This Social Security 'cure' would create more problems
In his March 8 letter ("We Will Strengthen Social Security, Not Dismantle It"), Sen. Rick Santorum correctly urges that we act to strengthen Social Security financing. However his cure -- privatization -- is muc h worse than the disease. Private accounts would require massive borrowing to pay for transition costs and entail reductions in lifetime benefits by as much as 40 percent.

Social Security provides lifetime guaranteed benefits to retirees, disabled workers and the survivors of deceased workers -- which includes 4 million children. Privatization exposes working families to the risks and uncertainties of the stock market. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that transition costs of privatization would require $4.9 trillion in additional borrowing.

Most Americans support raising or eliminating the cap of $90,000 on income taxed to strengthen Social Security for future generations. Lifting the cap would erase 113 percent of the deficit projected over the next 75 years without any reductions in benefits. Sen. Santorum adamantly rejects eliminating or raising the cap. His compassion for the problems of the wealthy is always touching. But someone earning $25,000 a year pays 6.2 percent of income into Social Security. Why then should someone earning $186,000 pay only 3 percent and someone earning $558,000 pay only 1 percent?

Sen. Santorum should be concerned about the long-term ability of the Treasury to redeem the bonds held by Social Security. But the last thing he should be doing is supporting President Bush's new tax cuts for the wealthy and to make permanent the ones enacted in 2001 and 2003. We should be eliminating the gigantic budget deficits and pay back the money that has been borrowed from the Social Security Trust Fund.

Without Social Security half of Pennsylvanians over 65 would live in poverty, but with it only 7 percent are reduced to that status. It is disturbing that Sen. Santorum would invite retirees, their children and grandchildren to risk poverty with reductions in Social Security benefits and by gambling a large portion of their benefits in the stock market.

WILLIAM M. GEORGE
President
Pennsylvania AFL-CIO
Harrisburg

---

They deserve better
Your March 17 editorial states it is time to eliminate the Irish Republican Army from the list of players in the Northern Irish conflict ("Irish Terrors: It's Time to Scrap the IRA and the Militias"). Isn't it more honest to state that there should never have been a need for the IRA to exist in the first place?

The conditions that spawned the IRA resulted from oppression, brutality and discrimination against a people who had been treated worse than second-class citizens under British rule for decades. Twenty-six Irish counties gained self-determination but not the six counties partitioned by Britain. Northern Ireland does not have a functioning representative government, and the United States and every government in Western Europe should be embarrassed by this inequity.

If we support democracy in other parts of the world, then why not in Northern Ireland? President Clinton set a standard by brokering the Good Friday Agreement, but the Bush administration did not commit the same intensity and commitment to the peace process and it has foundered on foot-dragging, mistrust and corruption.

Ireland is on my mind and in my prayers every day. I have worked for and supported the peace process because the people who live in these six counties deserve better than what they have right now. A real act of faith would be restoring the Assembly and letting the people govern themselves. They can elect or throw out the politicians as they see fit. If true democracy is given a chance, the political parties must heed the will of the electorate. Only then will paramilitarism become irrelevant.

SARAH McAULIFFE-BELLIN
Stanton Heights

Editor's note: The writer is an officer of the Irish American Unity Conference.

---

Stop dreaming
It is embarrassing to read that our political leaders still do not understand the laws of supply and demand.

With the multiplicity of shopping venues in Allegheny County, stretching from McCandless in the north to Robinson in the west and Monroeville to the east, the shoppers in this area have a tremendous choice of stores with ample parking.

To believe that rejuvenating Pittsburgh's Downtown area will create a magnet and compete with the suburbs for the disposable income of suburbanites is unrealistic ("City Prepares Another Try at Fifth-Forbes," March 19). Adding 800 apartments is a drop in the bucket to counterbalance the commuter population. The taxpayer has already suffered great losses in the failed upgrade investments made by Mayor Tom Murphy. It is time to stop dreaming.

It should also be noted that Pittsburgh is no longer the business office hub it once was. Witness the growth in office space in the suburbs. The old factories and warehouses are not being converted to office space. One suspects that a Downtown location is no longer attractive to office tenants.

Pittsburgh should concentrate on its excellent entertainment and cultural facilities. Let us foster their growth. They attract patrons mostly in the evening or at night, when parking is not a problem. If you insist on spending money on construction, build a parking garage in the Strip District.

JOHN A. FITZGERALD
West Deer

---

Fruitful retirement
I agree with William Ecenbarger that retirement for some of us is an end to work ("Retirement: An Unnatural Act," March 6 Forum). However, he is fortunate -- he can practice his craft as long as people want to read what he writes. Some of us are not in that position. We can't bring back the past and work until we're incapacitated, as Mr. Ecenbarger proposes; therefore, we must deal with the present.

Regarding the Tennyson quote "How dull it is to pause, to make an end, to rust unburnished, not to shine in use!": Personally, life is neither dull nor am I rusting unburnished and useless. There's a vast amount of worthwhile volunteer work out there, classes to attend at our universities, travel and family and friendships to be shared. And best of all, there's that precious commodity: time.

I do agree with Mr. Ecenbarger that "we derive our sense of worth from what we do, not from what we don't do." Whether it be work or play, as long as we remain healthy and have a few bucks to spend, I too say "long live living." The best years of our lives are what we ourselves make the best years of our lives.

LOIS HELD
Whitehall

---

About the Iditarod
I totally disagree with Margery Glickman's letter, "The Cruel Iditarod" (March 17). For some years I had been a very proud member of the Iditarod Trail Committee. I was involved with the Iditarod and some mushers. Therefore, I know how the Iditarod is operated, and also about the mushers and their dogs.

My daughter, who lived in Anchorage, Alaska, for seven years, was involved in the Iditarod. She helped test the dogs for drugs and to see that they were in good condition. She worked at a veterinary hospital.

Veterinarians are stationed at designated stops to check the dogs to make sure they are in good physical condition. If they are not physically fit, they are removed from the race.

There is a unique bond between the mushers and their dogs. I have talked with the mushers and have seen their wonderful dogs. And I have learned about the training of the dogs and the care they receive.

It is important that this great race continues. It is highly supervised and the Alaskan dogs love to race.

RAY F. DIVELY
Baden

---

Children under 5 need more unstructured play, not academics
I was distressed to see the March 13 article "Academic Jump-Start: Classes for Kids 2 to 5." While staff writer Sally Kalson mentioned that some experts are troubled by the emphasis on academics at a young age, she did not mention that almost all current research completely discourages academics at this age.

Children should be engaging in unstructured play. Unstructured play is child directed, not adult directed. Research shows that this type of play is as important as food, shelter, sleep and love. Lack of play causes violent and anti-social behavior as well as repressed emotions, poor social skills and a risk of obesity. Every child in our community is at risk due to society's need to "jump start" our children. Young children under the age of 5 are not mentally, emotionally, socially, physically or cognitively ready for group activities (like soccer, dance or academic study).

National guidelines recommend that toddler and preschool children engage in active play for one to three hours each day. Play does not include TV, computers, videos or worksheets. Because of lack of play, this is the first generation that might not live as long as the generation before it. Poor diet and inactivity are close to overtaking cigarette smoking as the No. 1 leading cause of preventable deaths.

We need to get our children playing. Our community is rich with parks, museums and playspaces that make great places to play. Children at the age of 3 should be there and not ever doing flashcards and tracing letters.

MARA KAPLAN
CEO
Center for Creative Play
Swissvale