Readers Write 7/20

HEALTH CARE

Real reform necessary

As a nurse, I am writing to urge Congress to pass real health care reform. The patients I care for are often without health insurance. Costs continue to spiral out of control, negatively impacting American businesses, making health insurance less available and affecting the U.S. economy. A friend, who is self-employed and caring for her ailing mother, was diagnosed with cancer. She has no health insurance. My husband was prescribed hearing aids because his hearing loss was impacting his work performance. None of the cost of the hearing aids was covered by our health insurance. While we have found a way to pay for these, many people could not. We need real reform that will reduce costs, insure a choice of plans and provide every American with quality, affordable health care.

Ann Connor, Decatur

ECONOMY

Banks not to blame

Seldom do I agree with Cynthia Tucker’s columns, but “Obama’s next stop: Main St.” (Opinion, July 12) was right on the mark. President Obama is out of touch. Where Ms. Tucker and I diverge is in relation to her comment about bankers “doing business to peddle sub-prime loans.” As a former banker, “we” did not decide who was eligible for a loan or not. The Community Reinvestment Act determined that, to its detriment. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Janice Hess, Cumming

Greed reason for mess

Re: “Obama’s next stop: Main St.,” contrary to most liberals blaming the recession on bankers’ “way of doing business,” the real reason was greed and ignorance. Any time that anyone buys something they know they can’t afford, it’s called greed and ignorance. The sad part is that the folks who buy within their means are being forced to pay for the mess created by the slackers.

Jack Franklin, Conyers

POLITICS

Palin story not news

How did “Palin ‘not ruling out anything’” (News, July 13) make it to the front page? Not only is that not “news,” that’s not even “information.” After all, I’m not ruling out anything. I mean, if I win the lottery, all kinds of things are possible. Why not wait until Sarah does something “newsworthy?”

Mike Canfield, Atlanta

Looks get Palin by

The unacknowledged truth is that the reason so many people are fascinated by Sarah Palin, and that she gets so much attention from the press, is that she is an ex-beauty queen who knows how to work a crowd.

If she were less attractive, very few people would be paying much attention to her, or taking her seriously.

Her behavior would be considered bizarre at best; her political views dismissed, and she would not be the darling of the Republican Party.

Reba Keller, Atlanta