New Times / Letters to the Editor

Congrats

Andrea Devitt - San Luis Obispo

With Cuesta College’s graduation soon to take place, it’s important for all of us to remind ourselves how lucky we are for the California Community College System. The importance of a college of education for Californians has increased dramatically. Our economy and communities cannot survive unless we produce enough college graduates to fill the high-skilled jobs in our state.

California Community Colleges enroll more than two-thirds of California’s college students. Without these institutions, many students of low and modest incomes, as well minority students, would not have access to college. Furthermore, California Community Colleges transfer about 50,000 to California State Universities and about 16,000 to University of California schools every year. Recognizing the critical role community colleges play in the future of California’s growth, success, and ability to compete in today’s global economy, policy makers have continued to make the cost to attend a community college affordable and financial aid accessible to students. Furthermore, local community college foundations continue to raise funds for local scholarships and community programs.

Congratulations to those students who are graduating from Cuesta College on Friday, May 24, as well as those students who are transferring to a four-year university. California needs you.

Pay the Chinese back

Ed Thoma - San Luis Obispo

We’ve been sustaining Chinese cyber attacks on our companies for years, and more recently our government institutions. They have been traced back to the People’s Liberation Army.

U.S. government and businesses alike need to go back to when the attacks began, and account for the cost of the damage, and the potential future losses of intellectual knowledge stolen by Chinese government and Chinese businesses. Once we have a total, we begin keeping a running total of these costs to us, and we simply deduct them from the debt we owe China. I’d just as soon China no longer loan our government money since they can’t be trusted to use it responsibly or efficiently.

They don’t like it? Tough. Come and get it from us. Further, I don’t think any Chinese firm or conglomerates should be able to own property in the United States.

Yes, we’ll pay more for consumer products, but maybe that will encourage many companies that have outsourced their production to China to come back to the United States? Maybe I’m naïve, but there has to be some merit in this idea. Why should we bear the brunt of these costs? Maybe the government can quit taxing us to death with the cost savings we’ll realize from the debt service reductions.