Denver’s Initiative 1A: Tax hike for preschool
What a great opportunity for voters to help Denver kids by voting “yes” on the Preschool Matters initiative. In giving our children preschool assistance, they will enter kindergarten up to speed with their classmates and have knowledge, confidence and social skills that will continue with them later in life. We want to help keep Colorado as one of the best-educated states in America, don’t we? It starts right here. Our children are worth it.
I’ve watched my children and grandchildren flower with preschool help. It costs so little for each one of us, parents and grandparents to support Preschool Matters. Please vote “yes” in November.
Janice Campbell, Denver
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Regarding the preschool tax endorsed by Mayor John Hickenlooper, I’m not buying into the reasoning behind it. I’ve known a number of children who went to preschool and were enrolled in kindergarten at the proper time, but after a few weeks, the teachers told the parents to keep them out of school for one more year because they either weren’t mature enough or were too social. As a pre-boomer, no one I went to school with went to preschool, and we were in a bilingual school! In fact, because the kindergarten class was too large, a number of students were shuttled right into first grade. There were no discipline problems and no disruptions in class. I feel the reason for this is because we knew the rules and knew why we were in class – to learn. We weren’t all A students, but some of us, including me, received full scholarships.
Shouldn’t the parents be doing their jobs instead of punishing everyone else with extra taxes?
Carmel Forest, Aurora
In defense of the payday loan industry
Re: “Not making it from payday to payday,” Oct. 8 editorial.
The payday advance industry exists because we offer customers a convenient service that can be more desirable than their alternatives. Although every payday advance customer holds a checking account at a bank or credit union, they turn to payday lenders for their short-term credit needs.
For payday advance customers, being short on cash between paychecks means more than a trip to the nearest ATM. Customers choose payday advance because it costs less than bounced-check and overdraft-protection fees, late-bill penalties or credit-card late fees. And most prefer it to asking family or friends for money or pledging personal possessions for collateral-based loans.
Policymakers in Colorado and 37 other states have debated the issue and passed laws containing strong consumer protections. For example, Colorado law dictates the maximum loan amount and the maximum finance charge allowed, prohibits more than one loan rollover and mandates that the APR be prominently displayed and disclosed to the potential borrower.
Is a payday advance the right choice in every situation? Not necessarily. Just as a taxicab is not the right choice for a cross-country trip, but a good choice for a ride across town, a payday advance can be the best choice for someone short of cash before payday.
People are best served when they have access to a variety of regulated options and are then trusted to make financial decisions based on what’s best for them and their families.
Darrin Andersen, Alexandria, Va.
The writer is president of the Community Financial Services Association of America, the payday-advance industry trade association.
Ranchers vs. wolves
Re: “Battle line drawn,” Oct. 16 news story.
Mary Thoman, a Wyoming sheep rancher, compares the wolf reintroduction (after the wolf eradication in the West by ranchers and their henchmen in the government) to bringing back the dinosaurs. That statement does more to display the irrational hate and fear of the wolf than the rest of the article.
If ranchers are so concerned about losing a fraction of their herds to natural predators, perhaps they should consider putting up fences around their property. Oh, I forgot, they graze on public lands, in national forest and Wind River wilderness areas.
Far more of their animals are killed by vehicles driven by humans (often the ranchers themselves) than by wolves, bears, coyotes, etc. Environmental groups like Defenders of Wildlife are willing to put their money where their mouth is and pay ranchers for the worth of their lost livestock, which I consider a generous compromise.
Art Paolini, Denver
Too many amendments
The November ballot will have six proposed citizen-initiated amendments to our state’s constitution. How many of those proposed amendments deserve a “yes” vote? As far as I am concerned, none of them. The voters of our state need to be much more careful about what they choose to put in our constitution. We already have more amendments to our state’s constitution than we have in our country’s, and the U.S. Constitution is 100 years older. Some of the amendments contradict other amendments, and have the possibility of handcuffing the fiscal well-being of the state.
Be very careful about what you vote into our state’s constitution. Once there, it will be very difficult to remove.
William Trevithick, Pueblo
Message to candidates
To all candidates for political office: In your ads, tell me about yourself. Tell me what you’ve done. Tell me what you stand for. Tell me what you will do if elected. But please, don’t tell me about your opponent. Don’t tell me what he’s done. Don’t tell me what he believes in. Don’t tell me what he’ll do if elected. I won’t believe it. And I may vote for him because of your misleading ad.
Jon Nelson, Estes Park
Post’s portraying women in a sexual manner
I am continually fatigued by The Denver Post’s incessant portrayal of women in a sexual manner. The headline on the top article in last Friday’s entertainment section reads, “Sexy ‘flight attendants’ make rounds at hot bar.” The next page dedicates almost a quarter of its space to a photo of two belly dancers who will be performing at the Evergreen Elks Lodge. Who is The Denver Post writing/photographing for? I believe it is entirely out of touch with the majority of its readers. I truly wish to see The Post rise above its current sophomoric level of journalism, and portray both genders in the same edifying manner.
Christine Schrader, Elizabeth
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