‘Socialized medicine’ is in the eye of the beholder
‘Socialized medicine’ is in the eye of the beholder
EDITOR:
As we move closer to a vote on any of the five health care bills that are currently in the House or Senate, it seems to be a good time to squash one of the arguments that some have made. This is the point that either ill-informed, uninformed, or misinformed people make. That is the point of socialized medicine. Many don’t want uninsured Americans to have the type of insurance that already over 25 percent of other Americans enjoy. You see we already have socialized medicine in this country in the form of Social Security, Medicare, and Veterans Administration. Many people receive benefits from Social Security and one of those benefits is access to health care. I just want to focus on the last two.
Medicare has been around for over 40 years. It has been a huge success. You will often hear people say they are against socialized medicine, but don’t touch Medicare. Medicare was provided to mostly seniors because they are the ones who need medical care coverage the most. Prior to 1964 a majority of seniors did not have any health care coverage. Republicans then were calling it “socialized medicine” and fought against its passage. It now sounds funny when you hear Republicans trying to tell seniors that the current plans will cut Medicare, which none of them do. Something that they fought so hard to see fail, they now try to use as an argument against current health care reform.
When it comes to “socialized medicine” we have a great system for our nation’s veterans. The Veterans Administration has over 1,500 facilities in the United States consisting of hospitals, clinics, and administration facilities. These facilities provide care for those men and women who sacrificed their freedom so we can enjoy ours. The men and women of these facilities are dedicated Americans that treat our veterans. It has a very low administrative cost and provides excellent service. It also is socialized medicine. The doctors, nurses, and staff are government employees. It is hard to imagine any American who would be opposed to the way the VA works to provide medical care to our veterans.
When you meet or call a lawmaker, mostly Republican, who is opposed to health care reform because of “fear of socialized medicine,” ask him or her: “If you are against the current plans because of ‘socialized medicine’ then do you plan to introduce legislation to get rid of Social Security, Medicare, and the Veterans Administration?”
TOM LAMB
Youngstown
Just say ‘no’ to more taxes
EDITOR:
As the November election approaches, we are again faced with a number of tax issues, most of which we rejected last May. We must stand firm in our rejection of these tax referendums. The economy has yet to improve, it has gotten worse. Even more area residents are losing jobs and face losing their homes.
It appears the school boards and other governing bodies have spent their time and resources on trying to convince us to grant them more money than finding ways to tighten their financial belts.
We voters have drawn our line in the sand. We must insist our governing bodies understand that “no means no.” We will pass no tax levies until there is a substantial improvement in the local economy.
DONALD S. BROWN
Berlin Center