Letters to the Editor: Readers react to federal student loan forgiveness
Austin City Council members voted last week to give themselves $33,000-plus pay raises, considerably larger than the 4% raises going to other city employees. We asked readers, are the pay raises for council members justified? Here are your responses:
With pay raise decision, do council
members have what it takes to lead?
The idiom "the fox is guarding the hen house" applies to the Austin city council members who wish to gift themselves an obscene raise immediately.
They are an immature, tone deaf and disrespectful group of people. Not to mention greedy and arrogant.
Seriously people get real. Wait for incremental, insufficient pay increases like the mere mortals you claim to represent. This demand for a 40% pay increase (no matter what their logic) makes me question whether they have the leadership traits necessary to make appropriate decisions for the commoners they serve.
Valerie Goranson, Round Rock
Council members widened the gap
between themselves and the rest
Never mind the peasants that work tirelessly, many with families struggling to keep the lights on. No, never mind the difficult position they are in trying to feed their children.
Never mind the rate of inflation that makes a mere 4% increase seem like a drop in the bucket. Let us increase our wages by almost half and spit in the face of these hardworking peasants. Let us parade ourselves as more entitled and deserving of such a raise.
After all, peasants cannot remain peasants if we treat them with equality. Equitable raises would raise their standard of living and that is just not acceptable. No, no, we must keep them stagnant and widen the gap between us by giving ourselves a boastful amount. Oh, sure they will whine and complain but what can they do? Nothing.
Sarah Hamm, Caddo Mills
Council talks big about affordability,
then gives members a big payday
Once again, the council shows their true colors. They make big noises about Austin affordability. However, once they found an additional $20 million from higher-than-anticipated sales tax revenue, paid by residents and tourists. But instead of giving some of that money back to residents, they decided to squander it on others — and most significantly on a gigantic raise for themselves.
They apparently voted the raise in on a late session with not much discussion or analysis. It's no wonder that people have such a poor opinion of Austin's government in general and the council in particular.
Jerome L. Kruemcke, Georgetown
Members shouldn't be allowed
to approve their own pay raises
I think it is shameful and unethical that the Austin council members gave themselves a 40% raise while the rest of the city employees received only a 4% raise.
City council members should not be allowed to approve their own raises.
Most city employees have to work multiple jobs to make ends meet and cannot afford home ownership with the high cost of living in Austin.
Max Hamm, Georgetown
We should have a say in evaluating
council members' job performance
The fact that all the council members except for three voted to give themselves such large raises is unconscionable. Never in my professional career was that even considered. Did they all forget that they work for us, the citizens of Austin?
Normal practice is that employee raises are based on merit and that is determined by evaluation of performance by those to whom you report. Once again, council members report to the citizens of Austin. Did we get a chance to evaluate your performance? No - we certainly did not. And please don’t use our vote as your excuse for an evaluation. If so, all citizens should vote for council members on a yearly basis.
I request that these ridiculous raises be rescinded and that we citizens have a voice in the evaluation of the council's job performance.
Janice Toreki, Austin
It was a surprise to learn that
council members receive pay
Re: Aug. 20 article, "Austin City Council members give themselves $33,000 pay raise in spite of backlash."
What a surprise it was to read that the Austin City Council had awarded themselves a 40% pay increase that amounts to $33,000 per year for each member!
My wife and I have lived in Austin for over 39 years. Based on the extremely poor quality of decisions and work that has come from the council over those almost four decades, I had quite honestly assumed they were purely voluntary positions.
Newt Hasson, Austin
Council members knew how much
the job paid when they ran for office
This is absolutely ridiculous. Liberal policies are going to ruin Austin as they have ruined other blue states and cities. They knew how much the job paid when they took it. Now they vote themselves a pay raise for a public service job.
Other city employees get 4%? They should be voted out or subject to recall. I'm glad I don't live work or shop in Austin. I'll drive north or south to shop.
Hope you folks living in Austin can afford it.
Mark Brantley, Pflugerville.
The council's tone deaf vote showed
disregard for those they represent
The Austin City Council's salary increase is tone deaf.
Let's keep in mind that council salaries were $88,000 or so, and they're already getting annual cost-of-living adjustments. Is that not in line with the median salary for Austinites including both private company and government salaries? Not to mention the allowances they get for vehicle and mobile phone service. And they added inclusion into the city retirement plan.
Are we having trouble finding people that want the job? Have they fixed any of the city's vexing problems e.g. affordability, homelessness, crime, property tax burden, etc.? Who in Austin has ever received a 40% salary increase in their professional lives for doing the same job?
This shows an utter disregard for the taxpayer. They fixed the affordability issue, they just did it only for themselves.
Andrew Garcia, Austin
EDITOR'S NOTE: Some readers weighed in on other topics this week. Here are some of their letters.
Column deftly depicted absurdity
of attacks on books and libraries
Re: Aug. 24 commentary, "How about banning these books as well?"
Rex Huppke's column had quite a list of classic books that I grew up reading that he recommended should immediately be banned from all school libraries. But he forgot the most dangerous book of all: The Bible.
The Old Testament is full of shocking stories such as the incestuous relationship of Lot and his daughters (Genesis 19:30-38). Pretty racy stuff! Or of King David lusting after Bathsheba and sending her husband into battle so he would be killed and he could then marry Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:1-12:25).
And how about Jesus who hung out with lepers, prostitutes, homosexuals and other undesirables all the while teaching to love your enemy, to forgive those who hurt you and to not judge others, (Luke 6:27-36; Matthew 5:43-48).
I feel sure that Huppke’s comments were meant to be understood as how absurd the attack is on school libraries and librarians. Education should involve critical thinking, not mind control.
Connie Maverick, Austin
Cheney is the rare politician who is
willing to sacrifice for what is right
Nowadays, the words "integrity," "ethical" and "principled" are rarely used in the same sentence as "politician," and for good reason. Liz Cheney has now made that possible.
Although I differ with her on many issues, and I will probably never vote for her or even have the opportunity to vote for her, I find her incredibly courageous and a model citizen. How many politicians — especially Republicans but some Democrats, too — are willing to sacrifice their self-serving positions to do what they know is right? The answer is few.
This hard-core Democrat thanks you, Liz Cheney. Members of both parties have much to learn from you.
Neil Suneson, Austin
If Republicans are not 'pro-life',
what is their party's end game?
It should be obvious even to the most casual observer that the near-universal Republican opposition to abortion is not about a genuine concern for life. If it were, Republicans would be equally opposed to the death penalty, which few are.
If Republicans were truly pro-life, they would support life-saving social legislation like universal health care, universal pre-K, parental leave, child care support, food stamps for poor parents, etc.
If Republicans are really not pro-life (if you watch their votes not their lips), what are they after? Based on their votes to smear the line between church and state, their courting of evangelicals and their recent anti-democracy candidates, it appears Republicans are pursuing a a white-male dominated Christian theocracy, not unlike Gilead in "The Handmaid’s Tale." Remember on Nov. 8.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This week we’re asking readers: What do you think about President Joe Biden's recent announcement forgiving $10,000 to $20,000 in debt for people with student loans?
How to submit a letter to the editor
Send letters of no more than 150 words to letters@statesman.com by noon Thursday using our online form at https://bit.ly/3Crmkcf or send by email to letters@statesman.com. We welcome your letters on all topics. Include your name and city of residence; we do not publish anonymous letters.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin American-Statesman Letters to the Editor: August 28, 2022
