I enjoyed the letters about teachers, especially how the newer teachers are getting pink slips.

I agree, pink slips should go to low-performing or complacent teachers. I especially liked the letter from the teacher about what a tough job it is, working afterschool, etc. It's called doing your job. Teachers make more than the average family and they work only eight months.

It never ceases to amaze me that teachers complain about pay and work conditions, yet their union spends millions of dollars trying to pass or defeat propositions on almost every ballot.

If your job is so tough and your pay is so little, find a job in the private sector. They'll learn what a degree in liberal arts or general studies is worth.

Everyone is feeling the pinch. When it comes to education, however, teachers believe they should be immune to cutbacks.

One solution that works in the private sector is to give employees a choice- pinks slips for the unproductive or pay cuts for everyone. That way, unproductive employees with 20 years experience have a choice to make, find new jobs or become productive again because productive workers will always vote to cut the dead wood.

Every small business these days has been forced to make cuts somewhere to survive, and sometimes it's still not enough.

Employers are asking employees to cut back in hours. Cutting or eliminating benefits is the norm in today's environment.

I'm very confident that if every teacher agreed to take a 10 percent pay cut, the district could save nearly 50 teaching jobs. I haven't seen where the union has proposed something like that; hundreds of teachers taking a temporary cut to save 50 fellow teachers who have pink slips.

It's not politically correct to bash teachers, but as a small business owner, which is the backbone of America, I've yet to talk to any of my peers who haven't made significant cuts to survive.

Most small business owners are taking pay cuts themselves, instead of letting their employees go. The teachers union could learn a lot from Main Street U.S.A. Troy Oliver Thousand Oaks