Letters to the Editor

School unions deserve a friend

Jerry Jordan's teacher union and other unions associated with the School District do not seem to have many friends these days. However, I am in their corner. An important ingredient in a successful school year is teacher and staff morale, and morale will suffer if the concessions others want reduce teacher and staff standards of living. I learned this during a career as a university professor in management.

Philadelphia teachers are professionals. They and other school staff do work that is absolutely essential for the commonwealth, often work under conditions that are far from ideal - even abysmal - and are not at all part of the school-funding problem in my view and that of many Philadelphia parents. As other Inquirer letters and editorials have shown, teacher compensation is not at all exorbitant. The funding crisis is a consequence of, among other elements, inadequate state funding - driven, in part, by a nationwide attack on public unions by Republicans, the city's failure to collect revenue it is owed, and legislative dysfunction.

Gerald D. Klein, Elkins Park, kleinger@rider.edu

Energizing diverse fuel economy

While Charles Lane makes good points on the role of efficiencies and other measures in lessening reliance on carbon-based fuels, he misses the mark on energy independence ("Energy policy, a crash course," Aug. 26). Domestic producers will tell you they can provide all the oil and gas the United States needs in some 20 years, but that definition of energy independence will do nothing to free us from the economic consequences of a product that is globally produced and globally priced.

The Energy Information Agency says the United States is already producing more oil than it has in the past two decades, yet pump prices remain near record highs. Energy experts will tell you that's because world conflicts - Egypt, Libya, Iran, Syria - and international cartels are the driving forces behind oil prices, not domestic supply. For a real-world example, Canada is already 100 percent energy independent with its own oil. Yet Canadian consumers pay the same as the Japanese, who import all their oil. Only through diversification of, and competition in, our transportation-fuel markets can we lower prices. The Renewable Fuel Standard is working and has helped biodiesel grow from a niche fuel annually into a commercial-scale industry with plants nationwide.

Joe Jobe, chief executive officer, National Biodiesel Board, Jefferson City, Mo., info@biodiesel.org

Prophetic message repeated

I find it amazing that it has been 50 years since the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his magnum opus, "I Have a Dream" - a speech that provides a beautiful vision for racial equality. What's even more interesting to this Muslim American is that 1,400 years ago the Prophet Muhammad gave a similar message in his farewell address during his last pilgrimage to Mecca. Also in front of thousands, he raised his clasped hands, interlocked his fingers, and said, "Even as the fingers of the two hands are equal, so are human beings equal to one another. No one has any right or any preference to claim over another. You are brothers." Let's not wait another half-century, or almost a millennium and a half, to act upon these enduring messages.

Sohail Z. Husain, M.D., Pittsburgh, sohailzhusain@gmail.com

Spare a dime for a stimulus meal?

It was refreshing to see some balance in a recent Sunday Inquirer opinion section (Aug. 18). First, editorial writers opposed the coming reduction in food-stamp funding. It seems that the funding was increased by $5 billion dollars as part of the failed stimulus. Here I thought the stimulus was to jump-start the economy. It's ironic that Inquirer editors used the poor economy (that the stimulus failed to jump-start) as a big part of the argument for maintaining food-stamp funding.

On the op-ed page, a former Corbett administration official pointed out that President Obama's policy is all about expanding the welfare state. What Obama has done is expand food stamps and other welfare programs by gutting commonsense qualifying conditions. Anyone who listens to TV or radio has heard the government ads encouraging people to take advantage of welfare programs, including food stamps. Of course, the same battered middle class that pays taxes to support the welfare state also pays for the ads. It seems that all the stimulus spending has bought us is what might be called the Obama welfare recovery.

Joe Bowers, Phoenixville

For some, season's start stalled

Every September, my eyes glisten with anticipation for a new school year as a Head Start teacher in the School District, now in my 23d year. This year, my eyes are glistening as well - actually, overflowing with tears. I hope every parent getting a child ready for preschool will remember the 57,265 children who will not be going to Head Start because of budget cuts. These children will not be getting new backpacks - be it Dora or Spiderman - they will not socialize with friends, they will not learn important skills, and, most importantly, they will not get a head start in school. They will unfortunately always be one step behind children who attend preschool, needing help to navigate through life.

Mary Margaret Hannan, Havertown mmgt.hannan@gmail

Long trend of Sandy-style storms

Your editorial on a new White House report on rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy emphasized that climate change makes extreme weather a more serious threat to the region ("Building for the next storm," Aug. 22). There is no question that building codes must be revised in anticipation of future storms, but you have to wonder why a similar approach was not advocated in the past.

Consider that Sandy was a Category 1 hurricane by the universally accepted Saffir-Simpson scale. Between 1938 and 1960, eight major hurricanes (Category 3 or higher) struck the East Coast between the Carolinas and New England. These included Hurricane Hazel (Category 4) and the 1938 hurricane that essentially destroyed eastern Long Island before its surge brought nearly 20 feet of water into downtown Providence. These storms hit the East Coast because of complex factors affecting tropical cyclogenesis and the steering currents that determine a hurricane's path. Sandy's path into New Jersey was similarly caused by a high-pressure system over the northwestern Atlantic. These steering patterns tend to be cyclical, so there will probably be more direct hits to the East Coast in the near future. But none of this has anything to do with global warming.

Arthur Lintgen, Perkasie

Tax reform should be in play

Assemblyman John J. Burzichelli (D., Gloucester) wants to ban extracurricular activity fees in schools, but does not have a plan to pay for the programs. Unless he is proposing to end them, funds must come from somewhere. There is a need for education tax reform in New Jersey. Elected officials must work together on a plan that allows the teachers to get paid and also funds activities, while still being affordable for taxpayers.

Giancarlo D'Orazio, Washington Township