Letters to the Editor

Net neutrality will help create jobs

The commentary by Sens. Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R., Texas) on what they call regulation of the Internet fails to address the real issues that prompted our government's actions ("Regulation would only hamper the Web," Wednesday).

Internet providers have reduced the bandwidth on some sites and blocked other sites based on whatever offends or is contrary to the wishes of their management. This amounts to corporate censoring of the Internet. Simply changing providers is not an option in most cases because of the consolidation of providers in the industry.

The Federal Communications Commission has decided to invoke net neutrality rules to prevent providers from censoring certain websites. McConnell and Hutchison infer that jobs are at stake under this FCC rule. They are sadly mistaken. In fact, the potential for the creation of more jobs through the leveling of the bandwidth and access to all websites is a more likely result.

Diane Strano, Secane, [email protected]

Vouchers a proven solution

The Inquirer's school voucher editorial claims that voucher programs have had "mixed results" ("Should Pa. expand vouchers?" Nov. 7). Yet none of the gold-standard studies shows voucher students doing worse than those without. The only thing disputed is how great the student improvement is.

The editorial alleges that private schools will admit only the top-performing students with a voucher. But the experience of other states and Pennsylvania's own Educational Improvement Tax Credit program prove the opposite: Private schools educated thousands of low-income students who were failing in public schools.

The "costs" of the voucher program represent less than one-tenth of 1 percent of public school funding, and actually provide a savings for districts. The maximum voucher for Philadelphia students would be around $6,800, compared with school district funding of more than $13,200 per student. The difference, almost $7,000, would go back to the district.

Public school spending doubled over the past 15 years, while academic achievement has stagnated and students remain trapped in failing schools. More time and more money won't fix public education, but vouchers are a solution proven.

Nathan A. Benefield, Director of Policy Analysis, Commonwealth Foundation, Harrisburg

Draining money from public schools

In "Yes, families need more choices" (Nov. 7), Dawn Chavous makes the misguided claim that "vouchers are the civil rights issue of our generation." Vouchers are not a civil-rights issue. They are an inadequate answer to this real civil-rights issue: The United States does a woefully poor job of educating children in poverty, many of whom are African American.

Despite years of experience with vouchers in other cities, there has not been marked academic improvement for children using vouchers or in the schools in those cities. Vouchers do not provide immediate answers for the masses of children in our schools. In reality, vouchers do little to improve academic achievement and they drain money from already financially starved schools.

No one wants to send their child to a school that is sputtering academically or may be unsafe, but that will still be the reality for thousands of parents, even with a voucher program. Contrary to the author's claim, there is nothing simple about redirecting $50 million away from financially starved schools. It would mean less security, larger classes, and fewer arts and music programs.

I cannot imagine that civil-rights leaders such as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have supported a costly program that privileges a few at the expense of the majority.

Taimarie Adams, Co-Director of Education Policy, Public Citizens for Children and Youth, Philadelphia, [email protected]

Cheers to 'Marvelous Marvine'

Having spent the first 25 years of my life at 3658 Marvine St., I was delighted to read that "Marvelous Marvine" was awarded the prize for beautification ("Neighbors unite through cleanup, repair effort," Nov. 7). Several of us who lived there have reunited with our friends from Broad and Butler every New Year's Day since 1953 for a game of touch football, though our children and grandchildren now do the playing.

It is thrilling to read that it is a strong community again. It is also a textbook example of the power of what social psychologists call a "superordinate goal" - to build a community from people who hardly even speak to one another, you find a goal that everyone values but that can't be accomplished without them working together. There is a lesson there for all of us.

Kudos to the good people of Marvelous Marvine, and to Stephan Salisbury for an excellent article.

Grant Grissom, Media, [email protected]