Readers Write for Sunday, May 3

While the Legislature is attempting every scheme possible to raise our taxes, does it think we have forgotten that last year we were burdened with the largest tax increase in Minnesota history?

Like all of us in this tough economy, let's try some fiscal responsibility in favor of spend, spend, spend.

ROGER BUCK, BLOOMINGTON

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Gov. Tim Pawlenty counsels austerity. The state must cut back, just as its cash-strapped citizens are forced to do in this brutal economy -- the direct consequence of Pawlentyism.

Regressive taxation, carpetbagger corporatism, debt and creative bookkeeping, kicking the can down the road -- Pawlentyism is Grover Norquistism writ small.

Pawlenty's budget is an every-man-for-himself panic when a real captain of state would be posting crews to the pumps, the radio and the lifeboats.

MARK WARNER, MINNEAPOLIS

I am confused by the suggestions that Norm Coleman should give up his fight for the Senate seat. If the vote tally was reversed, do you think Al Franken would quit? Think again.

JERRY JACOBSON JR., ST. LOUIS PARK

Let me get this straight: President Obama announced his vice-presidential pick via a text message. He then begged and pleaded to keep his BlackBerry so he could e-mail and text. He collected more money electronically than any other candidate in history. His website is slick and up to date.

Yet not one person in his administration thought of using a computer and the program Photoshop to put Air Force One next to the Statue of Liberty instead of taking a joy ride above lower Manhattan?

PAUL ABDO, EDINA

So, Sixth District Rep. Michele Bachmann finds it an "interesting coincidence" that the last outbreak of swine flu in 1976 also occurred during a Democratic administration (which is incorrect, since Republican Gerald Ford was president).

What I find "interesting" is how statements, such as this one, continue to erode the credibility and integrity of the elected officials who offer them. Coincidence? I think not.

MATT CALLAHAN, MINNEAPOLIS

Garrison Keillor makes fun of the incident where two individuals in Conover, N.C., apparently fouled a pizza in preparation for customers at a Domino's outlet (Opinion Exchange, April 26). He says that we have no "national sense of humor."

ROBERT W. TJOSSEM, RED WING, MINN.

I'm so glad the Star Tribune did a series of articles on student debt ("Generation Debt," April 26-28). As a parent of a recent graduate, I am shocked to learn of the debt that some of my graduate's classmates have incurred, and I am worried that student loans will become a financial crisis.

Parents need to be aware of what their children are commiting to and try to steer them to an affordable choice. A liberal arts or education graduate who is able to find a job in this economy starts at about $32,000. Help your children do the math: After graduation, it is not possible to make payments on a $70,000 student loan, live in their own apartment and drive a nice car on $32,000 per year.

Not all parents are able to help their kids with education savings accounts; if you can't, please try to help them with your common sense. The best advice I have for students who need to reduce expenses is to maximize the college credits available in high school. AP classes and College in the Schools classes can help you graduate faster.

If it's not possible to raise the money to go college right out of high school, look for a job with tuition benefits (companies are still offering this valuable benefit) or take a look at military service or government programs like AmeriCorps that help participants with money for college. Go to a community college and live at home until you have completed your general classes or decided on a major.

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Thank you for your investigation regarding the University of Minnesota's very generous salary expenditures for its professors. The series leads me to ask two questions: How much time per week do these professors spend in direct contact with students, and are U of M students getting their money's worth?

ROY HOUSE, CHATFIELD, MINN.

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I'm totally in favor of making higher education accessible to academically qualified students. But is the University of Minnesota pricing many promising young people out of an education with its ever-increasing tuition and fees? Compensation of faculty and administration is certainly an area worth examining.

Sure, it's nice to be able to claim that "our people are paid above the mean," but when everyone does it, the mean keeps creeping higher. Maybe it is not necessary to have the highest-paid faculty in the country to give students a quality education. Let's aim for affordable instead.