to cause us all.

Tom Voccola, Boise

Higher education

One of the many things the Idaho legislature refuses to adequately fund is higher education. In the second year of a record-breaking surplus, that is unacceptable. Incredibly, Idaho universities are considering tuition increases this year. Gov. Little may say he is trimming excessive spending, but these policies actually starve schools of needed funds.

For example, universities have many unfilled positions for academic coordinators — people who help students navigate school and graduation requirements. The outcome is a worse student experience, students dropping out and/or switching schools with better support.

Employee vacancies have increased because there are insufficient funds to raise wages to competitive level or in some cases, rehire at all. Consequently, universities lack personnel to provide high-quality education in core areas.

When universities lack sufficient personnel, existing staff must work longer hours to compensate. Chronically underfunding essential government services is fundamentally an exploitative and anti-family practice. Failing to pay your bills and then calling the money from that “savings” is bad policy. This is what the Idaho governor and Legislature have been doing for years.

Julia Piaskowski, Moscow

Benefits plan

If Boise is raising salaries to compete with the private sector via market–rate adjustments, this needs to be followed by market–rate adjustments to its rich benefits plan, as most private sector employers no longer pay 100% of insurance premiums nor offer an iron–clad pension.

Long ago, the private sector began shifting 20–40% or more of the cost of insurance premiums to the employee along with higher co-pays and deductibles, as well as having the employee fund the majority of their own retirement plan through a 401k or similar option, plus carrying the full risk of that plan.

Without such changes, the city’s personnel costs will do exactly what the record for the Finance Department has been warning about for nearly a decade; personnel costs are outpacing growth.

It’s long past the time that Boise’s elected officials address this compounding fiscal issue and make the hard choices involved in responsible fiscal management.

Erika Schofield, Boise

Inflation

The costs of inflation are mounting and greater worldwide damage may follow. Rising prices results from bad policy and over-regulation by a Biden administration virtue signaling to misguided voters by shutting down oil exploration, pipelines and energy exports. We aren’t using less fossil fuel; we are just being forced to import it. We now import twice as much oil and gas from Russia as we did in 2018 while restricting our domestic production has nearly doubled the prices we pay.

Russia has almost no economy except from the sale of energy. Europe is more dependent on Russia for energy as we are no longer net exporters. Russia can now afford to threaten Ukraine with invasion. Europe will not cut its energy supplies by standing up to Russia. China is watching carefully as it threatens Taiwan. Biden isn’t battling climate change anyway, as most pollution comes from China and India, who aren’t cutting their emissions. His foolish actions are costing American jobs, driving down our economy while enabling/enriching countries working to weaken us and dominate other countries. Vote smarter next time.

Kevin McElroy, Meridian

Liberty, virtue

John Adams said, “Statesmen… may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is religion and morality alone, which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free Constitution is pure virtue....”

In this era of increasing mandates and government control, it is critical for us to reawaken the principles of virtue that the Founding Fathers knew were essential to a self-governing, free society.

We should be genuinely honest, even if it means losing something we really wanted. We should be chaste and reject the culture of sexual indulgence that is leaching away our self-respect and weakening our families. We should be humble and remember that instead of relying only on our own thinking and abilities, we should trust in God (as all of our money reminds us) — especially in hard times like these.

So as we passionately defend liberty against increasing government control, we should just as passionately strive for virtue so we can better maintain self control.

Ben Wilson, Meridian

The CDC

Why do we love to hate the CDC? It’s a department of the federal government designed for the sole purpose of keeping Americans healthy. The CDC should be extremely popular. Most would probably say the CDC has overstepped its role by taking upon itself authority it doesn’t or shouldn’t have. The real problem is in the difference between making policy and advising. Under Presidents Trump and Biden, the CDC has (at least appeared to) make policy, when it should be merely advising. Elected officials, not an unelected bureaucracy, should make policy. Keep in mind that any president can overrule the CDC, but the appearance of policy originating with the CDC has caused them to lose the public trust.

The CDC and the NIH look at the pandemic only from a health point of view. The president and other policymakers must consider the economy, education, the military and even foreign relations. The CDC leadership should have simply said, “Here is what our current understanding of the virus indicates is the best way to avoid getting it,” and leave the policymaking to elected officials.

John Crow, Boise