How much health care is a ‘right’?
Millions in the country think health care is a right. And many of these people can’t afford their own health care, much less contribute to funding others’. So the Affordable Care Act’s authoritarian approach mandates all people buy health care insurance, but only some people pay for it. How about we let the people decide how much health care is a “right.” Allow voluntary contributions to be made as a line item on federal tax returns or as separate contributions to the IRS earmarked for others’ health care. These collected funds — promoted through however many celebrity telethons desired — would then be the sole source for vouchers to be allocated to those truly needing financial assistance to purchase health care insurance in the marketplace. We will then know how much people truly support health care for all.
GREGORY MARSHALL, MARIETTA
Nation’s newspeople must stick together
If the White House recently excluded certain reporters from a daily briefing because it found their reporting too critical, it violated the First Amendment. The White House denies, though, that its reason was anything of the sort, and persuading a court that anyone acted for hidden, unconstitutional reasons is never easy.
The nation’s media obviously don’t always see things alike. There is one thing, though, on which they all should agree: the government must not play favorites among them based on what they have to say. Today’s winners need to remind themselves that tomorrow they may be the ones left out in the cold. Several reporters invited to the recent briefing stayed away in protest, but most did not. The next time the White House seems to be granting and denying access based on its perception of who are its friends, they all must stay away. Otherwise, we’ll all be losers in the end.
GARY SIMSON, MACON
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