Forum: Wal-Mart strikers are sign of the times
December 3, 2012 10:06PM
Updated: January 5, 2013 6:27AM
What a concept! People demanding dignity in the workplace and refusing to believe that corporations should be rulers of the people rather than the other way around.
We are all forced to swallow the constant bemoaning of huge corporations that they are suffering while they continue to reap profits. In a business-run society such as ours, there are certain thoughts that are deemed unthinkable.
Like the fact that good hard-working Americans are being threatened daily to accept servitude in exchange for having a job in these times of “austerity” for the lower and middle class while corporations outsource labor and refuse to pay their fair share in taxes.
In this “tough love” approach, it’s love for the unlimited hubris of corporations and tough for the rest of us.
Edward D. Juillard
Chicago
Dismayed by student loan costs
No ambitious young student should have his dreams stomped on by the same government that provided him with the opportunity to chase them. Today, the amount of interest on student loans is creating a Mount Everest-like obstacle that countless high school graduates are unable to climb. I am a junior in high school and in the near future this becomes my dilemma.
As of the 2006-07 school year, the federal government changed the interest rate on unsubsidized Stafford student loans from a variable rate to a fixed rate of 6.8 percent to allow borrowers to avoid the potential problem of a rising variable rate. But that rate is high in light of today’s record-low interest rates, meaning thousands of dollars more in interest cost.
I have received straight A’s in honors and Advance Placement classes my entire high school career, but my parents are not in a position to pay my college costs and I have not saved up as much money as I would like for college. I will need a student loan if I’m to attend a university.
If I do not get a scholarship, I probably will not start at a university because of the high costs involved. Is it right that in a country that provides so many open doors, that a straight-A student has one shut in his face?
Ramon Zarate
University Park
NIU No. 1 in Illinois
A recent headline on a story in the sports section indicated that Northwestern University had regained “state bragging rights” with its win over Illinois and the return of the Land of Lincoln trophy to Evanston.
Northwestern might take some pleasure out of beating a hapless football team and winning a meaningless trophy but it is not the best college football team in Illinois. That honor rightfully belongs to Northern Illinois University.
The 12-1 Huskies are ranked among the top 20 teams in the country by many polls and are going to the Orange Bowl. NIU has the longest home winning streak in the nation and has won 11 games in a row after an opening loss to Iowa. The Huskies are led by a Heisman Trophy candidate, quarterback Jordan Lynch, who is among the nation’s leaders in total yards.
This year’s success, by the way, is nothing new. NIU has won 90 games since 2002. Northwestern deserves to be congratulated on a fine season, but it is only No. 2 in the state.
Dennis Gorecki
Orland Park
