A Response to "Who Really Wants Tuition Increase?"

I completely agree with this editorial because many of my friends and I find it very hard to pay for college. It's not fun to think about how long you might be in debt because of taking out loans for school or thinking about having to apply for financial aid. It's as if the nation is a hypocrite itself by wanting everyone to succeed in life and to better the world. But at the same time making it very difficult to pay for school by raising tuition any chance they get. If anything, raising tuition discourages people to even think about going to college.

There are plenty of people out there that believe starting a full time job right out of high school is the way to go. This is because they think it's not worth it to go to college and have to spend a lot of money and be in debt for years. Hopefully tuition increases don't discourage too many people and that many still strive to become what they have always dreamed of becoming.

Personally I don't want to be stuck in a dead end low paying job for the rest of my life.This article had good commentary and you could tell that the writer was very passionate on the issue. That made the article more enjoyable and easier to read.

The Commuter Rail is On the Way

The commuter rail has been in the news lately as they will start doing test runs as soon as the end of this month. The shuttle is estimated to have up to 2,000 commuters a day. The rail line will be 32 miles long and will run from downtown Austin all the way to Leander. Although the commuter rail won't be ready for another year, it is still getting a lot of attention these days.

The first time I ever saw a commuter rail was when I use to live in Houston. I thought it looked pretty cool and would save people time and money because it was a good alternative to riding the bus or driving. I have never actually gotten in one before but from the outside it looks safe and sleek. I believe it was voted on in 2004 if I remember correctly and I did not get to vote on the issue of whether or not it should be done.

Once the commuter rail goes up, hopefully traffic will go down a little and there will be less buses on the roads. The buses on the roads are dangerous, slow, and take up too much space. I'm not sure what the rate is for riding the shuttle for the commuter rail.

Capital Metro has had some trouble with the budget plan that was promised to the voters. Capital Metro didn't get the $30 million from federal grants because they did not seek those grants. So now the company is $30 million short and they are trying to get that money through local taxes and fares. The original plan of the entire shuttle was supposed to be at $90 million and it might take more than that.

With all the change in money and also the delayed availability of the commuter rail leads one to believe that some people might have voted differently had they known this were to happen. It seems typical of something like this to happen where a plan is voted on and passed. Then after the plan is passed it becomes tweaked a bit to allow the company to change whatever they want.

I don't think it's right how something like the budget and the time of the its availability can be changed. Especially when voters are promised a certain time and amount for the budget. I can understand some changes, but not as drastic as a huge amount of money. Realistically I guess there is no rush to getting the commuter rail ready and it is expected to stretch out the budget a little bit. But it would be nice for the voters to get what they voted for.

A Reply to “Why you should be registered to vote…”

I completely agree that many people do not vote and that the majority of them are young people. It is everyone’s right to vote or not vote and that's as far as it goes in today’s world. The article is put together with strong points and good information to back up those points.

I myself am guilty of not voting much. At times it bothers me because I become irritated when people win elections that I don't like. But I guess that is what I get for not voting. I think the main reason I don't vote is because I find politics to be very boring and I don't believe that my one vote will make that big a difference. I know these are bad excuses but those are my reasons.

In the article it says, "Young people just like you in other countries actually fight and even die for this right." This quote is dealing with voting and young people. I never really put a lot of thought into other countries and whether or not everyone votes. I guess after thinking about how young people in other countries are fighting or even dying for their right to vote, it makes me feel guilty.

I think it would funny if people running for office in anything only focused on old people for votes. It would be more worthwhile since they vote more. There are too many people out there like me that don't care enough or don't even bother thinking about it.

This article had good insight on the topic of voting and I could tell the person writing it really cared about the topic.

Is the Death Penalty Right or Wrong?

The death penalty has been in the news a lot lately due to executions and criminals that are on death row. With all this executing it makes me wonder if it is really necessary. Capital punishment has been around in Texas since 1819 and since then a little over 1,000 people have been executed. Most executions were for murder, but other crimes such as piracy, cattle rustling, treason, desertion, and rape. Executions have been carried out by a variety of methods including hanging, firing squad, electrocution and lethal injection. Executions are done today by lethal injection and can cost the state over $80 for the chemicals used in the procedure. You also have to think about how much it costs the state just to keep prisoners in jail everyday. It must cost a lot for keeping them in prison under decent living conditions. In this day and age the only crime of "capital murder" or a second conviction for the rape of someone under 14 is eligible for the death penalty.

In my opinion, I think the death penalty is right sometimes and sometimes not. I am the kind of person that agrees with the old saying of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." Although many people don't agree with this there are times that I do. If someone was brutally murdered and/or raped, then I think they deserve the death penalty. Maybe this is because I grew up in Texas and I have been brain washed to accept the death penalty. But at the same time it might be more painful for a murderer to wait out his/her life in a jail cell just rotting away. The other side of me makes me think that the death penalty is wrong because no one should have to go through lethal injection. Plus what kind of a message is it sending to children and the rest of the world if we execute people all the time. What if the person that was just executed is found to be innocent after the execution. That makes me skeptical of there being capital punishment. It also seems like in some counties they just jump at the opportunity of an execution and that's just wrong. Maybe one day the death penalty will be outlawed. Until now the number of executions keep on adding up.

