College loans, police misconduct and cops' pay

Paying off student loans hits a nerve

As a lifelong Democrat, I believe student loan forgiveness is absurd ["Weighing income limits for loan relief," News, May 1]. What precedent is this setting? I paid off my college loans; my children are paying off theirs. Forgive student loans? No way. They should get jobs, work hard and pay what they borrowed. This is what generations have done for years and what builds responsibility and character.

What about those who struggled (like me) to help our kids through college? I went for years without vacations, new cars and most nonessential items to help my kids.

Offer more work-study jobs, and let’s see who takes them. When I was in college, I cleaned petri dishes in a lab, fed pigs on the farm, worked in the health center and paid my student loans.

If this plan goes through and some student debt relief is offered, it had better be fair and across the board. Why not allow them to write off what they repaid on their yearly income tax? Let’s raise a generation with a strong work ethic to live within its means.

My parents, who worked two and three jobs to help five children through college, are rolling over in their graves at this absurd, frivolous idea.

Since President Joe Biden is strongly considering forgiving student loans, why not allow remuneration to those who paid tuition instead of taking loans? My wife and I put our four children through college, and we both worked full-time. My wife's entire check went to the college tuition for each of our four children. We sacrificed by living off one income to allow our children to have no debt upon graduating. We did not expect our government to pay for what we viewed as our responsibility.

So why not allow us to submit a bill for the more than $1 million of college costs paid across the 14 years they attended college? This would be a fair approach to forgiving those with current student loans and those who worked hard not to request a student loan.

Instead of forgiving student loans, why not have colleges and universities lower their tuition and make it more affordable for students who qualify? How do you teach responsibility for outstanding debts? If you can't pay your car lease, the "repo" truck tows your car away. Do you want your home repossessed if you can't pay your mortgage? College education often leads to well-paying jobs so there is money available to repay the loan.

If cop breaks rules, pay the penalty

Again, we have a story of bad policing that resulted in a death, and the resulting lawsuit will fall on the heads of taxpayers ["No breaks for friends of cops," Editorial, April 27]. Police need to know they are supported, and they should be -- when their actions are appropriate and legal. In retired Police Officer Michael Althouse's situation, this wasn’t the case. He didn’t do what he was trained to do or follow protocol. He should not have been defended by his union or fellow officers. Those at the scene who allowed bad policing should all have some responsibility.

If an officer acts in accordance to training and protocol, and that results in a successful lawsuit, I support “us” footing that bill. If an officer does not follow training or protocol or act in a reasonably expected manner, then that officer should be personally responsible. The officer should be terminated and bear the cost of any legal actions. The officer should be stripped of all retirement benefits. Personal responsibility and real consequences are needed.

Officers should do their part by insisting that their union not support bad cops. By supporting bad cops, the reputation of all is damaged.

Don't compare pay of cops to teachers

A reader should compare apples to apples, not police officers to teachers ["What's wrong with this picture?", Letters, May 1]. Cops work all year. They must be part social worker, friend and a person who notifies people with bad news about a loved one. Cops might need to switch from a simple conversation to deadly physical force in seconds. They forfeit holidays, weekends and a normal family life. They remove people from car accidents, those run over by trains, who are shot, etc. Teachers have summers off.

The reader should not compare one job to another. When an intruder gets into a school building or burglarizes a home, it's the police officer who responds, and you don't care what that person's salary is as long as the officer arrives to help you.