What You Said About …

STATE OF THE DEMOCRATS

Philip Elliott’s Oct. 2 cover story inspired some readers to share their tips for the struggling Democratic Party. Leon Anderson of Doylestown, Pa., for example, said the party needs to look for candidates who can “electrify the electorate.” But others argued that the problem is with the system, not the party. Kyle Kinney of Boscobel, Wis., pointed to gerrymandering, while William Becker, executive director of the Presidential Climate Action Project, urged consideration of voter suppression. But Jane Calvani of Philadelphia saw a bright side for Democrats in media coverage of the party’s problems. “I see this as invigorating Dems,” she tweeted, “not defeating us!”

THE STUDENT WHO KILLED HER SON

Belinda Luscombe’s Oct. 2 piece in the View, which made the case for forgiving Michelle Jones–who made news by enrolling in a Ph.D. program after her release from prison for killing her son–sparked heated debate on social media. Tania Bradkin, a Los Angeles social worker, argued that Jones should have been portrayed primarily as a “child mother, born into poverty” who lacked resources to care for a disabled child, but Dominick Evans, a disability activist in New York City, worried that focusing on Jones rather than her son suggests that “disabled lives are not worth living.” Meanwhile, Justine Wood of Maitland, Fla., criticized Luscombe for concentrating on forgiveness. “The better first question,” she wrote, “is how can we help prevent this kind of thing from happening in the first place.”

THE INFLUENCERS

The TIME video series of unique conversations between newsmakers is back with a new season–and a new episode in which former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson (left) and Silicon Valley executive Ellen Pao bond over their battles against harassment. As Carlson put it to Pao, “You and I sort of jumped off the cliff.” Watch at time.com/influencers and hear more from Pao on page 56.

HOW SALARIES STACK UP

With a new interactive graphic from MONEY and TIME, you can compare your pay to the median people your age earn in different states. See it at time.com/salary

[This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]

AGE 22 48 65 GENDER male female female STATE La. Calif. Mass. SALARY $20,068 $48,223 $55,074

Please recycle this magazine and remove inserts or samples before recycling