Congress and free-trade pacts; new homework policy at LAUSD; who’s to blame for the U.S. deficit

Free-trade battles

Re “GOP balks over job provision in trade proposals,” Business, June 29

The Times’ headline insinuates that Republicans are to blame for the trade pact with South Korea not going through.

In fact, Republicans have been pushing free-trade agreements for years, especially with South Korea and Colombia, and the Democrats and the union lobby have been stonewalling them. Now that the Democrats have inserted a piece of pork into the bill — a very expensive, ineffective worker retraining rider, which the Republicans rightly oppose — The Times seems to blame the Republicans.

Can’t you understand that the American people realize that excessive spending is ruining our country and want it stopped?

Mark Buchman

Los Angeles

Major manufacturers for years have exported jobs because of lower labor costs. Management continues to get exorbitant pay and bonuses, and unemployment stays high. The “tea party” does little to protect these workers and spends a lot of effort to make unions less effective.

A significant trade pact with South Korea was agreed upon by the White House. The tea party and the rest of the GOP balked at the bill’s provision providing funds for workers displaced by outsourced jobs.

This is another instance of pandering to big business at the expense of the middle class.

Arthur Friedman

Newport Beach

Homework on the back burner

Re “Less stress if the dog eats it,” June 27

I’m appalled, though not particularly surprised, by the Los Angeles Unified School District’s decision to deemphasize the importance of homework.

How does it benefit students to reward them just for showing up and putting them on the same platform as their peers who study hard and excel? It’s little wonder that there’s a pervasive attitude of entitlement among low-performing youth. They will no doubt have the same expectations when they enter the workforce.

It’s lame decisions like this that are contributing to America’s slide toward irrelevance.

Christina Hamlett

Pasadena

On the one hand, teachers are told that if they are more rigorous and demanding, their students will respond and meet expectations. On the other, teachers are told that too much homework is being given and that they shouldn’t hold it against their students too much if they don’t do it.

On the one hand, L.A. Unified wants to evaluate teachers based partly on test scores. On the other, it is telling teachers how to do their jobs. If test scores go down, will administrators take the blame? I doubt it.

I retired after 36 years as an L.A. Unified high school math teacher. And with each article like this, my happiness in being retired grows.

Alan Mooradian

Los Angeles

As an L.A. Unified teacher, I would like to send a big thank you to Chief Academic Officer Judy Elliott for this new homework policy.

Thank you for no more calls to parents requesting they turn off the television so their child can concentrate on homework. Blare away. Parents are not to be held responsible for their children’s academic achievement.

Thank you for pointing out to our children that effort does not count.

Thank you for no more pesky research papers, science experiments, pyramid complexes or five-paragraph essays.

Thank you for allowing low expectations to set the agenda. The tail should always wag the dog.

But most of all, thank you for the evening and weekend hours I will not be spending devising and correcting student work. That will be cut to 10%.

Patricia Baker

Northridge

Someone has to be a grown-up

Re “Hey big spenders,” Opinion, June 26

Mike Lofgren believes the posturing of the GOP is “dragging this country to the cliff’s edge,” but is posturing really so bad?

Sadly, our representatives have proved in the past that they are either unwilling or unable to address difficult questions. Until lawmakers are backed into a corner, Congress has been proved to be ineffective. This is true of Republicans as well as Democrats. The bipartisan attitudes of “we’ll fix it later” and “we can’t cut this program” have gotten us to where we are today.

Though eliminating a budget deficit in three months may be impossible, a principled approach toward decreased spending, even if it is currently only posturing, seems a good place to start.

Alexander Lopez

Washington

Of course the big deficit facing the U.S. is mostly Republican in origin. With two wars and an unheard-of tax reduction during wartime, we were headed for an abyss.

Instead of the GOP owning up to its horrific lack of responsible governing, Republicans defend their role and want to do it all again.

Tell me, what would our country look like if the GOP supported President Obama in really trying get our country back on track? There are appointments that are stalled for vital agencies; there has been obstructionism without any regard for the consequences; and there is a determination to continue boosting corporate welfare, lowering taxes for the wealthiest earners and keeping the workers poor and impotent.

My sense is the GOP has one purpose only: to defeat Obama.

Diane Welch

Cypress

A clear commitment by the government to paying its debts is essential for the health of our economy. Congress must take responsibility for its past decisions by raising the debt ceiling.

A reasonable balance between government revenue and spending is also essential for the health of our economy. Congress must use a balanced approach to budget reform by both increasing revenue and cutting spending.

Lofgren confirms that well-informed Republicans understand that the GOP’s rigid ideological positions on the debt ceiling and the budget are not in the best interests of our country. Let’s demand an outbreak of adult behavior in Congress.

John D. Kelley

Santa Barbara

Injustice

Re “A nightmare made real,” two-part series, June 26 and 28

Thanks for the articles on the nightmare suffered by Louis Gonzalez III. If his case does not rouse a ton of people to demand a deeply penetrating analysis of our justice system, then shame on all of us.

What is so maddening is the apparent unwillingness of law enforcement to recognize that the innocent are entitled to as much attention as the guilty. Unfortunately, too many “career” prosecutors seem to be focused on using their office as a springboard to political advancement.

Perhaps we need legislation that requires a waiting period — say, five years — between when a prosecutor leaves the district attorney’s office and when he seeks elected office.

Richard Whissen

Huntington Beach

On North Korea

Re “Land of lousy options,” Opinion, June 26

As a U.S. senator with international experience, John Kerry’s apparent naivete astounds me. Negotiating with North Korea will fail. That country will play us like it has done for years.

Why? Without nuclear weapons, North Korea’s global relevance evaporates. Rogue states that want parts and weapons will not court the North Koreans or pay them hard currency. The U.S. and Japan would view North Korea as a serious conventional threat with no Armageddon potential.

The North Koreans understand power and look upon our negotiating tactics as confirmation of weakness. As immediate neighbors, South Korea and China need to lead this effort, and very firmly.

John Chamberlin

Laguna Beach

Gun control

Re “At the border, under the gun,” Editorial, June 27

Thank you for your important editorial concerning the thousands of guns being shipped to Mexico. Our 2nd Amendment rights, created in a time of muskets and well-regulated militias, have been twisted into America being a country awash in guns.

The National Rifle Assn. does not support laws limiting handgun purchases to one per month (as in California). Who needs to buy 12 guns a year?

Ruth and Lawrence Rosen

Santa Monica