Readers Write (Sept. 11): Jobs, broken families, Michele Bachmann, President Obama, Jason Lewis

President Obama's speech to Congress last week was about jobs, jobs, jobs. His American Jobs Act is like leftovers: not much new, but if you are hungry, very welcome. The question now is whether the party of "just say no" cares more about their jobs than ours.

BENJAMIN CHERRYHOMES, HASTINGS

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In the best or worst economic times in the private sector, company leaders are measured by top- and bottom-line growth. Should it be any different in the public sector, most notably at the highest levels of government? Probably not.

The United States is floundering by anyone's measure across dozens of key metrics, highlighted by unemployment, long-term debt and GDP growth, recently dropping to No. 5 among the world's best economies.

Obama had his last best chance in his latest speech to change the economic momentum -- wonderfully delivered, but yet more rehashed, underperforming ideas and, worse yet, knowing this plan in its entirety will not pass Congress. This is not the time for politics, Mr. President. That can wait until January.

Time to change CEOs, no matter your party affiliation, if we want to put this country back on its feet.

RICK BORG, EDINA

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The president put forth great ideas for getting this country's economy going. Of course, we know the Republicans will whine and complain that it doesn't do this or it doesn't do that.

I have two questions for them: Where is your jobs plan? And have you passed the president's jobs plan yet?

KRISTINE PERSSON, BUFFALO, MINN.

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Thanks to Mitch Pearlstein for the excellent commentary on the high rates of family breakdown ("Broken-family zone: Slow going ahead," Sept. 4).

As a volunteer tutor two mornings a week, I know how important it is for the students to have involved parents. In my experience, there's a significant difference in the level of achievement between students with involved parents and those whose parents aren't involved.

Something as simple as having a parent pack a lunch can be an indicator of a child's reading ability. I have students who feel frustrated and hopeless while trying to read or do simple math exercises. The writer's idea for vouchers to meet the specific needs of these students might be a plan worth considering.

If we could sustain these students through high school and even a trade school, we might give them the incentive to delay parenthood until after marriage. This would be the best of all worlds.

SUSAN BOTTGE, MINNEAPOLIS

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Pearlstein has it all wrong. Sending boys to a voucher-supported parochial school taught by nuns to help them become better husband material won't work. The problem is young girls who are ill-equipped for parenthood who keep producing those poorly adjusted boys by having unprotected sex.

Those girls are the ones who need help, and lots of it. They need to learn how to develop the self-esteem that will empower them to control their lives. That control has little chance of happening if they don't understand the importance of contraception. Parochial schools are no help there.

MARIE ALENA CASTLE, MINNEAPOLIS

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Michele Bachmann's name is not "missing" from the Anoka High School Hall of Fame ("Anoka's Hall of Fame missing two big names," Sept. 6). Nor should the absence of her name be considered an oversight by the nominating committee.

Bachmann's congressional record is ordinary, and she will likely fall short of her goal of being the Republican presidential nominee. Let more time pass to determine her qualifications for the Hall of Fame.

RICHARD DAYMONT, NORTHFIELD, MINN.

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It's obvious that Jonathan Alter only watches major media that carry the water for the president's agenda ("Is Obama really as bad as all that?" Sept. 4). Alter fails to come close to asking the tough questions. President Obama isn't proud of America and has made many comments offensive to America's conservatives.

TERRY W BRANHAM, LAKEVILLE

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"Yes," Obama is really that bad. The reason? He said from the get-go that he wants to fundamentally change America. Well, America doesn't need that kind of change. It's a free-market, capitalistic system that, as always, needs relentless improvement, not fundamental change.

During the 2008 presidential election, a lot of people were drawn to Obama's rhetoric without weighing his words. But this time around, it's like listening to a fast-talking used-car salesman. People aren't falling for it.

The greatest stimulus program of all will occur in 2012, when he's voted out of office.

JIM PETERSON, ST. LOUIS PARK

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Did Jason Lewis suffer from reduced educational funding? He states, "When the spikes of the Union and Central Pacific finally met in Utah, James J. Hill was most likely plotting his private railroad from St. Paul to Seattle with no federal aid whatsoever" ("Who makes thing happen around here?" Sept. 4).

The Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 gave millions of acres to the railroads as an incentive for them to run lines through unsettled country. They were given every other section. Hill, in fact, received 2 million acres in the Minnesota Land Grant. He sold some of it for homesteads to immigrants for $2.50 to $5 per acre.

Another successful government program was the Homestead Act of 1862. That resulted in the privatization of 10 percent of all U.S. land, 270 million acres. Maybe the government isn't so bad after all.

BRIAN ROHRENBACH, ROSEMOUNT