PUBLIC FORUM.

Fast track 405?

Re ``Governor accelerates 405 car-pool project'' (Jan. 14):

I had to laugh out loud when I read politicians from both parties celebrating the ``fast track'' of the 405 Freeway car-pool lane. Now they're going to start the work in 2009. Boy, that soon? Tell me why it takes almost four years to figure out who should pour a single lane of concrete?

An additional lane on the 405 might add 16 percent capacity. Even if the traffic growth rate is only 3 percent per year, when it's finished in 2012, we'll have over 20 percent more traffic than today. The end result will be traffic worse than it is today. How about starting the lane in 2006 and finishing it in 2007? That's my definition of fast track.

- Michael Strawn

Pasadena

Where is our slice?

Re ``Hotel plan back to life'' (Jan 13):

I see that the city is giving a $300 million subsidy toward the construction of a new hotel downtown. I'm curious as to what the $300 million the city will be giving the San Fernando Valley will be spent on. Perhaps upgrading or maintenance on police and fire facilities, a new park or swimming pool; but do it now so we don't have to spend more new tax dollars on some future bond issue. I mean, the Valley is gonna get something besides the shaft this time, right?

- Mike Leptuch

Pacoima

Negative budget

Re ``Analyst: Arnold's budget flawed'' (Jan. 13):

Please tell me what math system is being used to analyze the California budget. I'm stumped with my meager engineering and graduate school courses. The numbers are pretty simple; $125 billion for the next fiscal year, but the analysis from Sacramento is that this is a reduction (Shall I dare to use the word ``austerity''?) in spending.

Last year the budget was $115 billion and the year before $103 billion. Help me, please, because I want to use the same technique for my budget but can't quite get the hang of it. I keep on coming up with a negative number, a very big negative number.

- Bob Driscoll

Woodland Hills

All our money

Well, the Board of Supervisors and the mayor gave money to the homeless in our city. I find it hard to believe that they can't give more. If these officials gave all the money they spend on programs for the illegal immigrants, the homeless problem in our city could be solved.

They would probably have more than enough money to build houses for each of these homeless persons with money left over if they did things right, instead of misusing all our tax money.

- Edward Elks

Panorama City

Exclude this

Re ``Inflation rise in '05 low'' (Business, Jan. 14):

The Labor Department reports that if one excludes energy and food, inflation was just 1.7 percent for 2005. When I tried that, the darn car ran out of gas, the house got cold and I was really hungry.

- Richard Buratti

Northridge

Inflation errors

Re ``Inflation rise in '05 low'' (Jan 15):

Both the federal government and the Daily News are incompetently reporting the real inflation rate. You have printed a contradictory article stating that wholesale prices rose by 5.7 percent, but core inflation rose just 1.7 percent. At the same time, the Social Security Administration is providing retirees with a 4.1 percent COLA based upon the consumer price index.

What is core inflation if it does not include the cost of energy and food? This is a manipulated number that tries to measure the movement of inflation without being affected by daily or weekly events that will distort the overall trend. Since energy and food prices tend to be more volatile than most, the government has chosen to ignore those items entirely in computing core inflation. By using this manipulated inflation rate our government is attempting to convince us that inflation really isn't so bad after all.

- Don Evans

Canoga Park

Labor shortage 

Re ``Labor shortage forecast for U.S.'' (Business, Jan. 5):

The implication there is a shortage of labor in the U.S. and we need to import foreign workers is absurd. The real problem is there are too many companies not willing to pay for the labor force that does exist. It's absurd for companies to require BA/BS degrees when AA/AS-degreed people exist and can do the same job.

I resent that these same companies only want to pay ``fast-food'' wages for degreed people. I really think the only ``bottom line'' CEOs and CFOs worry about is the one that runs vertically on them.

- Chris Dellheim

Simi Valley 

Biker Arnold

Re ``Bad example'' (Editorial, Jan. 13):

The Daily News wrote that Arnold Schwarzenegger should not be ``above the law,'' in that he didn't get a ticket for not having the motorcycle endorsement on his license. If what I read elsewhere is correct, Arnold was riding a motorcycle with a sidecar and apparently, according to the DMV, it is not a ``motorcycle'' that requires the motorcycle endorsement.

- Graham Campbell

Calabasas

Exit exams

Re ``Angst over exit exams'' (Jan 15):

I do have a little sympathy for those students who have to ``cram,'' but that just means that they hadn't learned the subject when it was initially taught. This is also a reflection on the school system and its teaching methods. I ``tested'' my 13-year-old daughter on the questions posted in the paper and she knew the answers to every ``writing'' category question without hesitation. The solution isn't ``cramming,'' the problem isn't ``testing'' and the answer isn't about money.

- Mark S. Ditko

Sylmar

The bill, please

Re ``Price tag on war: $2 trillion'' (Jan. 14):

Most of us have little experience with numbers as large as $2 trillion. With a soon-to-be-achieved 300 million U.S. residents, the average per- capita cost of the Iraq war on Saturday's estimate would be $6,667 or for a family of four $26,667. Of course this is an average and some who were heavily invested in military suppliers or Halliburton or Bechtel may do much better.

Meanwhile, our rulers in pursuit of their imperial ambitions are drawing up contingency plans for our next military adventure in Iran or Syria or North Korea or China. It would be wise for average Americans to reflect that it does affect us significantly who is elected to high office.

- William H. Forthman

Northridge

War price tag

Re ``Price tag on war: $2 trillion'' (Jan. 14):

It is reported in the Daily News that the price tag on the war in Iraq so far is $2 trillion. Do you know how much money that is? Consider this: If I give you a crisp new $1 bill every second of every hour of every day of the year, nonstop, it would take me almost 6,342 years to pay you the $2 trillion.

- Ray P. Keesler

La Crescenta

Republican scandal

Re ``GOP tries to spread the blame'' (Their Opinions, Jan. 16):

It's an indication of just how bad the Republican sleaze scandal has become when even Rich Lowry says that they have no one to blame but themselves. I couldn't believe it when Newt Gingrich, (one of the ``Kings of Corruption'') suggested that the Republicans need to find ways to prevent corruption in Washington.

The Democrats are running to see if their closets are clean, and the Republicans are scurrying around like insects that've been deprived of their rock.

- Jennifer Rabuchin

Burbank

Mean that averages

Re ``Math and writing tests'' (Jan. 15):

I was shocked when I discovered that mean (median) has evolved into average. For over 70 years I was under the impression that when you have three numbers such as 65, 73 and 90 the mean was 73 and the average was 76. Now in my senior years I learn that I was wrong?

- Bill Zelenka

Granada Hills