Netlets for Saturday, Oct. 4

A vote for McCain, and the economy I'm not a financial expert, but I work and I go to the University of Minnesota business school at night. And I'm baffled by polls that indicate Barack Obama will be good for our economy. Here's why:

I hope to retire someday. All experts agree that Social Security will go bankrupt, and so far no one has put aside politics long enough to do something about it. So instead I put money in a 401k. Pension plans, IRAs, and 401ks are usually invested in the stock market. Most retirement plans hold stock in a diverse group of companies, including financial, pharma and, yes, oil. Those stocks go up when the companies earn more profits -- that's how investors are rewarded.

Raising taxes on companies lowers profits, meaning less money for all of our retirements. Or, it forces companies to cut expenses by cutting jobs or moving them overseas. News flash: Companies move jobs overseas because of lower taxes in other countries (but Obama claims that raising taxes on companies will bring jobs back!). Finally, if you have retirement investments with capital gains or dividends, Obama wants to raise taxes on those too!

Now, I'm not a Harvard lawyer and I'm not a first-term senator, so maybe Obama is more qualified than I am to run the economy. But I'm voting for John McCain because I want my 401k to be around when I retire, and because I want someone who will cut the political talk and just get something done.

BRIAN VANCE, MAPLEWOOD

The gravitas gap, seen Thursday night Watching the 2008 vice-presidential debate, we found that Sarah Palin's attempt to relate to the average American citizens left her sounding unprofessional. Her colloquial terms such as "dog-gone-it" and "say it ain't so" and referring to Sen. Biden as "Joe" were improper and inappropriate for the setting.

Trying to sound real and down-to-earth using terms such as these left her sounding uneducated. Do we really want our president to be the girl-next-door or an experienced, professional? Palin lacks experience and the education that Biden has. We need a leader who we can look up to and respect as an authority. While Sarah Palin may say "I'm just one of you" she does not contain the authority to assist in making decisions for our country.

Palin's performance should prompt procedural change I suggest that in future presidential and vice-presidential debates the moderator be given a switch to shut off the candidates' mike if they refuse to answer the question or abide by the rules of the debate.

Not only did Sarah Palin decline to answer the question, instead adhering to her carefully rehearsed talking points, she bragged about doing so. As a consequence, we still don't know if she has knowledge beyond what her handlers trained her to say. This makes a mockery of a debate.

EDWARD PLASTER, EDINA

Hiding from ideas Sarah Palin managed to avoid embarrassing herself in the debate by avoiding almost every major question and reverting to answers and language she had obviously been practicing. A debate should be about defending your ideas, not hiding from them. She still hasn't convinced me that she knows much beyond the world of Alaska politics.

Biden wasn't particularly inspiring, but at least he was able to explain himself without running from the questions.

There's a reason to bike in groups In response to the Oct. 3 letter writer with suggestions on bike safety, I would point out the alternative reasons.

We ride in groups for safety and we ride two abreast for social reasons. We are out to enjoy the day and want to interact. We are less likely to be attacked by a motorist while in a group, although it has happened.

It is easier for a motorist to pass a concentrated group instead of a long strung out line. We try to act as one, including passing through stop signs, as too avoid holding up general traffic by going one at a time

Most of the riders I know avoid the bike paths like the plague. They are not designed for bicycle commuting, and are heavily used by incompatible traffic (i.e. strollers, leashes, etc.), plus they have a 10 mile-per-hour speed limit.

As for avoiding roads with speed limits above 35 mph, I would ask drivers to slow down and observe the speed limit. When I ride the parkway system at a commuting or training rate, I should rarely see a car approaching from behind. The time difference between 20 and 25 mph would make it impossible for a car to catch me in the two or three miles of the route.