Letters: Readers discuss boorish Chiefs fans, Kansas school funding and manufacturing
Alcohol deaths
I just read the Oct. 5 commentary by Leah Libresco on gun facts. (15A, “I used to believe in gun control. But then I ran the numbers”) My compliments to the author and The Star for publishing it.
Guns are involved in 33,000 deaths per year in the U.S. But there are 88,000 alcohol-related deaths per year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Certainly, gun-related deaths are important and worthy of attention. But what about alcohol-related deaths, which are much more numerous? It seems more effort is devoted to guns than any effort to slow the alcohol carnage.
Yes, all lives do matter. Where will it end?
J.O. Miller
Warrensburg, Mo.
Sing it right
Congratulations, Chiefs fans. You embarrassed yourselves and our city on national TV on Monday night by singing “home of the Chiefs.”
You give our city a bad image.
Joel Grammatico
Kansas City
Schools decision
For any objective observer, the Kansas Supreme Court’s unwillingness to support better outcomes for students is an emblem of how warped the subject of public education is. Throwing money at the schools, as if that will solve bloated budgets in some districts, is detrimental to the children. (Oct. 3, 1A, “Kansas Supreme Court: New school finance formula is unconstitutional”)
Studies that compare student outcomes with money spent in Kansas school districts show that some of the less-well-off districts have significantly superior results to wealthier districts. This inconvenient fact is nowhere in evidence in the court’s ongoing grab for more citizen money.
Some districts in south Johnson County do better with less money than richer districts in north Johnson County.
The court should get out of the business of usurping legislative control. Then, perhaps the Legislature could focus on forcing bloated districts to provide a better education at less cost.
The budget for schools has risen from roughly $10,000 per pupil in 2005 to about $13,000 in 2016. This approximate 30 percent increase is something most Kansans would be thrilled about — if it were a statement about their personal wage increase.
The court’s refusal to acknowledge this increase, without any substantive improvement in student outcome, is a disgrace.
John Gillis
Spring Hill Township
Runner safety
As a former runner, I have an answer for the Dec. 3 letter writer who called runners “scofflaws” and “streetwalkers” and asked why they don’t keep to the sidewalks. (10A)
Long-distance runners save their feet and legs by running on asphalt instead of cement sidewalks. I personally ran on sidewalks, and my worst accident was caused by a little girl on a trike racing straight at me.
I loved the asphalt running trails, but don’t get me started on the recent dangers found there.
Vicki Brown
Overland Park
Vision of truth
I fear that we, citizens of the land of the free, have lost our ability to distinguish the difference between our rights and what is right.
D’Ann Dreiling
Kansas City
Manufacturing Day
Many economists agree there are three ways to create wealth. Mine it, grow it or make it.
Missouri is rich in natural and agricultural resources. Missouri manufacturers make everything from automobiles and aircraft parts to food products, furniture, chemicals and electrical equipment, including products sold directly to consumers and parts of other manufactured goods.
There are nearly 6,000 manufacturers in Missouri. They contribute $36.28 billion, or 13.1 percent of the total gross state product, creating wealth for the more than 260,000 people directly employed in manufacturing and many more whose livelihoods are indirectly supported by manufacturing.
Manufacturing jobs provide an annual compensation that is significantly higher than the state’s average wage and enable Missouri families to realize the dreams of owning a home, educating children and enjoying a secure retirement.
Manufacturers pay millions of dollars annually to support public education, law enforcement, emergency preparedness, public works and other essential services.
Missouri Enterprise takes the opportunity of Manufacturing Day 2017 today to acknowledge the critical role that manufacturing plays in our economy and to ask our public officials to support policies that help manufacturers sustain and grow their companies.
Dusty J. Cruise
President and CEO
Missouri Enterprise
Kansas City
This story was originally published October 5, 2017 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Letters: Readers discuss boorish Chiefs fans, Kansas school funding and manufacturing."