Readers Write for Thursday, June 11

The Minneapolis police have busted another Internet prostitution ring (front page, June 10). While they were busy with this, more serious, violent crimes went on about the city. I know this on a personal level, as my son has spent the last five days in the hospital being treated for a violent assault. On the day he was assaulted, another person I know of was assaulted five blocks away. I could cite more examples of friends robbed and assaulted, homes broken into. In none of these instances were the suspects apprehended.

While my son was in the hospital, family from Illinois and Iowa drove long distances to visit. They were rewarded for their compassion with parking tickets, as it is difficult to keep up with the meters near the Metrodome. My point is this: When will the Minneapolis police really pursue the dangerous bad guys and stop gorging on the low-hanging fruit? It seems that only the crimes that grab headlines or are an easy target are prosecuted vigorously. As to our mayor's contention that serious crime in Minneapolis is down, I can only quote: "There are lies, damned lies and statistics."

DAVID A. BROWN, MINNEAPOLIS

Wednesday's headline highlighting the University of Minnesota's possible tuition cut is misleading. These "cuts" actually amount to a 3.1 percent tuition increase, which is substantially higher than the current rate of inflation.

Additionally, most undergraduate degrees require four or five years of classes, meaning a slight drop in tuition increases for only one or two years will do little to lower student debt burden after graduation. Further, these percentage increases are measured against a baseline tuition that has doubled in the past decade.

The Middle-Income Scholarship program may help to offset some of these costs, but it is founded on the assumption that family income level is an effective measure of ability to pay. Students are adults, and many take on all or most of their tuition responsibilities themselves. Given the current state of the economy, this is probably truer than ever. Working part time during the school year and full time during the summer is unlikely to even cover basic living expenses, much less the thousands in tuition and fees charged by the university. The result is an increasingly unmanageable debt burden that graduates carry into a tough economy.

University administrators must demonstrate their commitment to graduates by doing more to lower costs, irrespective of changes in state aid.

Cities should lose state aid if they insure their employees? That's the sick logic in a new business-backed report that Lori Sturdevant calls "useful" (Opinion blog, June 9).

I call it self-serving and harmful to local communities. The report is a lame attempt to build political cover for Gov. Tim Pawlenty to cut state aid to cities. We praise businesses that insure their workers, so why should we punish cities that do?

Everyone deserves quality health care they can afford. If business leaders are truly interested in cutting costs, I suggest they support President Obama's plan to reform health care.

ELIOT SEIDE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,

AFSCME COUNCIL 5, SOUTH ST. PAUL

At the end of the day, if Moore and the PETA people have their way there will be no such thing as a cow, pig, sheep or chicken. There was a reason why domestic animals evolved in the first place. Not only did the meat and hides sustain people, but raising livestock for food became a rewarding way of life. Most livestock producers love their animals but they certainly would own very few just for pets.

And, Paula, don't talk with your mouth full. Throughout history animal meat made us strong and healthy so we could make the choice not to eat meat.

LINDA HOVE, ISANTI, MINN.

Social Security is going broke, Medicare is going broke and Medicaid is going broke.

Our elected officials insisted that housing be affordable for all through subprime mortgages (regardless of income, credit rating or lack of normal down payment). By creating more buyers and by driving up the cost of homeowning, they brought forth the housing market collapse.

JACK SJOQUIST, BLOOMINGTON

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No nation may consider itself civilized in the 21st century that does not guarantee health care to all citizens.

BRYAN D. EMMEL, MOORHEAD, MINN.

A lot of steel laying around in a park? I bet a lot of artists would love to get a crack at it. Perhaps a sculpture saluting Gov. Tim Pawlenty and the delayed disaster of his regime.

Instant-Runoff Voting (IRV) is an antiwaste choice for Minneapolis voters. It allows voters to vote their conscience without having that age-old worry that, "If I vote for him and he has no or very little chance of winning, then I have wasted my vote."

It's no more difficult than offering to order someone an ice cream. "So, what flavor do you want? If they don't have that, what do you want? And if they are out of that, too, what's your third choice?"

Candidates aren't ice creams (though we might wish they were that sweet), but voters aren't idiots either. With IRV we will be able to vote our true choice without worrying that we have wasted our voice.

BEV LUTZ, MINNEAPOLIS

Why not bolt a big "MAIN" next to existing Lindbergh Terminal signs for out-of-towners?