Why give raises to administration?

My family struggles from paycheck to paycheck just to afford groceries. I can't tell you how many times we have considered leaving Vermont because it so expensive to live here. Our salaries don't keep pace with other states, but the cost of living continues to go to extremes. I have been waiting for the governor and the Legislature to show me that families can survive here, can afford to buy homes and sustain a living. They want to know why our youths leave Vermont for other states and cities after college. Well, the proof is in the pudding. It is too expensive to live here and people don't get paid enough, but if your lucky enough to become a top state office leader, you just might make it.

STACY GIBSON-GRANDFIELD

Duxbury

Gore and followers promote hysteria

Al Gore just announced a $300 million advocacy campaign, or more accurately a propaganda campaign, aimed at mobilizing Americans to aggressively push for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. You would think if Gore was so concerned about climate change, he'd use the funding to support research and development for improving the battery technology for hybrid vehicles, or use some of that funding to start a weatherization program for poorly insulated buildings.

So why spend $300 million on an ad campaign instead of putting that money to better use? Answer is simple. Al Gore and his lemmings have no interest in being part of the solution. Their mission is to exaggerate the global climate issue by playing politics with it. Create hysteria, which in turns leads to reckless pieces of legislation that offer no real benefits but impact the average American with increased energy costs and negatively affect the economy with ridiculous mandates and regulations.

Now is the perfect time for Gore and his supporters to silence their critics by doing as I suggested. I'd be curious to learn if the same enthusiasm would occur if Gore changed his tune and asked for donations to support alternative energy research. The response to my suggestion by Gore and his supporters would show the public just what their agenda is.

GLENN W. THOMPSON

Essex Junction

Changes to prison hurts Franklin County

I am writing to voice my concern over the plan by the Vermont Department of Corrections to change the Northwest State Correctional Facility to an all-women's institution. ("Senate passes Corrections bill," March 21). Changing the NWSCF to an all-women's facility will have drastic effects not only for the village of Swanton, but also for other local law enforcement agencies and communities. The move by the state of Vermont is simply a cost-shifting tactic that will add a financial burden to taxpayers and eventually will lead to higher local taxes.

Not having a correctional facility that can hold or accommodate men in Franklin County will affect the costs and services of local police. Transportation of male suspects and prisoners outside of Franklin County will mean less time for local police to be on duty in our streets and communities. In Swanton, the police budget will most certainly have to be increased to accommodate fuel and maintenance of vehicles. I would ask that every citizen of Franklin County contact your state legislators to stop the DOC in their plans and changes at the NWSCF.

ARMAND MESSIER

Swanton

Guns do have impact on crime, safety

In response to the gentleman from Fairfax who wrote April 2 in support of the unfettered access to guns in this country ("Gun control effects silly and dangerous," April 2) please permit me to instruct him in some causality and how quickly his argument breaks down.

He states that taking away a criminal's gun does not change criminal intent, it is only a "hardware change." True enough. So I guess it should be OK for law abiding citizens (and those citizens who harbor criminal intent) to buy shoulder fired rockets and nuclear weapons, which are also just hardware changes. As for his theory of causality (Vermont is safe because we allow guns; Washington, D.C., is dangerous because they don't), it's so flawed that's it's hard to know where to start. Suffice it to say that it's hard to test his theory when you can buy virtually any weapon you like at a gun show in all the counties that surround D.C. by mere miles. Not much of a deterrent there.

Perhaps he should study criminal statistics in a country with genuine gun laws like Sweden. They have criminals, too. They just cannot shoot people quite as easily. I too have the utmost regard for the Founding Fathers' wisdom, but somehow I could forgive them if they failed to see the Second Amendment's resulting in the unregulated purchase of an AK-47 by some nut case at a gun show in Virginia.

TOM PIPER

South Burlington

Dean had chance on health care

Our legislators' pain and agony in bringing forth miserly health care reform ("Health care reform passes test," April 2) should make us recall this crushing irony: If Gov. Howard Dean had not promised to veto the single-payer legislation that was within our grasp during his tenure, we would all have coverage now, and he would be president!

STEVE NORMAN

Burlington

Symington would take Vt. in wrong direction

Gaye Symington is considering a run for governor. Is that good for Vermont? I believe that it would take this state in the wrong direction. At a time when the economy is in a downturn the last thing we want to do is expand state government. All one has to do is look at what has been done in the past two legislative sessions and it is clear the leadership in Montpelier is out of touch with the best interests of the state. Bills are piling up at an alarming rate, each one intended to expand control of government, which by the way erodes our freedoms, and increase spending.

Taxes are out of control, our youth are leaving the state, our population is increasingly getting older and people are struggling more and more. Our legislators are looking in every corner for new taxes.

Raising taxes is not going to have a positive effect on our lives. It will have the exact opposite. It will suppress businesses and business growth. It will make it harder and harder for people to fill their gas tanks and feed their families. We've got to stop looking to raise taxes at every corner.

What we really need is a smaller, more compassionate government. We need to make it easier for businesses to expand, find ways to empower our people and help them feel good about themselves again. Change is needed in Montpelier, not with our governor but with our legislators. We need leaders that will leave national issues to our elected national representatives and deal with state issues.

DOUG ISHAM

Winooski