Time to hear from you

Davon Gray
Published: July 21, 2008

Time, once again, to respond to your comments. Below is one of several responses from the article I wrote, “A new message on Black fathers.”

E-mailed Comment: Your July 14 Potomac News article “A new message on black fathers” was terrific. The truth is not always pleasant to see or hear, but it focuses attention on a problem and focus is
usually what it takes to start setting things right. Truth be known, too many fatherless homes are found in every race. The black community is fortunate in having some heavy hitters, such as Cosby and
Obama, urging change, encouraging the community as a whole to be responsible and hold these young men responsible. Having first-hand experience qualifies you to comment and you did it very well

My response: Thank you so much for mentioning this article. As I said in the column, this is an issue very close to home for me. I heard from some folks who did think Barack Obama was airing dirty
laundry to get votes. Maybe that was the case but I could care less. This is an issue that is so important, and many of our Black leaders won’t talk about. Someone has to highlight it. I really hope that
the time will come when the responsibilities of fathers, or lack thereof, no longer needs to be highlighted. By the way, let’s also not forget those fathers who are doing things right. I hope they will educate other young men, of whatever race, in the right way to do things. 

The next comment came from my July 7 column entitled, “No Time for a Tax Increase” (it referred to the potential raise in taxes by state government).

Online comment: Liberal Gov.  Tim Kaine, possible Obama’s running mate, is asking for tax increase, along with the Democrat inside the Virginia Congress. This is a time of recession when the cost of living is going to the roof.  What are they thinking?

My comment: Well, I don’t want to make this a political debate on conservative vs. liberal.  Obviously there are differences, but the point I wanted to make was that we cannot answer every transportation problem with tax increases; or, for that matter, all of our state and national problems.  We must get more creative and always keep the taxpayer’s budget in mind when creating the state’s budget.

Finally, below is a comment on the column I wrote called, “In 2009 College Affordability Should Be a Priority.”

Online comment: What we’re seeing with the escalating cost of college education is a two-fer: A Republican-driven obsession with cutting taxes, specifically for the most wealthy people, and a Republican-driven “free market” economy philosophy.

By refusing cut taxes on the top wage-earners, we are starving our public-sector of the funds needed to provide services that benefit everyone and help level the playing field between those born into wealthy families, and those born into poor families. 

By demanding a “free-market” economy, we are letting the basic rule of markets dominate; “The price of a good or service is equal to exactly as much as someone is willing to pay.” How much is a good college education worth to a person able to perform the academics required? Having the ability to gain a professional job, move up the social ladder, be all they can be? 

Answer: Whatever the college of choice demands.

The real solution is to recognize that education to the max level of a person’s talents and ability should be a basic right and something that a civilized society supports regardless of an individual’s ability
to pay “free market” rates.

Education is just one of the many social services that have languished under our present 30+ year reign of conservative-dominated government.

My Response: While I agree with your idea of maximizing education, I believe to some extent education is already a right or at least accessible in grades K-12. To me, college is advanced learning and advanced opportunity. If a child has done well in K-12, they have a great chance of obtaining a scholarship. I would love to see more dollars designated for scholarships and spread over various areas by income levels and demographics. That way the best and the brightest will have earned the right to a free education. But as for making it a right for everyone, I am not so sure that would be as appreciated. Besides people dropping out of college for financial reasons, imagine what would be the cost for folks that simply flunk out of college or go longer than four years to graduate. Would we be able to recoup the costs? 

Again thank you all who wrote comments to me. Please keep’em coming.

Davon Gray works in Washington, D.C., and resides in Woodbridge. Contact him at .