| Thank-you,
Civic Skinny; no thanks to Register for price
hike
Thank you for your comments about the The Des
Moines Register’s price hike in the Civic Skinny
column. I was one of the (apparently many) people
who sent an email after their price hike debacle
requesting that you take them on. Thanks again
and keep up the good work!
Dale Engle
Des Moines
Romney knows nothing about true welfare
reform
Everyone acts like welfare reform was all about
sending mothers into the workforce and alone
provide for the children. Welfare reform was
about holding both parents responsible for the
children. It contained historic child support
enforcement tools that states such as Iowa are
ignoring. In 1998 President Bill Clinton signed
into law the Deadbeat Parent Punishment Act
to go after deadbeat parents (mostly dads) who
cross state lines to avoid paying their legal
and moral obligations to their children. Again
it does little good when the U.S. attorneys
refuse to apply the law to qualifying cases.
In Iowa about one-billion dollars are owed to
children by deadbeats, and demanding that the
state enforces the court-ordered child support
obligations gets one nowhere. One mother, who
is owed more than $11,000 in back support on
behalf of her 5-year-old daughter, received
intimidating calls from the state agency accusing
her of being vindictive for just wanting the
father to go to jail! They had earlier told
her that when the father received social security
payments (in about 30 years), she would receive
more money. Until then she should be satisfied
with what she received.
But the Welfare Reform Bill was a success according
to Mitt Romney? With around 103-billion dollars
owed to children nationwide in back court-ordered
child support by deadbeat parents? I guess,
perhaps, if one ignores the part that both parents
are responsible for their children.
Maja Rater
Casey
CORRECTIONS:
Valley Junction is not producing a Quilt Walk
this year as was indicated in the “Art” section
of the “Fall Arts and Entertainment Guide” (Aug.
23).
In the “Outdoors” section of that same issue,
the dates were misprinted for Oktoberfest, which
actually takes place downtown from Sept. 28-29.
Also, Ron Lambert is the artistic director at
StageWest. The article “StageWest gets ‘Evil’
with upcoming musical” (“Fall Arts and Entertainment
Guide,” Aug. 23) references Ron Gilbert, who
is actually the former Scriptease director.
We apologize for these errors. | 
