Letter: Spend surplus on urgent needs

Friday, Jan. 28, 2005 | 9:10 a.m.

Regarding the $300 million state surplus that Guinn is proposing to give away through car registration rebates, here are some other proposals to think about.

Some of the surplus should be spent to install enhanced 911 emergency service in our major cities.

Guinn wants to issue $100 million worth of bonds to save the Millennium Scholarship for top-achieving high school graduates. Bright students will find their own way. Using some of the surplus money, shouldn't we ensure all children are abundantly supplied with the tools and teachers they need to get a high school education?

Also, shouldn't at least $100 million go toward better enforcement of our drug laws? Without drugs in the schools, test scores might finally start to climb.

And how about putting some of the surplus toward a program to keep problem gamblers out of casinos? And shouldn't at least $50 million be spent to uplift the homeless population? Many jobs, such as taxi driver, security guard, maid and so forth, require the payment of fees, which homeless people cannot afford. Some of the surplus could be used to subsidize those fees.

JACK KENNETH COOK