Old Shelter or New Shelter?

I found an editorial in the Austin American Statesman called "Block out the barking and do right by pets." This editorial is about a City Council fight and a lawsuit over the relocation of the city animal shelter. The Town Lake Animal Shelter is in bad condition, old and is prone to flooding. The new animal shelter will be built in East Austin and will be a larger shelter with better facilities and will include a dog park and walking trails. A $12 million bond issue was approved by Austin voters to pay for the new shelter as of last year. But a group called FixAustin believes that they should just repair the old shelter because moving the shelter will reduce the amount of adoptions and increase the number of animals put down. The new location in East Austin has a large amount of strays according to Austin statistics. If the old shelter were to be fixed and redone, it would be much more costly to fix it then to build the new one in East Austin.

In the editorial there was a good display of showing both sides of the story. It seemed as if there was more evidence about why they should build a new shelter and less about why they shouldn't. This might be because there is an overwhelming amount for it and much less evidence against it. I think the editorial should've talked about more organizations or groups that were opposed to the new shelter. There might have only been one group against it but it would have been better see another point of view to back up evidence to a higher degree. The editorial did a good job on showing how this problem will affect the people, animals, and our money. All of which are very important in todays society. The most obvious fault in this editorial is where it is mentioned that 40% of strays come from the east side of I-35 and 60% comes from the west side. That should make them want to build the shelter in West Austin to bring in more strays. In my opinion, if someone were to read that then they might think that the people writing in the editorial are mathematically challeneged or that there might be something else behind the relocation of the shelter that we don't know. In the end, this editorial does a good job of showing both sides of the story. In my opinion, there should be a new shelter becuase the current one is in bad shape but they might want to reconsider if they are so concerned about building the shelter close to where all the stray animals are.

Click here on the title to read the editorial Block out barking and do right by pets

Should There be Tax Breaks on Tickets?

The editorial I read was called “Tax Break on Tickets? No, thanks.” It was about how there is an amendment to the federal tax code that allows a tax deduction for donations made to UT to buy tickets. The amendment was written in the mid 1980s by the late Austin Rep., Jake Pickle, who was a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and a UT alumnus. A couple years later the tax break was given to all universities but the deduction was lowered to 80 percent. It is completely insane to see that the athletic department at UT spends $210,000 on each athlete. The total amount spent on athletics annually by UT is over $100 million which is over a $50 million increase in the past six years. All of the money that is going to the athletic department alone is just appalling. Although I can see the argument here about how the money should be going into education, it seems a little biased in my opinion. There are surely plenty of people out there that think this is just fine because all they care about is watching sports. The editorial seems to be one sided and doesn't give another point of view and if someone were to disagree about the tax break money.

The Editorial Board did a good job of proposing the problem with the tax breaks but don't really give a good solution. All it says in there is that donations for season tickets shouldn't be tax deductible and that the money should be going towards educating students. The editorial gives good information about the problem at hand but doesn't talk much about how to fix the problem. It seems as if the editorial is more like a complaint and not so much of a problem that people should be aware of. The end of the editorial was left open ended when it said two Austin representatives didn't even reply to questions about a repeal of the tax break. I guess the Editorial Board just wanted people to become aware of this topic and that's it. Because the only feedback this editorial got was a slash back at the newspaper about how Texas newspapers are exempt from the state sales tax. In the end, the problem is no one wants to pay taxes and the people that don't just make others mad. I would say this editorial did a good job of convincing me that there should not be tax breaks on tickets. Even if I do like UT sports, I still think that the money should be distributed between the sports department and towards education.

You can read the editorial at the Austin American Statesman.

How could interstates turned into toll roads help anything?

On September 1, 2007, an article was published in the Austin American-Statesman that was titled “Lawmaker questions state officials' support of tolling interstates.” There is a proposal by the state Department of Transportation to start charging tolls on interstate highways that already exist. The department wants Congress to pass a law that would let the state “buy back” some parts of interstates and then turn them into toll roads. Basically that means we would be paying taxes twice for those interstates that are being turned into toll roads. Because we pay taxes for the highways to be built in the first place, then if we were to pay a toll to use them then it would be like paying for them again a second time. The Department of Transportation put together a report called Forward Momentum that says private company investment in projects to convert interstates to tollways would get tax breaks. In order for this proposal to go through, it would require the approval by county commissions and taxpayers. Perry's position is that he feels highways should not be converted to tollways. Although there are many who oppose this proposal, it's always possible that it could go through.

This article is worth reading because it could affect everyone that uses the highway. We already have many toll roads being built in Austin and probably more throughout the state. I think it would just be ridiculous to start turning parts of interstate highways into toll roads. That would be so expensive for everyone and nearly impossible to avoid the tollways. It is also worth reading this to be more informed about what is going on with the roads these days. Especially when it's already expensive enough to drive due to the high gas prices.

You can read the article at Austin American Statesman