Apr 30, 2002 3 min read

Dear Editor: The commentary April 21 by Joan Ryan “Bosses, not babies, at issue” raises some excellent questions to a complex problem.

Do we need more government in business?

The European countries’ economies, especially Sweden, have such high tax rates due the invasion of governments in their businesses.

Are the economies of these countries better than the USA with these programs? I see many people from Europe coming to our country for financial freedom, not the other way around.

Everyone makes decisions which impact their lives. Can I afford children at this point of life? Is my job more important then my family?

Are things more important than family?

Whose job is it to raise children? The family’s or the country’s?

This country was started on the belief that people are responsible for their actions. Most people, men and women, who are professionals spend too much time on the job and not on the family. I was one of those. Give us time off and we will continue to work longer because we are afraid our peers are getting ahead of us.

Ms. Ryan talks about people who make $100,000 or more. This is a small part of our population.

Most women in this group have childcare. Why? They want to work. They can afford childcare.

I believe that there is a problem. The problem is that the loss of jobs and the loss of economic development under your plan would leave this country like Europe. Poor, fragmented and the gap widened between the haves and have-nots.

Government intervention into private business in this issue is wrong.

Since Ms. Ryan writes that the largest problem is with people with doctorates (teachers?) why not do it with collective bargaining. Keep the government out of this issue.

Paul Blatt

Connellsville

A losing battle

Dear Editor:

I agree that drugs are harmful, but not long ago in the late ’60s and early ’70s marijuana was used I would say by 50 percent of the people under 30. That number could be higher.

A lot of those marijuana users are now leaders in the community.

Most left their drug habits behind, some didn’t.

What is terribly wrong with drug use today? We treat it as a crime. We lock up users and put them in with true criminals. No treatment, no education. They are doomed to fail when released.

They now have a felony record and for the rest of their lives they will be treated as sub class citizens, just for experimenting.

What’s sad about all this is that with the enormous number of drug users locked up the amount of drugs on the street is about the same.

Our society needs to look real hard into other methods of dealing with drug users. Our present crusade is not working.

Nick Luick

Corona, Calif.

Mr. Luick is a former Uniontown resident.