Letters to the Editor

Letter: Parnell thinks he knows best

Thinking about the Parnell/Republican approach to public education and state government generally:

The best way to improve education is to reduce funding.

The best way to improve classroom instruction is to fire teachers.

The best way to retain teachers long-term is to gut their retirement system (done prior to the Parnell administration).

The best way to deliver health services is to limit insurance coverage.

The best way to balance the state budget is to reduce revenue.

The best way to produce justice is to limit public access to the courts.

ADVERTISEMENT

The best way to approach public involvement in state government, especially environmental concerns, is to limit public involvement.

Of course they want to privatize whatever they can get their hands on, even though after more than 30 years of privatization, we know it has failed. And privatizing education is the biggest prize of all.

Most of us don't want an oligarchy or a plutocracy or a theocracy. We want to keep the "public" in education and "democracy" in state government.

— Clarence A. Crawford

Anchorage

ADVERTISEMENT