Winner take all election rule is unfair
Reading the results of the March 3 Maryland primary in the March 5 issue of the Miami Herald, I was amazed to learn that Maryland law gives the Republican Party the right to disenfranchise voters who do not cast their ballots for the winner.
Over 72,000 Maryland citizens voted for Pat Buchanan. That was 30 percent of the people who voted in the Republican primary, yet the Buchanan forces received none of the state's 52 GOP delegates.
No matter how you look at it, those 72,000 voters were denied their right to be represented by delegates who support the person for whom they voted.
In fairness to all Maryland Republicans, it's apparent that the election laws need to be changed before 1996 so that all candidates get a percentage of delegates based on the percentage of Republican votes they receive.
I notice that the winner-take-all policy that the Republicans have is not used by the Democrats.
Lt. Col. Robert C. Metz (Ret.)
Pompano Beach, Fla.
See the problem?
In the 1980s, state employees outpaced private sector wage gains in 46 states. Locals did better in 49 states. In some states, employees' compensation outstripped their private counterparts by an average of 20 percent.
And what about benefits?
Public employees: 3.6 more days in paid holidays; 25 percent more in paid vacation time after one work year. Pension and insurance benefits averaged 28 percent higher.
Even politicians are worried. Seeing their budgets decimated by employee wages and benefits, they are beginning to cut back on warm bodies on payroll and winning out over government worker labor unions by seriously examining the privatization alternative.
After all, wages and benefits currently make up 60 percent of state and local budgets and this is why 31 states raised taxes $29 billion in fiscal 1991-92. Also, they are encountering more and more taxpayer anger, which signals they, the politicians, simply have to get a firm handle on the cost of government or face defeat at the polls.
During the wild 1980s, state and local public employee compensation rose four times faster than that of the private sector worker: $39 billion could have been saved in just the year 1991 had government compensation equaled that in the private area.
In the "white collar" sector, government wage increases have doubled those of non-government people. Service employees: 4 1/2 times; and blue collars, more than 50 times that of their private sector cousins. See the runaway tax problem here?
William F. Lickle Jr.
Towson
Helmet law
No matter what side of the aisle you stood on in the motorcycle helmet law debate, it is interesting that for 20 years the boys of Annapolis considered it an individual freedom of choice until this year.
Not until the threat of loss of federal money did this become an argument between saving lives and individual rights.
I wonder how much silver it would take for the governor and the Annapolis gang to sell the Bill of Rights in the name of safety.
Joseph I. McMahon
Sykesville
Monkey business
I was amused by the puzzlement of Beth A. Althoff (The Forum, March 5) concerning the content of Channel 13's 6 p.m. news. How well I remember the lead story of a few years ago about a monkey about to be put to sleep after biting someone. I could understand the concern of the owner and I suspect the monkey was quite upset. But, a lead story? Maybe that's how they got to be No. 1
McNair Taylor
Baltimore
Capitol riddle
Riddle: How many congressmen does it take to bounce a check? Two -- one to overdraw and another dumb one to put up the money! Congress had its own "bank" for over 150 years, checking services for 100 years and overdraft privileges for 40 years. It's been a stupid idea from the beginning. Public servants should be intelligent enough to avoid giving themselves special privileges that are unavailable to their constituents.
The irony is that congressmen were injuring each other. Accounts that pay daily interest on checking accounts are commonly available. How many congressmen received interest on their money in the bank? None.
Then who paid for overdraft abuse? The non-abusers lent their money, interest-free, to the abusers. It's as if two people had a tin box into which their monthly paychecks were deposited. Neither received interest nor was there a penalty if one borrowed from the other. The House of Representatives was stupid and insensitive but no taxpayer money was involved, no laws or administrative rules were broken and no one outside that body was hurt.
We should be angry that neither the Democrat nor Republican leadership cleaned up this mess, but we shouldn't confuse this tempest in a teapot with Watergate, the $500 billion S&L; scandal or the Iran-contra deceit.
Roger C. Kostmayer
Baltimore
Balk at cleaner air
It was both sad and appalling to see the clean air bill rejected in the state Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee meeting on March 12 when Sen. Ralph M. Hughes said he had to decide about 3,700 jobs now or clean air in 2005. In my opinion, Mr. Hughes and the other senators who voted against this bill acted like politicians rather than legislators.
The sad facts are well known: Maryland has the sixth worst air pollution in the country. Last summer, there were 80 days when the air was especially dangerous to people with asthma or other lung problems and to the elderly.
By 2005, the population may grow by 1 million people with an additional half-million cars likely. Do our backward-thinking senators want to strive for the No. 1 ranking in dirty air? I'm appalled at their lack of concern for quality of life.
Regarding the loss of 3,700 jobs now is illogical. These men will lose their jobs if GM fails to improve its standards and if it fails to meet foreign competition. Citing the extra cost for clean air equipment on new cars as the reason for job losses proves the lack of ability of Senators Hughes, Norman R. Stone Jr., Habern W. Freeman, et. al. to look at the total picture.
American car buyers have been and continue to be willing to pay extra for comfort and convenience. In Maryland, most pay $700 or more for air conditioning that is only used three months a year. Prices were increased when catalytic converters were added but no one stopped buying cars. When gasoline reached $1.30 per gallon or more, no one stopped driving. The tailpipe emissions equipment will add $1.50 to $3 per month during the average life of a car loan or between $70 and $170 for those few who pay cash.
Bill Huppert
Perry Hall
Hats off to imaginative teacher
Hats off to Martha Cole (Evening Sun, Mar. 10), the first-grade teacher who developed the "non-report" card.
Casting off the traditional letter grades, these reports are based on ability and individual development instead of performance scores. The format of the report is a face-to-face interview with the student's parents.
This is a great way to ensure that parents will get involved with their children's schoolwork.
In the early elementary grades, there are already enough stigmas placed on some children through "grouping." These lower level students are very aware of their status, and are often reminded repeatedly by their peers. They carry these stigmas for the rest of their lives. If a child is told he is a "slow" learner in the first grade, they may never aspire to be more.
Ms. Cole's statement bears repeating: "Why can't we just give children a year to fall in love with the process of learning instead of worrying about grades?" Why push children so hard at such an early age? (They grow up too quickly anyway.) That's what Japan does -- push, push, push -- and their teen suicide rate is the highest in the world and is still growing.
It is refreshing to see a teacher so committed, especially at a time when teachers are being asked to cut down on the extra time they spend planning and grading. What a wonderful woman Ms. Cole must be to look past educational politics and focus on the real needs of the most important part of our school system -- the kids!
Leslie Aumiller
Annapolis