Letters to the Editor

Legislators' pay

A front-page story on Nov. 17 addresses the long-standing question of whether legislators should be paid more.

When I came to the Legislature more than 40 years ago, by far the wisest among us was Speaker Sol Blatt. He was once asked whether he thought legislators were paid too little.

With the wisdom of Solomon, he gave the perfect answer: 'Some are paid too little,' he said. 'Some are paid too much.'

ALEX SANDERS
Water Street
Charleston

Climate change

Sen. Lindsey Graham shows political courage in supporting climate change legislation. One can debate the causes, but these facts are indisputable: Glaciers and permafrost are melting, droughts and storms are increasing in number and severity, and low-lying Pacific islands are drowning in the rising sea.

Recent rumors that the Earth is actually cooling were based on junk science, which looked at the single decade of weather after 1998 when temperatures dropped a bit. Measured any other way, overall temperatures are trending upward. Minor fluctuations in weather aside, the climate is heating up.

Even without rising temperatures, there are good reasons to support clean energy alternatives. The burning of carbon-based fuels is changing the chemistry of the oceans worldwide, making them more acidic and hostile to life. The dying of coral reefs is a canary in the coal mine. Fossil fuels also cause air pollution, mercury poisoning, environmental damage from mining and drilling and international conflict over oil supplies.

As stewards of the Earth, we have a moral obligation to grow up and face our dilemma with a can-do spirit. The world is looking to America to take the lead.

CAROL JULES
Wexford Sound Drive
Charleston

Tuition program

As a grandparent who has been paying into the S.C. Tuition Prepayment Program since December 2002, I am appalled to think that the state is even discussing dropping the program.

I do not want my money back, even with interest. I signed on for prepayment of tuition for my granddaughter and that is what the Berkeley County Legislative Delegation should honor.

The state college budgets from now on should reflect the income they will receive from the 6,000 of us in the program. You know how many children are enrolled and when they will be attending college; it is not rocket science. Each state college budget should plan for a portion of the children at the rate they were promised in the time frame they will be attending college.

Maybe the investment returns will get better but even if they do not, the state developed the program and should have to live up to it.

NANCY CORBIN
Apple Core Lane
Ridgeville

Public option

The Nov. 13 editorial ennobling Sen. Joseph Lieberman ignores a key fact: The good senator represents the state of Connecticut, home to many important members of the health care insurance industry, and he has not been remiss in representing their interests.

The notion of a public option, as advanced by the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party, is consistent with principles of a market economy. In an industry largely regulated by the states, it attempts to influence the health insurance industry through competition.

As every business knows, premiums have been rising much more rapidly than other indicators of inflation, and practices in processing claims do not reflect 21st century technology. It's time to move ahead.

LEO FISHMAN
Salt Grass Court
Kiawah Island