ACA turns out not really affordable
For many, health insurance under the Affordable Care Act has become outrageously expensive. We all should have been on high alert when the health insurance industry strongly supported the act. Now, millions of near-destitute persons are insured, with U.S. taxpayers funding most of the premiums. And yet there are few real controls on what can be charged. It is an egregious case of public payments and private profit.
For those in households with incomes above $47,000, there are no subsidies. Those between 55 and 65 are truly facing sticker shock. Premiums per month range from $500 to $800 a month, often with deductibles well over $6,000 a year. And insurance companies have shamelessly increased premiums this year by as much as 30 percent. Such pricing is totally unaffordable. This is where pandering to the health insurance industry has left us.
JIM GRATTAN, GRAYSON
Ga. should accept Syrian refugees
I am appalled by the response of Gov. Nathan Deal and the other governors opposed to accepting Syrian refugees. First, let me be clear: I find terrorism reprehensible. At the same time, responding to such violence by refusing asylum to those trying to leave a country impoverished by war only provides further support for the ideology of the terrorists. Isolating Syrians will not protect us. Furthermore, I believe the United States is partially responsible for the devastation of the Middle East due to our persistent bombing of the region.
Are we as a people not morally responsible for the civilians displaced by those wars? If we truly want to protect our families, we must learn that responding to violence with violence will only perpetuate further violence. We must lead with compassion for those suffering from war, as well as bring the perpetrators of terrorist acts to the courts of justice.
BARBARA ADLE, DECATUR
Care about world’s Charlie Browns
I was touched to the core by Leonard Pitts’ article about the world’s Charlie Browns (“For the Charlie Browns and that red-headed girl,” Opinion, Nov. 15). My parents taught me to notice the “Charlie Browns” around me. Going out of my way to make them feel included were actions they impressed on me. My wife and I tried to do this with our own children. They took up the cause so much that the two oldest were officers in their graduating classes, the youngest elected homecoming queen. The trait that earned their successes was noticing and befriending the “little people” who others ignored because of looks, clothing, addresses, etc. They refused to identify with the popular “elite.” Were my kids perfect? No, but they were caring. We must teach this!
THE REV. ROGER WILLIAMS, CUMMING
