Chump change

Fortune favors the bold, so while it is important to point out the wasteful practice of manufacturing pennies at a cost of three cents each, it is literally small change (“Time to start pinching pennies,” Jan. 24).

Perhaps it will go from there to nickel and diming other items? Instead, here’s a bold proposition: The Department of Education is a relic of the Carter administration and a payoff to the teachers’ unions. Its most recent budget was around $80 billion. Since its inception, the quality of education in this country has gone down, and a woke-tinged level of interference has gone up. Get rid of it! If we want to be fortunate in our savings, we have to find bold solutions.

Andrew J. MacDonald, Fanwood, NJ

Milley’s insecurity

Disciplinary action against Gen. Mark Milley could not come soon enough (“Milley set to lose security,” Jan. 29).

Elections have consequences — and this is one of them. Milley’s unauthorized discussions with his Chinese counterpart and his public contempt and disrespect for his commander-in-chief made him insubordinate. The American people have a right to know if Milley’s behavior undermined the chain of command during President Trump’s first term and whether his DEI initiatives weakened our national security.

There is nothing vindictive about wanting to know whether our unelected officials are keeping their promise to uphold the Constitution and to serve the American people without prejudice.

Michael D’Auria, Bronxville

Worthy protest

It is time to stop blaming protesters and climate activists for their tactics of civil disobedience (“Sigourney Weaver live performance disrupted as confetti-shooting eco-protesters storm the stage,” Jan. 28).

This includes whether we agree or not with their tactics of civil disobedience. There is too much at stake. Last year (2024) was the first full year the planet exceeded the 1.5 degree “safe limit” set by the Paris Agreement 10 years ago.

We continue to head in the wrong direction. So instead of moral outrage and focusing on being nice and polite, the lesson from this protest is that it is time to shift gears in our response to the climate disaster. Demand Congress not vote for anti-climate legislation.

Katherine Hess, Tucson, Ariz.

Teacher betrayal

It is extremely troubling to me that more than 1,000 New York City educators engaged in sexual misconduct with students (“Sexual ‘contact’ at HS,” Jan. 26).

The fact that these adults were allowed to teach for so long, enabling their actions to escalate into child sexual abuse, is a systemic failure of terrible proportions.

Diane Pagen, Brooklyn

Oppression pricing

What to do if the Trump administration halts congestion pricing (“Toll foe eyed as fed transit big,” Jan. 29)?

Reclaim the $700 million or more being siphoned off elsewhere. The real reason behind “congestion pricing” is deliberately hidden — it’s about MTA funding, not reducing traffic.

The truth is that the system loses over $700 million a year due to fare evasion, a crisis fueled by a misguided “social justice” approach that discourages enforcement.

New York’s weak justice system refuses to act, leaving honest citizens to pay the price while crime thrives. Former NYPD Commissioners Bill Bratton and Ray Kelly were right: Fare evasion fuels crime.

Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, Great Neck

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