Letters: Biden won’t stop illegally bailing out student borrowers

Bottle bill can still be beneficial

One of my chores growing up in the 1960s was mowing the lawn. Since we lived along US Highway 69, my parents apparently believed the ditch was part of our yard. Before I started mowing, I picked up numerous cans and bottles motorists felt belonged in our yard and not in their vehicles. Unsanitary, messy cans and bottles with bugs crawling all over them.

In the Nov. 30 issue of the Register, guest columnist Herbert Peacock wrote extensively about the challenges he faces to return cans and bottles for redemption. He advocates for ending the “charade” of the bottle law.

Those of us who remember life in Iowa before this law was passed, know how cans, bottles, and other discarded garbage clogged Iowa’s ditches. I, for one, would not want Iowa to return to those days. Instead of lamenting this law as a time consuming, smelly, expensive activity as described by Mr. Peacock, I, and many other Iowans, have taken a different approach. I simply load the sack of cans and bottles into my vehicle about once per month, drive about a mile to one of the three can donation sites in our small community (benefiting either the Lions Club, a local church youth group or the local Boy Scouts) and drop off my bag – no mess, no time, and no hassle. What Mr. Peacock wants to call a tax is something I call a donation…to a worthy cause.

— Steve Westerberg, Forest City

Democrats should act Jan. 15 to stop Trump, right?

Since Joe Biden has no real competition in an Iowa Democratic primary or caucus, it seems logical that, if Iowa Democrats truly believe that Donald Trump is a threat to the nation, then they should all register for the Iowa Caucus as Republicans for a day and vote for one of his opponents.

Otherwise it appears those voters are all talk and no action, not unlike some politicians.

— Mike Rowley, Clive

Boyden-Holmes upholds Register photography tradition

Zach Boyden-Holmes' Dec. 5 photo of Julia Franklin outside the New Mainframe Studios had much to admire; dramatic sky, stunning architecture, a charming smile, and importantly, the retro use of an out-of-focus background that captures depth, in contrast to the cellphone's flat infinite focus. Back in the days of black-and-white news photos, Register photographers were masters of chiaroscuro and tight focus. Nice to see the traditIon continued.

— John Zeller, Des Moines

Iowa Democrats need an independent identity

I oft times wonder if Rita Hart and the leadership of the Iowa Democratic Party ever wonder why they do so poorly come election time the past couple of decades. I wonder if they notice that Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin have vibrant, successful parties while the one she oversees has become a national embarrassment and a stone cold loser.

My observation is these other states are not subsidiaries of the national party and have their own identities, while her party is a shameless sycophant of the national party.

You would have thought the embarrassment foisted upon us in 2020 would have been enough for us to go our own way, but no.

Where is Iowa's John Fetterman? Have you ever thought there might be a more progressive route to success, Ms. Hart? Maybe just courting disaffected Republicans with Republican-light politicians is less than a winning strategy. Maybe raising our own money and running politicians that will expand our base is an idea whose time has come.

Let's do something different. How about we try to win.

— Gerald Fees, Bondurant

Republicans sound the alarm about Trump

Highly respected members of the Republican Party are warning of the danger Donald Trump represents. Liz Cheney, daughter of Dick Cheney, warns in her new book, "Oath and Honor,” that Trump poses a threat to our very democracy if he becomes president again. As she says, “We will be voting on whether to preserve our republic. … As a nation, we can endure damaging policies for a four-year term. But we cannot survive a president willing to terminate our Constitution.”

Trump has railed against his perceived enemies calling them “vermin” and claiming that undocumented immigrants were “poisoning the blood of our country.” Such language harkens back to white nationalism and fascism. He promises to root out his enemies.

To achieve his ends, he intends to radically alter our system of government, expanding the power of the presidency. He plans to alter civil-service rules that protect career government professionals. He intends to use the Justice Department to investigate and charge his adversaries. He promises to use military funds and troops to round up and deport undocumented individuals. He wants to end birthright citizenship for babies born on U.S. soil to undocumented parents. If Trump succeeds, our system of government will be turned, at best, into an illiberal democracy, and at worse, into an autocratic state.

It is not too late to save democracy, but we need to realize that the rule of law and our Constitution are at stake in the next election.

