Letters to the Editor

MAIL BAG  LETTERS FROM READERS

August 29, 2010

MAIL BAG  LETTERS FROM READERS

Retool campaigns before it’s too late

When they leave Washington, D.C., for the August recess, members of Congress are supposed to spend time in their districts, meeting with constituents. Too often these days, however, other “priorities” intervene.

Instead of addressing the concerns of voters, our lawmakers are busy attending exclusive fundraisers and dialing for dollars in order to raise enough money for the upcoming election.

Our elected officials are forced to devote all their time to their electoral self-preservation instead of listening to the needs of the people they are supposed to represent. Pennsylvania voters are left to wonder whether their elected officials are standing up for them – or their corporate and lobbyist donors – in Washington, D.C.

The problem isn’t just a few bad members of Congress. It’s the entire system that breeds this kind of behavior.

The American people are fed up and want to put elections back in the hands of voters. We can do that by passing the bipartisan Fair Elections Now Act (S. 752, H.R. 1826).

Fair Elections would allow members of Congress to run competitive campaigns by appealing to voters for donations of less than $100 instead of chasing maxed-out campaign contributions from the wealthiest special interests.

I urge Rep. Chris Carney to help restore faith in our government and trust in our elected officials by joining 160 of his fellow members in support of the Fair Elections Now Act.

Freeland handout called dubious

My grandparents were members of the immigration generation that built St. John’s Slovak Roman Catholic Church in Freeland. My uncles and cousins were part of “the Greatest Generation” that fought and died to make this a free nation.

There once was a time when the people of Freeland named their important structures after saints and great Americans such as Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln, because of the values they represented.

I felt a deep sense of sadness when I read that Freelanders have taken to naming their public gathering places after Luzerne County-based politicians, probably one of the most corrupt political establishments in the nation. Corruption of this magnitude cannot exist without the consent of the people.

Freeland seniors sit before their big-screen TVs and complain about what is happening to this country. It might be beneficial to have those TVs replaced with large mirrors because the problem is with the men and women in the mirror.

Todd Eachus’ toadies say the project couldn’t be accomplished without a government handout. Bull! Self-reliance and hard work defined the people of Freeland until a politician bearing gifts corrupted their values. The story is as old as the apple in the Garden of Eden. Everyone will show their gratitude by voting for Todd because he’s a good guy.

There were other more honorable avenues; Freeland has churches, veteran and fraternal organizations with facilities that could be rented or leased. Freeland has high-quality historic buildings that could be refurbished for senior use. The senior citizens at St. Peter and Paul’s Church in Beaver Meadows formed a pierogi club that provides a social outlet and raises money for the church and other activities.

When the politicians brought the casinos to the coal region, many seniors said, “Look, we finally got something.” One sees mostly gray heads at the machines that have fleeced our senior citizens of more than a billion dollars. And where did that money go? To Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

Local politicians are wolves in sheep’s clothes. Freeland’s sheep sold the vote of their families to a predatory politician. He will, in turn, probably sell the Freeland flock to his big-city cronies.

Freeland senior citizens are an insult to their grandparents, the Greatest Generation, the American flag and all for which it stands.

The people of the coal regions got corrupt, incompetent government the old-fashioned way; we earned it.

PHEAA touts recent reforms

We want to update you on several reforms that have helped transform the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency into one of the nation’s most efficient and accountable organizations.

When we were elected chairman and vice chairman of PHEAA’s board of directors three years ago, we welcomed 13 new members to the 20-member board. Our new board took swift, bipartisan action to eliminate management bonuses, automatic salary increases and unnecessary sponsorships and advertisements. The board also instituted one of the nation’s strictest business and travel expense reimbursement policies. Those reforms alone have resulted in more than $77 million in savings.

Concerned about unethical business practices that were occurring in some corners of the student aid industry, we were also the first to adopt a code of ethics, formalizing longstanding business practices that were founded on integrity and respect for federal regulations.

After navigating through the most difficult economy in PHEAA’s 46-year history – resulting in a suspension of lending, staff reductions, internal restructuring and sweeping cost-saving initiatives – PHEAA successfully secured a federal contract to service the nation’s growing direct student loan portfolio. This is especially important considering that PHEAA self-funds all of its operations without any support from Pennsylvania taxpayers.

Finally, the legislative members of the board successfully passed legislation that restructures the board itself. This legislation was based on an unanimously adopted PHEAA board resolution calling upon the General Assembly to replace legislative seats on the board with private-sector individuals who could provide additional expertise in an increasingly complex financial environment. The legislative members, who include the chairmen of the House and Senate Education committees, along with their staffs, crafted legislation that would make PHEAA even more accountable and responsive to families and taxpayers.

Specifically, the legislation reduces the number of lawmakers serving on the board from 16 to 12. The four legislative seats will be replaced with private-sector professionals with experience in banking, investments and information technology.

The legislation also reduces the six-year board term to four years.

As the student aid environment continues to evolve, so will PHEAA. The additional expertise that we are bringing to the board will help us anticipate future changes so that we can be most responsive to the needs of our citizens.

Outsourcing questionable

It was disconcerting to read that Highmark Blue Shield proposes to outsource certain technical analytical work to contractors in India.

It is bad enough that Americans will be displaced by foreign workers, but there are possible compromises of confidential patient information that would be conducive to fraud and identity theft. Moreover, offenders presumably would be out of reach of American courts.

Observations of contemporary society suggest that Americans no longer care about each other, regardless if business practices affect consumers, stockholders or employees.

Alexander Kaplan Projects coordinator Common Cause Pennsylvania Philadelphia Joseph Woitko Beaver Meadows Rep. William Adolph Chairman and Sen. Sean Logan Vice chairman PHEAA board of directors Harrisburg F.J. Keller Hanover Township

Tweet	Follow @TLnews