African runners regularly work out in the United States and Europe, and the International Olympic Committee sends some of the cash from the Games to Olympic committees in poor nations, which use the money to finance their own programs.

It is an outrage that the United States seeks its development by stepping on the poor and less-developed nations.

I don't know that there is much the United States can do except work with the international community.

To be able to live and work in the United States is a privilege.

I'd rather see the United States as a beacon of good work and good citizenship, rather than as #1 on some international educational measurement.

If we want to protect our status as (the best) place in the United States to be educated, to work and to enjoy life, there are some things we need to get serious about. Infrastructure challenges are way up there. We can't continue to live off the past in terms of upgrading this great state.