Readers Write: Minnesota’s economy, Walz and China, charter schools, another kind of childless lady

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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The challenge presented by Andy Brehm’s commentary about how adjusted gross income seems to be leaving the state is to know where to start (”Why is this much wealth leaving Minnesota?” Strib Voices, Sept. 20). For one thing, does he have observers at the border counting the dollar bills leaving the state? Given the fact that Minnesota is running budget surpluses, is lack of adjusted gross income really a problem that should drive policy? And while those dollars Brehm envisions are poised at the border preparing to depart the Gopher State, would their owners be more likely to keep them here if we made the cuts in things like schools and health care his policy suggestions would set in motion?

I admit, I lack Brehm’s omniscience. Extremely raw and complex revenue numbers taken utterly out of context do not speak to me in the way they seem to speak to him. I can’t look at tax figures and discern the desires and motivations of those who pay them. But what I do have is a sense that Minnesota is a pretty wealthy state, one with all the major sports teams and a pretty good symphony orchestra. With all our faults, and they are legion, I have made the decision to stay in this wonderful state, and also, I would note, so has Andy Brehm.

Jon Miners, Crystal

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I appreciated Minnesota Chamber of Commerce CEO and President Doug Loon’s measured and thoughtful comments about the Minnesota economy (“Oversimplified views on the Minnesota economy are misleading,” Strib Voices, Sept. 18).

A variety of factors beyond those related to our economy support our collective ability to lead lives of satisfaction and fulfillment. For the future, one will be our ability to manage the changes in the climate.

As Loon suggests, the “climate” for business is affected by a variety of economic factors that raise other questions:

I am confident that if we continue to balance competing interests as we grapple with issues like these — and maintain a thoughtful and measured approach — Minnesota will continue to have a healthy environment and robust economy.

Brian H. Miller, St. Paul

I am responding to the article in the Minnesota Star Tribune “GOP suspicious of Walz’s teaching trips to China,” (Sept. 18). I read it a number of times for I was fascinated and impressed with Gov. Tim Walz’s interest and dedication to teaching in China as well as organizing many study groups and exchange programs for students. I was stunned to read the Republican-led House Oversight Committee has launched a probe into Walz’s activities over many years in order to find a way to attack him.

I share Walz’s interest in China. My first trip to China was in 1987 with three women faculty members at Normandale Community College. The Chinese people we met were so receptive to us. We didn’t feel the need to have a guide, for we had our guidebooks, and at every hotel we stayed in we would find someone to take us to places we wanted to visit. That experience inspired me to want to go back. I didn’t get the opportunity until 2006 when a colleague who shared my interest organized a 12-day visit to China with 22 people, which included students as well as community members. How did that experience compare with 1987? For me, it was the same in that Chinese people we associated with welcomed us with open arms and were so helpful in guiding us when we needed their help. There never was any political tension, and we felt so accepted everywhere we went.

A highlight, after visiting many places, was going to a performance at the Tang Dynasty theater in Xian when, surprisingly, the leader of the theater came to where our group was seated and invited all 22 of us to follow him to the stage and be photographed with the actors and musicians.

I have had a fascination with China since I was a child since missionaries to China lived with us. And as a child I learned to sing a number of gospel songs in Chinese.

Thank you to Walz for all the many activities he initiated in China.

Gloria M. Aronson, Bloomington

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The GOP attack on Walz’s teaching English in China three decades ago is a laughable example of political tilting at windmills. I also taught in China during that time, when our two countries were seeking improved understanding and better relations with each other. Has today’s GOP forgotten that it was former Republican President Richard Nixon who initiated these efforts? Does the GOP also intend to investigate Nixon?

Craig Shulstad, Minneapolis

As a parent of a charter school student and chair of a charter’s board, I’d like to respond to the Star Tribune’s Sept. 15 piece “‘They promised they would be better schools.’”

Charters are an easy target in a complex system. Unfortunately the system is rigged to produce winners and losers in a zero-sum game in which home districts lose if students move to a charter — a setup devised by the Legislature. We could fund both well if we wanted to.

It is patently false to claim that “financial oversight of these taxpayer-supported schools is almost nonexistent.” The Minnesota Department of Education exerts rigorous oversight of our charter school’s finances, as does our authorizer. We review our finances in detail every month and are audited annually.

Test scores are an insufficient way to measure a school’s success. Most charter students come to us after the traditional public school system has already failed them. In fact, traditional public education has failed Minnesota’s students of color and students with disabilities for decades. To expect test scores not to reflect that is unrealistic. But if you want to rely on test scores, why did the Strib fail to mention that based on test scores, six out of the top 10 performing schools in Minnesota are charters?

Our family went through hell trying to get our home district to meet our child’s educational needs; it could not. The charter we found has rerouted the trajectory of our child’s life. Are there problems with charter schools? Of course there are. There are problems with education. Baby/bathwater.

Ann Wiesner, Minnetonka

Did I read and hear that Sen. JD Vance has a connection to Catholicism?

Was he educated in the Catholic faith?

Is he aware of the contributions of the Sisters of Charity, the Sisters of Mercy, the Sisters of St. Joseph (my beloved community), among other religious communities in his native Ohio, regarding the establishment of health care, educational, social justice institutions and services provided by these outstanding communities of Catholic sisters? And these communities of Catholic sisters continue to provide leadership in social justice issues!

Perhaps JD needs to acquaint and educate himself about the nationwide societal contributions of these communities of Catholic sisters as we work to provide a just society for those who need it most.

Mary E. Kraft, St. Paul

The writer is a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province.