— Thomas Hill, Cedar Falls

Letter was misleading about DEI

A Michael Devine writes in the Dec. 3 Register’s letter section that “DEI shows contempt for ordinary people.” The opposite is true. Although Devine doesn’t clarify, DEI is diversity, equity, inclusion. I guess Devine is responding to the Register’s opinion disagreeing with the Board of Regents scuttling DEI programs at the three state universities.

To rebut Devine, DEI is not a fad, not a quota system, not indoctrination, not a race- or gender-based selection process, not a product of “white guilt,” not vague and empty, not out-of-control, not infected by elitism, nor contemptuous of ordinary people. None of these allegations are true.

Public schools, colleges, and universities are meant to serve without bias the multi-this and multi-that students of the state, which includes LBGTQ, handicapped, or racial or ethnic minorities, along with ordinary people, the less fortunate as well as their wealthy friends. America as a nation depends on us having a universally well-educated population. DEI programs are the rafters that hold up that roof.

Devine’s claims have worked their way from the street corner to talk shows to legislators and red-state governors, and into laws that seek to reinstate Jim Crow and give white supremacy a leg up. The Board of Regents has fallen victim to this backward thinking. The mission of public schools, colleges, and universities assumes that every kid coming through the front gates gets a equal chance to succeed. College classes are hard, and some kids need tutoring. Some have language deficiencies. The theory of public education is that all kids have merit, but some (maybe all) experience barriers to success. DEI tries to level the playing field. The country can afford no less.

— Gerald Ott, Ankeny

Give credit unions same benefits as banks, please

As someone who has spent decades advocating for credit unions, I’m quite familiar with the banking industry’s opposition to credit union legislation. That is a decades old trade association fight that doesn’t seem to end. However, I’m also well versed with the banking industry’s repeated support for free markets and less government regulation. Banks like the free market, then they don’t, and the hypocrisy becomes evident.

During the 2023 legislative session, a bill was introduced to make updates to the Iowa Credit Union Act. The legislature passed a banking code update in 2022, so it was timely to make changes for credit unions, too. One provision in the bill will allow credit unions to compensate their board members if they choose. Every other cooperative business such as rural electric and telephone co-ops have the option to pay their board, as does any business in Iowa. So, we are seeking the same ability as any business, which is paying our directors if we choose.

The bankers oppose this simply because they think it may help credit unions. The legislature should do everything they can to ensure credit union boards are made up of the most competent and skilled Iowans. After all, these boards are stewarding the safety and soundness of Iowans’ money.

Banks have no business weighing in on whether credit unions should pay their boards. We live in a free-market economy and that should be the guiding principle. I’ve learned that from the banks.

— Jim Dean, CEO of Affinity Credit Union

Community’s concerns about police vindicated

After reading the Dec. 3 editorial (“No more stalling”) from the Register's editorial board, I was encouraged that city leadership and the Des Moines Police Department seems to acknowledge the salience of conclusions reached by the recently delivered report by 21st Century Policing evaluation of DMPD.

The report highlights the fact that data collection and transparency, have been slow-walked resulting in personal trauma to victims of poor policing decisions and financial expense to the city of Des Moines as six- and seven-figure awards are paid out to victims.

Local activist organizations including Iowa CCI, Just Voices and Standing Up For Racial Justice (SURJ) were years into this process before George Floyd's senseless murder brought Black Lives Matter activists to the conversation.

Steady pressure on the City Council, applied by the multiple layers of community activism, finally overcame council intransigence, prodding them to hear pleas to conduct an independent (read: non-local) review of DMPD.

We can work to rebuild trust, by implementing reporting systems that everyone from law enforcement to citizenry can employ to our collective community advantage.

The 21CP report strongly confirms what many of the aforementioned community organizations have been consistently urging city leadership to implement. We stand ready to work with Mayor-Elect Connie Boesen in continuing the valiant efforts of outgoing Mayor Frank Cownie to make Des Moines a more compassionate city.

— Dartanyan Brown, Des Moines

Isn’t it possible that at least a few school-library titles really are age-inappropriate?

