Letters: You'd be better off slinging sliders than substitute teaching for Columbus schools

Might as well work at White Castle

I see that the Columbus City Schools are hiring substitute teachers. Starting pay for those with a B.A. and a teaching license — $140 a day for an 8-hour day.

That works out to $17.50 an hour. Starting pay at the White Castle on Hamilton Road? Fifteen dollars an hour.

Seriously?

Rick Stone, Athens

The fox shouldn't guard the henhouse

Bill Bush is to be praised for his July 13 article, "Leaders disagree over civil service chief," alerting voters to Mayor Andrew Ginther’s outrageous plan to eliminate competitive testing in hiring city employees.

More: Ginther says Columbus civil service director works for him. City charter doesn't say that

The mayor’s proposed charter change harkens back to the corrupt days of the 19th century’s Gilded Age.

Back then, political hacks made up the vast majority of government workers at the local and national levels. Government employees could be hired and fired at will by the political bosses.

Good-government progressives in the early 20th century aimed to change this.

One of their proposals ushered in civil service systems for government workers. One of these reforms required competitive testing for hiring. This requirement aimed to assure taxpayers that a new public employee had at least minimal qualifications.

More: Are competitive test scores, cornerstone of Columbus civil service hiring, on the way out?

The Progressive Era reforms also established independent civil service commissions.

In Columbus, Ginther already has eroded this reform by incorrectly claiming that the City Civil Service Commission’s executive director works for him.

No, Mayor Ginther, the city charter— approved at the height of the Progressive Era — requires the executive director to be an employee of the Commission.

In other words, the charter prohibits the fox from guarding the henhouse.

Robert Ruth, Grove City

Inflation, gas prices not Biden's fault

Is President Biden responsible for global inflation?

Inflation around the world, over the past two years, Pew Research Center reports that 12 countries with advanced economies have higher inflation rates than the United States.

More: Is Biden to blame for higher gas prices? Drivers pay more in 93 countries.

Is President Biden responsible for the cost of gas in the U.S.?

According to Newsweek, gas prices in the United States are cheaper than in 90 countries and more expensive than in 70 countries.

Is all of this problem really his fault?

Clare Anderson, Columbus

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Portman is for the birds

Migratory birds are in trouble.

From climate change and habitat destruction to cats, pesticides, and glass, birds face a variety of threats and federal legislation is needed to protect them.

Luckily, Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), alongside Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), introduced the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act.

This bipartisan legislation would reauthorize the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act, the only federal grant program dedicated to the conservation of migratory birds throughout the Americas.

More: Audubon Society: Climate change threatens 300 bird species in North America

By increasing Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act funding and lowering grant match requirements, Sen. Portman is working to ensure more high-quality conservation projects break ground and protect iconic Ohio species like mallards and cerulean warblers.

More: Letter: Conservation proposal would protect neotropical birds

Portman is a true champion for birds and Ohio, which benefits from an estimated $100 million that birders contribute to the economy.

The American Bird Conservancy Action Fund, dedicated to building political support for American Bird Conservancy’s mission to conserve wild birds and their habitats throughout the Americas, commends Portman’s leadership.

Annie Connolly, American Bird Conservancy Action Fund 

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Letters: Why are gas prices so high? Columbus, Ohio