Letter: Citizens must mobilize behind single-payer

Posted Saturday, July 8, 2017 2:39 pm

To the editor:

I love this great republic, the United States of America, which was founded on the principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I am currently registered to vote as an independent although most of my adult life I registered as a Republican pursuing a controversial view of the free enterprise system of government.

My heroes were a mixed bag of national leaders, including John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan. All these great men shared a common vision of the greatness of the nation's citizens.

Our national government is undergoing many challenges, including the divisive health care debate. Our legislators refuse to debate proposals that offer health care coverage to all Americans. What we should be debating is a single-payer health care proposal similar to the principles of Medicare and veterans' health care.

Medicare is funded by contributions from employees and employers over the lifetime of employment. Single-payer insurance would be funded by direct taxation with exemptions for citizens in poverty and incentives through education to overcome a welfare nation.

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My contemporary hero, Bernie Sanders, has been labeled a socialist by many. Medicare is based on that principle. There definitely are some functions of government which work best when administered by the government instead of by a profit-oriented enterprise. The administrative cost of Medicare is pegged at 3 percent, while in private sector insurance, this cost is in the area of 20 percent. This is a huge discrepancy and would cover the millions of uninsured and insured in poverty.

The citizens of this great country need to mobilize behind a single-payer insurance program. We need to put pressure on our legislators in Congress to stop accepting gratuities and contributions from private sector lobbyists including the insurance industry and other special interest groups for their campaign funding. This system of self-serving legislative funding is the sole reason why a debate in favor of single-payer insurance is not taking place. Sanders proved them all wrong by accepting campaign contributions in small amounts averaging $35 a donation.

We must get this debate on the table for discussion with the national media involved. The short-term "fixes" being legislated are so divisive they threaten the stability of our economy. To keep our economy strong, initiate for creation and build infrastructure. We need to legislate programs that benefit all citizens at the lowest cost to taxpayers. To grease the skids in assisting this program, President Trump could include a surtax on the incomes of the wealthiest.

Wayne Canedy,

Dalton