HEALTH CARE
Calling Obama plan
‘affordable’ misleads
If a medical patient knows a service will be paid for by insurance, he doesn’t care — and usually doesn’t even ask — what it costs. So, the supplier charges the maximum he thinks the insurer will pay.
A private insurer puts some downward pressure on prices because he deals directly with the people who pay premiums and knows he must keep premium prices, as well as disbursements, within reason if he is to stay in business.
If the government is the de facto insurer, there is no direct customer/supplier relationship, and essentially no force at any level to hold prices down — except government coercion, which requires legions of clerks, lawyers and political appointees whose salaries are added to the costs. Even though the costs are paid through taxes, the people are still the ones who pay.
Calling Obamacare the “Affordable Care Act” is the ultimate in political double-speak.
JOHN STANFIELD, PEACHTREE CITY
POLITICS
Lack of oversight puts
us behind other states
Having recently moved to Georgia, essentially a one-party state, I thought (naively) this would mean that without inter-party politics, the state should be able to move forward positively and be a national leader — particularly in the areas of education, economic development and employment.
The reality is that Georgia lags behind the rest of country in high school graduation rates, economic development and job creation. This confirms to me that politics have less to do with traditional parties, and more to do with individual politicians’ egos and personal agendas. This is a perfect environment for special-interest groups to prosper, without the natural oversight of an effective two-party situation.
IAN SHAW, CUMMING
BUDGET CRISIS
Sequester first step
to control spending
The media and many members of Congress have managed to hype up the populace about the tremendous negative implications of the $85 billion sequester.
It has been reported that Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park could sever bathroom services, because it would need to cut spending. One might ask whether cutting bathroom services is the least harmful action, or one designed to make the public more uncomfortable with the sequester. How about eliminating the cannonballs that pollute the air?
In 2007, when federal debt was below its current level, the Government Accountability Office foresaw our nation’s debts spiraling out of control. What magic pill will the media and some members of Congress demand to solve the current problems? There will be no solution.
We need to decide whether they want to save this system. If so, the sequester is a good small step in getting the process started.
ALLEN BUCKLEY, SMYRNA
