Fourth grade math
Using the skills needed to do fourth grade math, if our nation had taxpayer dollar supported full medical coverage for every citizen of this nation, how much savings would every person and family save each year between paying a very small increase in taxes and what it costs to have great medical coverage? The funds saved could lower the poverty level of so many and bring a better balanced meal to all members of so many families that are going hungry every night.
First, the tax increase could be covered to some degree by spending less on the 50 percent or so of public funds allocated to the military. Second, when the cost of such coverage is paid for my millions of taxpayers, compared to the far lesser number who need medical care each year, the overall cost goes way, way down.
The power of the one payer system allows for far less operational expenses, such as accounting, less labor costs, while giving the power to negotiate cheaper fees with the medical industry. It allows for oversight leading to stronger regulations. This leads to the best services offered, putting aside those procedures that are not needed for the general health of all out citizens.
I don’t mean to strike fear in the hearts of those who want to have a nose job or other enhancement procedure, and all those other things they think needed to hide the normal aging mankind has to endure. So many other nations have in place such coverage and their citizens seem to enjoy the benefits gained. It’s better than going back to the type of system we have had to endure.
Medical coverage has gotten so costly here that more and more folks find it cheaper to fly across the globe to get medical help at a lower cost then if they have the same thing done in our own nation.
I also know caregivers in our nation need to be paid a decent wage that they earn in doing a very difficult and needed job, that is just as important as those who have the title of doctor in front of their names. We are blessed by those few souls who are able to cope and have the inner strength needed to do this much needed service for all of us who are not so blessed. It is a standard in that industry to be undermanned, forcing them to do a job that two workers need to do properly by themselves in order to gain more profit for the owners. Disgusting.
The honest need for far more government oversight and up-graded regulation in the full time care industry for the aged and mentally challenged population is long past due and needs to be addressed right now. This type of care should not be a for profit industry in the first place. We need the attention of the youth of this nation, knowing they could careless about these issues in the prime of their own lives, but, the reality of these issue is not that far up ahead in their own future.
Jim Hall, Clearlake Oaks
Quick work
Monday morning at 7:55 we discovered a major water leak between our meter and our neighbor’s. I called Lake County Special District to report the leak and the crew arrived within 15 minutes of the call. They were amazed by the amount of water that was running and didn’t hesitate for one minute getting wet trying to find a shut off valve. They ended up having to call for a sump truck tanker to suck the water out, which was amazing to see how much and fast it did the job.
Realizing it was a main line that had broken under the neighbors meter they had to turn off the water involving several homes. They were very friendly, professional and determined to get our water back on quickly and of course, nothing was easy. By 1:30 we had water. They returned the next day and made sure the property around the meter looked like it was before the leak.
Lake County Special District is very lucky to have these young men as employees. Kudos and a Big Thank You to the Kelseyville Utility Crew: Brian, John, Justin and Luis, you guys are awesome!
Jack and Ileana Gaskins, Lakeport
Law and faith
I read, with interest, Bill Kettenhofen’s RB letter (6/27). I did a little research and find in the Huffington Post: “Roof, … was himself a member of a Lutheran church in Columbia, the church’s pastor confirmed Friday.” And from ‘christianpost.com’ I see, “The Rev. Tony Metze, pastor at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, confirmed to The Huffington Post two days after the June 17 massacre at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church that Roof “was on the roll of our congregation.’”
So what was Bill trying to say? Is it that if Roof is evil then he must be an atheist as a Christian would never be evil or do evil things? Is this the justification for the rest of his comments? Liberals don’t know the difference between right and wrong? When the US founding fathers started making laws only three of the Ten Commandments made it. Stealing, Murdering and Bearing False Witness. Did they do this because they were liberal atheists? Thomas Jefferson, almost single handedly, removed all references to God from the Virginia constitution because he believed that faith was a private affair not to be controlled by the state.
Laws are made to control the interactions between citizens, not to control your faith. No, Dylann Roof’s soul was not destroyed by public schools. I know several public school graduates who are devout Christians. Or can I expect to have a horde of fanatical young people gunning for me sometime soon?
Kevin Bracken, Kelseyville
A long way off
Really? Dylann Roof was a liberal? Went to a liberal school? He was an atheist? And the gun in his hand had nothing to do with it?
For your information, Dylann Roof went to Hidding High school in Minnesota, hardly a liberal school or state for that matter. He is a Christian who attended church services often. He is a white supremacist segregationist who wanted to start a civil war between blacks and whites. That, Mr. Kettenhofen, is about as far from Liberalism as you can get!
I’m not going to blame/judge anyone for what he did or call him anything other than crazy for the horrible act of violence he committed. I’m just glad he couldn’t afford to buy the AR 15 he wanted or many more people would have died. By the way, violent evil people and the horrific acts they commit have been around long before Liberal was even a label.
Scott Griffin, Lakeport
The Root of the Problem?
I read Bill’s letter in the Record Bee on Saturday June 27th with disbelief. Bill took the killing of nine innocent lives and turned them into a diatribe against liberalism and atheism instead of seeing it as the racial hate crime that it was.
First, contrary to what Bill says, Jim Hall did not cry out for stricter gun laws. What Jim did was to echo the president’s words that at some point our country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence, this hate crime, does not happen in other advanced countries. This shooting was clearly a case of racism and Dylann Roof’s own words were “I chose Charleston because…at one time [it] had the highest ratio of blacks to whites in the country”; Dylann also claimed that “blacks were taking over the world”. Charleston police said the murder of these church-goers during Bible study was an act so heinous as to be immediately recognized as a hate crime or even terrorism.
Second, Bill finds that evil in the world and liberalism go together and that liberalism has given America a distorted view of morality. His example is that at one time we knew right from wrong but today if a man wants to be woman it’s OK and the person criticizing this is a bigot. According to Wikipedia Modern American Liberalism combines social liberalism with support for social justice and a mixed economy. It also advocates voting rights for minorities, reproductive rights for women, support for same-sex marriage, and governmental programs such as education and health care. Evil?
Third, Bill calls Dylann an atheist whose soul was destroyed in the public schools and whose mind was captivated by drugs. I guess this is verified by his dropping out of High School in the ninth grade, and being on the rolls of the local Lutheran congregation; I didn’t know that a church member is considered an atheist! Bill continues that Dylann had no Christian values; but I know that as an atheist I was told to leave a Bible Study Class within five minutes because of my questions — this actually happened to me once. Dylann attended the bible study meeting for an hour — he must of seemed safe to the members of the congregation.
Finally, Bill says that as a liberal I can be my own god; wow, it’s awesome being a liberal!
Greg Blinn, Kelseyville
For what it’s worth
Hooray! They finally caught the two vicious escaped killers.
Of course there was a cost. Figure: 1,300 officers, 21 days, 12 hour shifts, and $30.00 per hour wages. That’s about 10 million dollars plus helicopters, lodging, meals, back up, etc. And you and I are paying for it.
But I guess it was worth it. I’m sure the police bullets tearing into their bodies did not hurt near as much as a lethal injection.
Norman Michael, No. Lakeport
