JOBS VS WAR ON DRUGS

To the Editor:

In denying a teaching certificate to Jose Luis Arrocha, a man with a
12-year-old minor drug sale on his record, the New York State Court of
Appeals and the New York City Board of Education are failing both Mr.
Arrocha and our children (news article, May 7). Mr. Arrocha did his time and
recovered from the drug problem that nearly claimed his life.

What message does it send to children to deny someone who has worked hard to
rehabilitate himself a chance to share his wisdom with others?
HOWARD JOSEPHER
New York
May 11, 1999

To the Editor:
Your May 9 Week in Review analysis of low unemployment in the United States
compared with other industrialized countries overlooks a key factor: United
States rates of incarceration are 5 to 10 times those of other
industrialized countries.

Incorporating these figures into unemployment calculations raises male
unemployment rates by two percentage points and black male rates by seven
points.

High rates of imprisonment affect labor-market issues in other ways as well.
A prison record reduces one's prospects of finding gainful employment,
but, conversely, the vast expansion of the prison system in the past
quarter century has created a surging area of employment for prison
guards, construction workers and associated services.

MARC MAUER
Washington
May 12, 1999