I knew I was in trouble when my raise, which I received midway through last year, didn't even cover the rate of inflation. Now, as I view my investment statements for the first quarter, I'm downright scared.

If misery loves company, I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way ("Feeling Stuck in the Middle Class," April 10). At some point, something is going to give, and that's what worries me the most. I'm not looking for any politician to help me. I'm not one who thinks this presidential election is all that important. Those inside the beltway are clueless and are out of touch with real America.

Local politicians don't get it either. In Mercer County, school districts are conducting multimillion-dollar renovations to their schools while enrollment is projected to decrease steadily over the next 10 years. God forbid we should consolidate a school or two and save the taxpayers some money.

The best we can do is tighten our belts and hope for the best.

STEVE HESSMANN
Mercer

---

Referring to Page A-2 of the April 9 PG, I found it very interesting plus quite disturbing when you see the contents of the news brief "Food Riot in Haiti" (that people in the 21st century have to literally eat dirt) and to the right of that item, Reg Henry's column about the All-You-Can-Eat seats at PNC Park and the amount of food available ("If We Don't Burst It's a Shame"). There is something so terribly wrong with this "picture."

I know the United States is a hugely developed country compared with many Third World nations, but under no circumstances should anyone anywhere have no food to eat.

A plea to the people in the know, in command, in a position to do something: Please use some of the monies that are wasted here in the United States (i.e., government, political campaigns, outrageous salaries, etc.) to help your fellow man, woman and child. Help make the "picture" right.

RHONDA NORMAN
Ellwood City

---

My morning oatmeal tasted like sand after I read this on Page One of the April 11 PG: "Bush Stands by His War Policy: Says He Will Give Gen. Petraeus 'All the Time He Needs' to Decide When to Reduce Troops in Iraq."

He? King George ... Dictator Bush?

Where are the checks and balances that protect democracy, which I recall learning about in grade school? Where is the outrage in Congress at this imperious president who has not only eviscerated our Constitution but has also violated American values by condoning, even promoting, torture. We are now a nation that tortures. I blush with shame at what being American means today.

All the while, we and our alleged leaders stand by almost silently, as Bush and his henchmen lead other people's children to slaughter -- ours and theirs. I'll vote for the candidate who raises his or her voice loudly to proclaim: "Enough!"

EILEEN COLIANNI
Oakmont

---

Your March 31 editorial "Coming Crunch" on national fiscal responsibility omitted the elephant in the room, the wars and military spending. Although the Iraq war is "off budget," we still have to pay for it -- all $3 trillion.

The United States is spending more on defense than the next 15 countries in the world combined. Yes, it creates jobs, like building the Crusher here in Pittsburgh, the robot that will allow long-distance killing without soldiers knowing whom they killed.

However, an equal amount of federal money could create more jobs if spent on building bridges, housing, education, health care, renewable energy, reducing global warming, etc., at the same time making life better and safer, instead of worse.

Since war profiteers are huge contributors to politicians' campaign chests, it will be a struggle to cut money from the military industry.

The same goes for attaining the most cost-efficient health-care system, a single-payer system, because insurance companies are major campaign contributors. Both changes would help our economy.

Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton? The senators could settle their contest swiftly by decisive opinions on cuts in military spending and a total pullout from Iraq, committing to reinvestment in the U.S. infrastructure. The majority of Americans support an immediate withdrawal and will vote accordingly.

EDITH BELL
Highland Park

---

The state of Pittsburgh's road system is deplorable. Every day I find myself swerving around and inevitably driving over massive holes in the road all over the city, waiting for the depressing feeling of a flat tire. I am originally from Minnesota, which has far worse weather than Western Pennsylvania, and the pothole situation there was never as bad.

I'm not sure if it's a byproduct of the machine politics of Pittsburgh, or what the reason is, but something needs to be done about it.

SEAN ADDIE
Greenfield

---

In the article about changes in voting registration numbers in various parts of Pennsylvania ("County Voter Registration Brisk But Not a Record," April 8), political consultant William J. Green is quoted as saying: "The fact that we may set records is amazing given that we have lost population in this state."

But facts are stubborn things. Pennsylvania has not lost population. Pennsylvania's population is best described as growing slowly. In 1960 Pennsylvania had 11,319,366 people. Every census since 1960 has recorded a higher population than the prior census. The 2007 census estimate for Pennsylvania's population was 12,432,792, or more than 1.1 million higher than in 1960.