While I don't really support the new laws regarding school library books, I do see it as a response to the overreach of many educators. It is not the job of the school to teach the social issues and sex identity issues as a subject matter. That is the purview and responsibility of the parents and guardians of the children.

And regardless of the book authors’ intent, which in truth is mostly their own journey of discovery, some of the content is salacious. If we ask our schools to get back to teaching STEM and language subjects, maybe the annual test scores will begin to rise again. That does not imply allowing bullying for any reason, but let parents handle those social issues that are best done at home and in family.

— Beryl Richards, Nashua

Iowa Democrats can’t claim MLK’s legacy

It’s outrageous that the Iowa Democratic Party couldn’t even announce their caucus dates without taking cheap shots and even lying about the Iowa Republican Party. “While Iowa Republicans continue to add barriers to the ballot box,” they wrote, referring to the overwhelmingly popular requirement for voter ID. They lied with no foundation in suggesting “that Republicans are debating the legitimacy of slavery,” ignoring the fact that Democrats were the ones who defended segregation, founded the KKK, introduced poll taxes, and instigated the Jim Crow laws.

But even worse is their race-obsessed identify politics, while trying to claim the mantle of Martin Luther King Jr., who was a Republican and would certainly be one today if he could see today’s Democratix Party. King famously championed the contents of one’s character rather than the color of one’s skin. He was a staunch supporter of Jews, who he knew were major allies in his campaign for civil rights. He spoke strongly in support of Israel. Iowa Democrats are entitled to their bigotry, but they shouldn’t pretend that they are doing so in tribute to MLK.

— Richard Freedman, Peru

Biden won’t let up on illegally bailing out student borrowers

Even though the Supreme Court ruled that “forgiving” student loans was unconstitutional, Joe Biden is doing it anyway. What a slap in the face to those of us who went to work and never went to college, didn’t benefit from a college degree, nor took on student loans. And what about those that paid their loans off? “Forgiving” loans is simply shifting the debt from those that borrowed the money to those who did not.

When the government guaranteed student loans colleges raised tuitions. If student loans are to be “forgiven” why not go after the colleges that took advantage of students in the first place instead of the taxpayers who had nothing to do with it?

Overall Biden has handed out $127 billion in taxpayer money to 3.6 million Americans which is an average or $35,277 each.

Here in Iowa 7,290 public employee’s student loans were “forgiven” to the tune of $400.4 million or an average of $55,000 each! -

Additionally under the “Borrowers Identified for Forgiveness under Income Driven Repayment Direct-to-Discharge Account Adjustment by Location” scheme $502.1 million dollars was doled out to 11,330 Iowans which is an average of $44,300 each.

— Jim Hirschberg, Lohrville

A few in GOP get it on carbon pipelines

"I think that anybody who is implicitly or explicitly supporting the use of eminent domain for this carbon dioxide capture pipeline is on the wrong side of this issue," Vivek Ramaswamy told reporters, according to the Register

I agree with Mr. Ramaswamy and Steve King on the use of eminent domain by Bruce Rastetter and friends to tear up Iowa farm ground for the purpose of collecting taxpayers money for a questionable CO2 pipeline. How would you feel if this group of investors tore up your woodland, your prairie, your stream to put in a big pipe that could blow up and kill you? I guess a few union welders like the idea. How about the rest of us who would have to foot the bill. So sorry the party of “freedom” and personal responsibility has gone so much the other direction on: free speech, personal health, eminent domain and federal and state subsidies for everything related to corn, ethanol and CAFOs. Guess who was involved in all of it

— Mike Delaney, Windsor Heights

Rosalynn Carter a role model for all

The many accolades spoken about Rosalynn Carter at her funeral leaves one speechless and in awe as a testament to the goodness a human being can gift our world. She did not speak ill will about anyone. As her pastor said, "all knew her to be someone who did not think of herself but rather others and others' needs." Contrast that to the demonization and meanness spewed out by so many of our elected leaders, presidential candidates and fellow citizens. Mrs. Carter serves as a role model for us to aspire to. It is unconscionable for any of us to act and live contrary to how she lived her life, even to support presidential candidates who do not mirror her qualities and attributes. We can live better by following her life example.

— Kevin Pokorny, Des Moines

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Letters: Joe Biden won’t stop illegally bailing out student borrowers