Imagine health care as just another growth industry

Imagine health care as just another growth industry

EDITOR:

Why is a growing health-care sector a bad thing that must be crushed by government? In the 1920s, when the automobile industry was growing faster than the economy, it was good. In the 1930s, when the entertainment industry was burgeoning, politicians didn’t demonize it. Or what about the growth in housing in the 1950s, or the rise of restaurants in the ’60s, or personal computers in the ’70s, or the Internet in the ’80s, or mobile telephones in the ’90s? All these industries grew faster than the overall economy at some point in their lifecycles.

There are three reasons for economic growth: higher prices, more products or more consumers. Having more products or more consumers is good for both the consumer (who is cured) and the provider (who is employed). Even prices in health care behaved like prices in any other industry. They are high on newly developed products. This limits their use to early adopters, but helps offset R&D costs and encourages new innovations. As these new technologies are more widely utilized, more people are cured, the industry grows and those prices decline, e.g., generic drugs. There is nothing broken here. Economically, health care performs as expected. So why aren’t we singing the praises of those creating such growth? What makes health care different?

It is different because health care is both an emotional and an economic system. Emotionally, people believe they are entitled to it. Economically, health care must be earned. The former is a fantasy, the latter is the reality, and they are at war with each other. That war was reflected in President Obama’s speech when he stated that Americans spend more than any other industrialized country on healthcare (in 2006, $7,026 per person) and suggested that this was too much and unsustainable. In the next breath, he bemoaned the sad story of a woman who was rapidly approaching the million-dollar limit on her health-care coverage. Which is it? Is $7,000 too much (economics) or $1,000,000 too little (emotional)?

Economically, the sad truth is that most people’s lives are not worth a million dollars. Emotionally, that is a bitter pill to swallow. Most of us avoid swallowing it by contracting with the devil — an evil insurance company. Through insurance, the value of our lives increases beyond our earnings. But even that fantasy has its limits. The million dollars is one. No pre-existing condition is another. Without insurance and its limits, you will have just your earnings or the government. What you have earned in your lifetime will determine what you can spend on your healthcare. As for government, it has already told you what your life is worth — something less than $7,000.

THOMAS MASKELL

Poland

No smell of sulphur either

EDITOR:

As a public service to all the teabaggers, health-reform town hall screamers, birthers, deathers, Limbaugh listeners, Glenn Beck viewers, conservative sour pusses and President Obama haters in general, I can honestly report that I shook the hand of President Obama during his historic visit to GM Lordstown and he neither felt nor looked like a socialist and he didn’t exhibit any socialistic behavior in my presence.

Whew! Now put that “Keep Guvmint Out Of My Medicare” sign in the attic and enjoy the upcoming fall colors.

TIM O’HARA

Austintown

A great beginning

EDITOR:

The evening of Sept. 12 at Edward J. Powers Auditorium was electrifying.

The symphony board was correct in placing a pops Broadway concert as the opener for the season. Even though the Ohio State football game was front and center for may fans, the hall had excellent attendance, not only in bodies, but the applause after each selection was thunderous.

There was a microphone glitch that at first put the vocalists, conductor, orchestra and Dana Chorale in an awkward situation, but they all turned it into a comic moment and had the audience roaring. The performers reached out to the audience and the patrons gave back a tremendous response.

After “Hey Jude” and the “Age of Aquarius,” with everyone singing and swaying, what else is there to say?

The economy may be down, but the music in Youngstown is up, way up. We have great venues in Youngstown working hard to offer events for everyone. Stay tuned, more thunder is coming.

WILLIAM CONTI

Youngstown

Few will be able to afford health care in the future

EDITOR:

I am astounded that so many people have buried their heads in the sand with regard to health-care reform. The current cost for a company to provide health care to an employee with a family of four is $6.43 per hour (National Coalition on Health Care). If current trends continue, that figure will rise to $13 per hour in the next 5 to 10 years. That’s $13 added to the hourly cost of each employee.

U.S. businesses, large and small, are already struggling trying to compete with low-wage manufacturing overseas. These businesses must cut costs to become competitive in the world economy and providing employees with health care at a cost of $13 per hour will not be possible. This cost will necessarily be passed on to the employees if businesses are to survive. How many workers will be able to afford to pay between $260 and $520 a week out of their paychecks to maintain the same level of health insurance they now enjoy?

The failures of GM, Chrysler, Delphi and others are clear evidence that companies can no longer provide the level of benefits which the American worker has come to expect. Change is coming whether we like it or not. Employees will have to pay an increasing share of their health insurance costs or risk their employers dropping coverage. If we don’t develop a national policy addressing the costs of health care, more and more companies will be unable to remain viable unless these costs are increasingly passed on to their employees. Health care reform is not an option if employees are to maintain their current level of insurance and U.S. industry is to survive.

It’s time to put politics aside and demand that members of Congress, democrats and republicans alike, stop the name-calling, sloganeering and fear-mongering and begin acting like adults (a mode of behavior presently foreign to most).

ROBERT F. MOLLIC

Liberty Township

Everyone can help a little

EDITOR:

I am an 11-year-old girl who believes that we all need to play our part in saving the world.

I love our earth and think we should all work harder on healing it.

Here are some tips that would help. Shut off lights in the hall or in a room. Unplug chargers or electrical items that are not being used. (Some of them still use lots of energy.) Recycle cans and bottles.

You can make a difference by going along the sidewalk picking up litter.

I hope I encouraged you to help save our earth. I hope it helps the earth stay healthy longer.

JULIANA MISSOS

Boardman

Tipping is essential

EDITOR:

This is a very sensitive subject but needs to be addressed. Customers seem to be unaware of the low hourly wage (usually $3 an hour ) and long hours the servers are on their feet (sometimes a double shift). They keep a smile on their face all the while starving themselves because they are not allowed to eat anything as long as they have tables.

Many of these servers are working full-time and going to college full-time. Others are trying to support a family.

They must tip out at the end of their shift to bussers and bartenders on the total sale of your bill. The restaurant also automatically reports a 10 percent tip, which the server pays taxes on.

So please keep this in mind the next time you are tempted to tip less than 15 percent. Believe me, they do remember you when you return.

DEBBIE McMURRAY

Boardman