HEATHER SAGE
Lawrenceville

---

Regarding the proposed marriage amendment, I am so tired of people trying to hide their hatred and bigotry behind "faith" and the "Bible," neither of which have a place in law. Professions of love and forgiveness are hollow declarations when followed by such a revolting amendment.

Pennsylvanians who support this bigotry do not deserve to call themselves residents of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Or maybe we should all go back to school and take a civics class to understand the significance of William Penn's intention of freedom of religious conviction.

CYNTHIA L. SPANNUTH
Upper St. Clair

---

We receive more letters than we can fit into the limited space on the editorial page, so we'd like to share some additional letters with our Post-Gazette Web site readers.

---

Wily subterfuge ... bringing Gen. David Petraeus before Congress was a very transparent ruse to avoid the harsh scrutiny a secretary of state might face ("Petraeus Seeks Lull in Troop Pullout," April 9). Americans do not like their generals to be pummelled. Politicians make policy in our form of government, not four-star generals.

It was a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing.

HARVEY GOTTSHALL
Connellsville

---

Regarding the April 5 Paul Krugman column ("Voodoo Health-onomics"): I have reviewed all the health-care proposals, and the title of this article can be applied to all three of the current presidential candidates. Shifting the responsibility to pay for health care to the taxpayers does not reduce health-care costs.

A lot has been made of the high cost of health care in the United States, $5,711 per captia versus an average of $3,349 for Canada, Germany, France and Switzerland in 2004. If you use 2008 currency exchange rates the average number increases to $4,332.

When you consider the fact that the United States has almost three times the number of obese adults (32 percent versus an average of 12 percent); 2 1/2 times the prevalence of HIV (508 per 100,000 versus 205) and almost double the traffic death rate and probably a corresponding traffic injury rate ratio (15 per 100,000 versus 8), it might even turn out that our system is more efficient. Not to mention the fact that I suspect that we have much higher incidents of breast implants, facelifts, tummy tucks, etc., and injuries from violence.

The quality of care numbers are equally suspect because they do not consider the ethnic diversity and overall health of the population of the United States compared with these other countries. There is also an issue of restricted access (denied insurance coverage in the United States versus long waiting times in these other countries) that needs to be quantified.

I agree that our health-care system can and should be improved, but we need to determine the real factors affecting health-care costs and quality before we change the system.

LARRY DUNCAN
Cranberry

---

Are there grounds for further legal pursuit of former Allegheny County Coroner Dr. Cyril Wecht? While in the end this must be a legal issue, the question has now become a matter for public concern. Having heard more than 40 prosecution witnesses (no defense witnesses -- Dr. Wecht's attorney did not think defense testimony necessary), a jury could not bring in a guilty verdict on even a single count. The doctor had been accused of "corruption" -- that sinister word -- but my worst-case reading of the matter is that it's an accounting issue.

Yet U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan wants to prosecute all over again ("Many Questions Surround Wecht Retrial, Set for May," April 9).

I am a biographer and former BBC journalist, and my interest in Dr. Wecht relates solely to the scientific evidence in the President Kennedy assassination case, a preoccupation of his. It's been my observation that the man is a brilliant forensic scientist (which doesn't mean he's always right) but not a man preoccupied with feathering his own nest. Unless I'm a lousy judge of character, this man is no crook.

Time, perhaps, to leave him alone -- not pour more taxpayer dollars into what may be another failed prosecution.

ANTHONY SUMMERS
County Waterford, Ireland

---

Barack Obama's latest verbal gaffe regarding small-town Pennsylvanians is as revealing as it is insulting. The long wait for the Pennsylvania primary has been instrumental in our understanding of Obama being something more than a sharp motivational speaker who's disturbingly vague about details.

In no other public statement has Obama's liberal elitist slant been more revealed than in his comments about small-town Pennsylvanians at a private fund-raiser in San Francisco:

Obama: "It's not surprising, then, [small-town Pennsylvanians] get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

First, it's interesting that Obama views our Second Amendment rights as merely something "clinged to" out of our own bitterness and frustration. The funny thing is that most small-town Pennsylvanians actually have a family heritage of teaching gun responsibility for hunting, usually passed down from father to child, and done so legally. We respect firearms and the right to use them. I'd take that over the "gun responsibility" shown by the constituents of Obama's beloved South Side of Chicago.

I also suppose we cling to our Christian faith out of "bitterness" too? That's terribly interesting, because how hard would it be to even try to find a church more steeped in bitterness than the one Mr. Obama attends, as revealed by his "mentor" pastor Jeremiah Wright? I suppose Barack Obama has no sense of irony.

