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Letters to the editor The Register

Published 12:21 PM EST Feb 19, 2019

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Don't muzzle the DOT from advising cities

In the guest column [Road diets lead to big, fat safety concerns for emergency response] Matthew Schneider says he hopes Iowa lawmakers do the right thing regarding road diets on state highways.

I think the right thing is for lawmakers to oppose Rep. Sandy Salmon's bill prohibiting the Iowa DOT from presenting a specific type of road redesign plan to municipal authorities [Roses & thistles: A salute to firefighters who helped welcome new Iowan into world]. It makes no sense to silence state transportation experts advising local governments.

State law should continue to allow information regarding all road redesign options to be presented to city councils, including those proven to improve driver and pedestrian safety. Local councils should, and already do, have the authority to decide against any plan presented by the DOT.

Having the Legislature put a gag order on valuable information about the pros and cons of different road designs would be a disservice to the Iowans they were sent to the Statehouse to represent.

More: Is DOT pushing Iowa towns to adopt 'road diets'? House bill would limit state agency.

— Dan Johannsen, Des Moines  

Stop texting and driving for everyone's safety 

Would you ever drive the length of a football field at 55 mph blindfolded? Me either.

When you choose to text and drive, that is essentially what you are doing. Looking at your phone takes about 4.6 seconds, which is enough time to get from end zone to end zone.

We know that texting and driving is extremely dangerous. In fact, an average of 1,000 people are injured every day because of a distracted driver. But what are people doing about it? Absolutely nothing.

Therefore, we continue these habits even on the road. A survey by AAA Foundation shows 94 percent of teens acknowledge the dangers of texting and driving, yet 25 percent admit doing it every time they drive. However, there are other options such as "do not disturb while driving" and other apps.

Texting and driving affects more than just the person committing the crime. So please, if not for yourself, leave your phone off for the sake of those around you.

More: Is this the year Iowa bans drivers from using cellphones? Law enforcement hopes so

— Maya Baker, Huxley

Don't let government take over health care 

Health care was at the forefront of the conversation during the 2018 election. With the 2020 caucuses just around the corner, you can bet that the chatter on health care will only continue to grow. Several candidates have visited Iowa already and have specifically highlighted this issue, even going so far as to suggest the elimination of private health insurance.

This is misguided. The cost of health care is no doubt spiraling out of control, but this is exactly why we can't afford to scrap it for a complete government takeover. Instead, we should focus on how to bring down costs for everyone, while reforming the system to incentivize high quality care. Single-payer health care does neither of those things.

We always welcome a "healthy" debate here in Iowa. But we need to keep Congress, and those planning their 2020 runs, in line with Iowans' needs. We need to shine a light on what's working and what needs fixing with the current system, and point out why those important decisions should not be left up to the government. 

More: Medicare overhaul would hurt Iowans, unless Sen. Chuck Grassley stops it

— Mark Havlicek, Clive

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The Green New Deal is destined to start discussion

The Green New Deal was sure to provoke discussion. For example, Mark Thiessen's column [The Green New Deal means giant tax increases] is a response to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's recent wake-up call asserting that a major change in government spending priorities is needed to address critical current issues including climate change and health-care costs.

Thiessen focuses on estimates by various experts on what the Green New Deal would cost, including a single-payer health system and the switch from fossil fuels to alternative energy sources for travel, heating, manufacturing, etc.

He concludes that covering these expenses would require huge tax increases which would be unpopular. Conspicuously absent from his argument are estimates of the current cost of health care, and of the costs of uninterrupted climate change predictable from our recent experience.

Do the extra wildfires in drought-stricken California, extra-strong hurricanes and the expected continued rise of sea levels flooding our ports as the glaciers melt cost anything?

It would be wonderful if we could just hold our taxes down and let someone else pay for the effects of continuing climate change, but we don't have that choice. A new plan is needed, time is unfortunately short and the Green New Deal resolution should start a serious discussion.

More: Eric Holder, in Des Moines, calls Green New Deal goal 'our generation's moonshot'

— Robert F Ashman, Iowa City 

Republicans are scared to support their people 

As evidenced by Tana Goertz's guest column, Republicans are still threatened by anything or anyone who attempts to change the status quo by addressing the country's needs instead of their own [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is setting the Democrats' agenda].

They prefer to feed the 1 percent and spend billions on walls rather than improving the lives of the very people who worked, paid taxes, fought and died to build and protect this country.

Those very people want change and they are ready to fight for it — if that scares Republicans, so be it.

More: Iowa Poll: Democrats' new remote caucus option could expand participation by nearly a third, results suggest

— Pat Belknap, West Des Moines  

Pay gap information needs more evidence  

The article about the pay gap between men and women who work for the State of Iowa was mostly meaningless [Women still earn less than men in the Iowa state government, although the gap has narrowed slightly]. 

The article clearly implied that there was something bad about the fact that there is a difference between the median pay of women compared to that of men. However, the data presented did not include any accounting for differences between men and women in the type of work, supervisory or management responsibility, years of experience, or education level.

Only one example was given of a pay gap for "nurse clinician," but again with no accounting for specific responsibilities, years of experience or level of education. Any valid comparison would need to account for all of these other factors.

The report does more to create division between people than to shed light on whether or not there is any wrongful discrimination actually taking place.

More: Iowa corrections lawyer alleges racial bias in pay dispute

— Kurt Johnson, Urbandale 

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People cause danger, not snow-covered roads

Several days ago a story in the Register indicated that a snow-covered road caused a fatal crash on Highway 34. This is wrong and misleading.

The snow and the roads are inanimate — they cause nothing. Drivers who are being aggressive, impatient, selfish and stupid cause accidents.

People need to think about how the environment might impact their travels, and plan ahead to allow additional time for the drive, and be courteous on the road.

More:  Former Iowan sculpts pig out of Seattle snow

— Steve Rowland, Burlington

We don't have to accept glorification of LGBT+ community 

I am a Christian who believes the entire Holy Bible is the inspired word of God. And I, as a mere human, cannot pick and choose which part to believe or not believe. 

The morally outraged Phil Walsh, who wrote a letter that was critical of parents who protested the play selected by the Ankeny school, might want to remember that there are a whole lot of us who do not buy the glorification of everything LGBT+ [Objectors to LGBT themes are living in the past].

It's ironic that people who can accept almost any behavior cannot accept we who live our beliefs. In fact, I'm quite proud of my "outdated, immoral and mistaken belief system."

More: 4-H LGBTQ policy: 70-plus Congress members accuse Trump's USDA of 'inappropriate' overreach, want answers from Ag Chief Sonny Perdue

— Jerry Crew, Webb

We should not ignore animal abuse anymore  

Why do our legislators continue to ignore animal abusers? Once again, another case with 40 cattle dying of starvation, a dog was thrown in the dumpster, and another with its mouth wired shut, and that was all within a couple months of each other [At least 40 cattle found starved to death on Iowa farm, officials say].

Step up and do what you can do to protect these innocent animals, make the fines bigger so that we can make them examples and punish these abusers. Grow a spine, and do something, this has gone on far too long with you doing nothing.

I am tired of hearing or reading about these poor animals. It's a no-brainer. Who are you protecting? It seems like it's the abusers.

More:  Des Moines juvenile charged after allegedly tying dog's muzzle closed with electrical cord

— Michelle Parsons, West Des Moines 

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