Opinions
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Health Insurance Thoughts
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he U.S. government has made a mess of health care, distorted the process, and driven the whole U.S. economy into financial failure. First Medicare by the radical Democrat Lyndon Johnson and then the worst radical Democrat Barack Obama and Obamacare have virtually destroyed health coverage in the U.S. to promote the have-nots at the expense of the haves. This is a dictatorship of the American people for political reasons and does nothing to provide the best medical coverage. When the government gets involved, everything goes to hell. Why do we need the government to tell us what insurance to buy? We don’t. Most of us buy the insurance we need without the government involved, e.g., home insurance, car insurance, dental insurance, eye insurance, and travel insurance, you name it. Just why do we need to have government involved for health? Only for politics. We should not be forced to pay for someone else’s insurance. If they can’t afford their insurance, they should not buy it. Getting rid of Obamacare is the first step. Then we should eliminate tax credits to those who can’t afford insurance because they do not pay taxes. Private insurance without the government is what is best for all of us. The government cannot do anything right. —Justin M. Ruhge, Lompoc
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he Affordable Care Act (ACA, a k a Obamacare) is the closest the United States has come to addressing health care. The Republicans have tried 61 times to repeal it. It is time to fix it once and for all. All the proposals to replace ACA would leave tens of millions without coverage and be too expensive for those who could least afford it. Since the Republicans and the Democrats are never going to agree, let’s take a different approach. Let’s
send a delegation of Democrats and Republicans that include members with medical and legal backgrounds to Canada and European countries that have singlepayer universal health-care systems that cover all citizens. Study what works and what does not work, and select the parts of the system that would be best for the United States. Propose that as a system that could be supported by both parties. Universal health care could reduce costs by as much as 50 percent, giving every citizen access to health care that every other industrial county in the world now already has. So can we. Take the insurance companies out of the healthcare system all together and have the government negotiate with the drug companies to reduce the cost of prescription drugs. Universal health care would be free to all, rich or poor, and paid for by reducing the military budget and increasing taxes on the wealthy to pay their fair share. This is not a political issue; it is a human-rights issue. The Republicans and Democrats need to work together on this one for the good of the American people. —Thomas I. Morse, S.B.
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Roundabout Love
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hank you to all those people involved in the new roundabout at Cliff Drive and Las Positas Road. Although it is not finished, lanes are open and what a wonderful solution to a former bottleneck of traffic. The work has caused very little disruption in traffic, and that was much appreciated also. —Susan Dempsay, S.B.
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MarcH 23, 2017
THE INDEPENDENT
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