Volunteer work not forced work

In response to the Board of Education’s memo that teachers must work beyond the contracted hours as part of the professional obligation, I am stunned by the level of disrespect and disregard the state has for the teachers, as well as of the teaching profession ("Teachers must work after class, state says," Star-Advertiser, Dec. 5).

Requiring teachers to work outside their contracted hours without compensation is called slavery, and its legality has already been addressed by the Constitution.

Teachers work way beyond contracted hours, but those volunteering works are voluntary, not required. The state cannot say those volunteering works are outside the paid contracted hours and yet are also required of teachers as part of the contract.

Either extra works are extra and voluntary or they must be paid. The state cannot have it both ways and take what teachers do for granted.

Lisa Rosenlee
Ewa Beach

Have students supply rail art

How about letting local public high school art classes compete for designs and the actual production of the art (for the rail stations) and give that taxpayer money to the schools? Benefits would go back to the taxpayers and students and support our future artists.

Paula Davis
Manoa

Rail diverting funds from bus

In the joy over federal funds to rail, did anyone notice that $210 million intended for improvement of our bus system is being diverted to rail?

Rail will not improve traffic significantly; it will divert funds from TheBus.

Arthur Y. Sprague
Manoa

Wave energy seems superior

Until I read Cynthia Thielen’s commentary about the potential and desirability of wave energy, I often wondered why this option was never seriously considered compared to other energy technologies ("Wave power, not wind power, is the way to go for Hawaii," Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, Dec. 4).

Wave energy seems to have illustrated profound advantages over solar, wind and geothermal.

The infrastructure required by wave energy is the least intrusive to our living space, scenery and public lands, and has potential to become the most productive.

Wave energy is a constant, perpetual force available at all hours of the day, so there is virtually no need for back-ups to compensate for cloudy skies and still winds.

I envision a time when wave-energy technology will finally be our main energy source, due to the weaknesses and unreliability of solar panels, geothermal and windmills.

Tom Rude Sr.
Mililani

‘Incentives’ also known as bribes

Your article "Billions in tax breaks benefit corporations" (Star-Advertiser, Dec. 2) reported on the efforts of U.S. mayors and governors to attract investments, giving billions of taxpayers’ money to corporations in either outright grants or tax breaks.

The article repeatedly referred to these gifts as "incentives," a polite way of saying "bribes."

On the same day, you printed an article titled "Education in China comes at steep cost" that described similar kinds of incentives, where Chinese parents are said to often pay money to school administrators to give preferential treatment for their children.

This article repeatedly referred to such payments not as "incentives" but as "bribes" and "corruption."

Yes, corruption is a problem in China, and all Chinese know about it.

But in America such payments are camouflaged as incentives, commissions, deals, finders fees and varieties of brokers fees and consultancy fees, leaving the public unaware of the corruption involved.

Oliver Lee
Aina Haina

Let’s go off cliff to Clinton era

As our country approaches the fiscal cliff, going over it is becoming ever more appealing.

Going over the cliff would restore the tax rates of the Clinton administration. Wouldn’t that be fair for everybody?While we’re at it, let’s go back to President Bill Clinton’s spending, too — he had a budget surplus.

Washington spending cuts usually consist of promises never kept or lesser spending increases. Although the fiscal cliff spending cuts may not be balanced the way one might prefer, at least theyarereal and immediate cuts of about 5 percent.

What family budget could not survive a 5 percent spending cut?

Rhoads Stevens
Hawaii Kai