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PrintPeople are woefully misinformed about reform
I attended a health-care forum by Rep. Tim Murphy. Every misconception, distortion and lie about health-care reform was well represented. Add to that that Rep. Murphy cherry-picked and highlighted those parts of the health-care proposals that he knew would elicit the biggest negative reaction.
There was the question about the government coming into senior citizens' homes to ask them how they want to die. In reality, the plan has wording only to compensate doctors if they counsel patients on living wills.
There were the predictable mumbles about socialized medicine coming from recipients of socialized medicine (Medicare). And coming from a doctor was the comment that he didn't want his patients' records to be electronically accessible (so that all doctors you visit would have access to your health records) because he doesn't want the government looking over his shoulder. That doesn't even make any sense, but it got a big round of applause. Obscene profits for insurance companies were also defended. It was painfully obvious that people are woefully misinformed.
The cost of health-care reform was heavily discussed. I only wish the trillion-dollar price tag for the unnecessary Iraq war and its justifications were as scrutinized, debated and delayed as this health-care reform. If so, it might have saved us 4,000 lives, and the trillion dollars could have gone for health care. We would all be better off.
Those who support health-care reform need to attend these forums to keep them from being hijacked by the party of no and its followers.
LINDA MURTHA
North Huntingdon
Frightening bills
I have read that Congress thinks we, the ordinary people, don't understand what's in the health-care bill. Well, let me just enumerate some things that I do know:
• I know that no one in the Senate or House has had the courage to submit tort reform legislation, without which there is no reform. At least put a cap on awards for pain and suffering.
• I know that the public option that liberals love will eliminate the private insurance industry, create massive unemployment and ultimately create a universal health program similar to the "highly successful" ones in Canada and Great Britain.
• I know that "rationing" is inevitable. The high costs of a total overhaul will require "selective treatment" of seniors. If you're old enough to be an AARP member, you're a dead man walking.
• I know that health care can best be reformed incrementally without a massive total overhaul. Address first things (uninsured) first.
I guess we don't know anything, after all. By the way, do you think they in Congress have read the bills in progress? I have, and what I see scares me.
CHARLES SCHRANKEL
Ross
Their playbook
The Republican Party is a greater threat to America than all of our major problems combined. It has one goal: to regain power. The way it has chosen to do so is strictly out of the Karl Rove playbook -- lie, lie, lie and distort everything.
Their two most important players are Rove and Rush Limbaugh. They are doing everything possible to make President Barack Obama fail (and as a consequence, America fail). The media (including the Post-Gazette) treats them with kid gloves because of the power of their corporate backers.
The Republican leadership has no intention of really helping most Americans. They could be perfectly happy returning to the criminal administration of Bush/Cheney. I despair over America's future because of obstructionist, self-serving, arrogant, irresponsible Republicans.
GEORGE MATUS
Munhall
Tipping reminder
As a server, I'm writing this letter as a means to inform (or remind) the general public of the federal minimum wage standards for tipped employees such as waitresses and bartenders. In Pennsylvania, the law requires a pay of only $2.83 per hour.
Some people may not be aware of that fact or may choose to ignore it. Yes, there is such a thing as bad service. We've all had that experience. But instead of not tipping, speak to the manager so the problem can be corrected for the next patron. And if you can't afford to tip appropriately, maybe you should think twice before dining out.
SARAH VOGEL
O'Hara
Bilingual mistake
It is with great dismay that I read the Aug. 10 article about the U.S. Forest Service having found it necessary, or rather "politically correct," to teach Smokey Bear a second language, namely Spanish.
With all due respect to all U.S. citizens and immigrants of Spanish and Latino origin, there is absolutely no reason why they should be treated any differently from the millions upon millions of other immigrants who came to this country from all over the world for the past couple of centuries and had to learn English.
As a first-generation immigrant from France, I had to do this myself. The English language is one of the main elements that binds this nation together and learning it is an essential part of becoming an American. Not being willing to go through with this process is like saying: "I don't care about being an American."
Bilingualism is a very divisive issue, as can be seen in Canada, and any step that moves this country in that direction must absolutely be avoided.
JEAN-LUC GLORIEUX
North Side
Rendell first
Regarding "Layoffs Are Imminent for State Workers" (Aug. 11): This is obscene. Gov. Ed Rendell is holding state workers as hostages to get what he wants in a state budget.
I can think of no better one to lay off than Gov. Rendell. This would end most of our problems in Harrisburg.
AL HESSLER
South Park
As a society, we can't afford these casinos
Regarding "We Told You So: Casino Gambling Is Doing More Harm Than Good" (Aug. 6 Perspectives): Bruce Barron is right to point out that Pennsylvania casinos are most likely to result in a net economic loss for Pittsburgh, other Pennsylvania cities and the state.
The best evidence shows casinos fail to bring economic growth. A study published in the American Journal of Economics and Sociology shows that, in 11 states, over a 14-year period, casino revenues have no positive impact on real per-capita income.
Further, in the current issue of The Journal of Economics, Ball State University professor Michael Hicks reports that low-paying jobs in slots parlors actually depress salaries in the local economy. These casinos make millions of dollars, but those dollars come out of the pockets of local people and are taken away from local businesses.
Chicago real estate developer and billionaire Neil Bluhm, owner of Pittsburgh's Rivers Casino, is also trying to build a casino in Philadelphia in the middle of a tight-knit, residential neighborhood on historic land.
Mr. Bluhm's casino is poised to wreck the fabric of the neighborhood, pave over archaeological discoveries and contribute to job loss and addiction in the city of Philadelphia, which needs none of this. The money made in the casino will line the pockets of Mr. Bluhm while the city suffers. And even those revenues are vulnerable to the next competing casino down the line.
We are calling on Mr. Bluhm to pull the plug on his Philadelphia project, and on Gov. Ed Rendell and Philadelphia's Mayor Michael Nutter to work toward truly sustainable economic development, instead of predatory business that would undermine the city.
DANIEL HAJDO
Volunteer
Casino-Free Philadelphia
Philadelphia
The writer is an adjunct professor of political science at Rowan University.
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