For a long time there has been an attitude in this country that we should secure for ourselves all that the system will bear. That attitude suggests to government officials, school district officials, university officials, corporate officials, athletes, entertainers and a host of others that if they can coerce the board into agreeing to their compensation packages through some form of manipulation, then they are worthy of the salaries that they have negotiated.

I have never met anyone who is worth $300,000 a year. I know people who are intelligent, hard working, honest, creative and contributing to society. They're making $40,000 a year. Those are the ones that I respect. If we don't start governing ourselves in a more honest way, we probably deserve the nationalizing of our industries and the dictating of salaries.

Steve Barnes

Sandy