As it pertains to his views on illegal immigration, I suppose Obama would like to focus on our bitterness and not our logic in our disapproval of U.S. border security (or lack thereof). I guess small-town Pennsylvanians are dumb and provincial for our realization of what granting illegals 10 million-plus citizenships along with tax-funded entitlements would further do to our economy, to say nothing of blatantly rewarding illegal behavior. I guess basic math is calculated much differently among Chicago marxocrats than it is with us more provincial, backwoods folks here in Pa.?

Thank you, Mr. Obama. I'm not bitter. I'm just not voting for you.

Signed, Small-town Pennsylvanian,

SCOTT HEMPHILL
Burgettstown

---

Consistent with the report in "For Many Older Voters, It's All About 'Experience' " (March 30): I've talked to a few older Pennsylvanians, who emphasize the experience issue, about the Democratic candidates for president. At age 60 I count myself in the "older" category, but I see the relative experiences of the candidates differently.

Sen. Barack Obama, in fact, has by far the most diverse and continuous experience in helping people of all ages who have been impacted by economic downturns, poor corporate decisions or poor government policies. This began in Chicago in 1985 where Sen. Obama became a community organizer and where he returned in 1991 after getting his Harvard law degree.

He was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1996 and distinguished himself as a legislator who could bring all sides together to get things done. Much of the legislation he got past dealt with ethics and health care. Because of this, he is the one candidate in the race with a proven record of doing something about health care.

He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004 and again got major legislation passed on ethics and transparency.

Throughout the entire primary race, Sen. Obama has proved to be the better organizer. Experience doesn't mean a thing unless it can be used to get things done, and Sen. Obama has a consistent track record of getting things done since 1985. Sen. Obama has also outplanned and outperformed Sen. Clinton at nearly every step in the campaign. He is the more experienced candidate.

ROBERT J. REILAND
O'Hara

---

Pennsylvania Democrats face a monumental decision on April 22 -- one that could determine the course of the 2008 presidential election. The good news is that we have two incredibly brilliant candidates with progressive agendas and plans, which, if implemented, would benefit Pennsylvanians and all Americans. They both address a responsible withdrawal from Iraq, a comprehensive fiscal plan for the economy, universal health care (though Sen. Clinton's plan covers more people than Sen. Obama's) and educational opportunities for all Americans! The bad news is that we are veering toward divisiveness that could hurt the party in 2008.

When we vote on April 22, we must consider which of the candidates has the know-how to implement these very critical plans. Let's be practical -- in order to pass legislation, "deals" must be struck between the executive branch and Congress. We all crave change in Washington, and some seats may change in the House and Senate toward more progressive bodies, but the policy changes we need will not be easy to convert to law.

Sen. Clinton has spent eight years immersed in the executive branch and seven in the legislative branch compared to Sen. Obama's three years in the legislative branch. Sen. Clinton knows when to use carrots and when to use sticks to get things done and which to apply to whom. Some use this against her as "old Washington," but Washington is not going to magically change overnight no matter who is elected president. Pennsylvanians and Americans desperately need and want change. Let's elect Hillary Clinton, someone who is tough enough and skilled enough to get it done!

MINDY S. FLEISHMAN
Squirrel Hill

---

The scope of what comes out of Sen. Clinton's campaign is appalling. What really sent me reeling was an ad targeted to Ohio voters that said, "She understands. She's worked the night shift, too."

I have been working in various manufacturing firms since 1971 with more than 20 years of working a three-shift rotating schedule. Her characterization of being a shift worker in her Senate job is a slap in the face to every working man and woman in the country.

She and Bill have no concept of what it's like to work this kind of job. Now she rolls into Pennsylvania and says "Pittsburgh went through some tough times, but now you've come roaring back!" Someone needs to take her by the hand and drag her through the Mon Valley. It used to be one of the biggest industrial complexes in the world. Now it's a ghost town of abandoned factories.

The only jobs our governor and high-paid legislators are concerned with are those benefiting millionaire sports people. We have teenage African Americans shooting each other. Why? Because the only job they can look forward to is dealing drugs.

How middle-class working people can be duped by Sen. Clinton and her husband is shocking. These two will say anything in their quest for ambition and power. They could care less about American working people.

JOHN MULHERAN
Finleyville

---

We welcome your letters. Please include your name, address and phone number, and send to Letters to the Editor, 34 Blvd. of the Allies, Pittsburgh 15222. E-mail letters to letters@post-gazette.com or fax to 412-263-2014. Letters should be 250 words or less, original and exclusive to the Post-Gazette. All letters are subject to editing for length, clarity and accuracy and will be verified before being published.