From a Reader...

A faithful reader of this blog sent me a copy of a letter he wrote to Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill on the ObamaCare debacle. He gave me permission to use it, and I decided I would.

I offer the letter without comment or response. It speaks for itself. And it represents the views of millions of us.

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This is my response to Sen. MacCaskill on her appearance on The O'Reilly Factor where she said she asked people, at the town hall meeting, to raise their hands if they were on Medicare, then asked them to put down their hands if they wanted to see the program ended. She then used that example as public approval of government health care, even though they may say they do not want Health Care Reform as currently presented.

Letter to Claire MacCaskill 08/13/09- Disingenuousness about Medicare and Health Care Reform

You ignored one very important distinction in your example of Medicare recipients not wanting that program to be discontinued. They had no choice. Paying into the system was not voluntary. It was compelled by law. In many cases more than 50 years of collection for each worker. The bite is now about 20 percent, yeah, I know the employee part is a little less than eight per cent on the paycheck, but don't you think the empoyer's equal contribution affects wage rates?

Then a couple of decades ago, medicare was separated from the FICA taxes, not by diversion of already being collected funds, but by adding more percentage points of deduction from paychecks for employees or gross income from the small businessman. Not voluntary, so to insinuate that recipients of medicare are in favor of government-run health care is patently incorrect and may even be dishonest.

They had no choice about enrollment in the program. Now that they have reached the age where medical care is more likely to be needed and after decades of having the monies taken from them that they could have used to provide it for themselves, they have a right to expect that contract be honored. Now that it needs to be honored, the administration wants to reduce the likelihood of the cash cows receiving the benefits they were promised for their mandatory support of the system, since they are no longer producing. Even if it means they are denied the care their money has already been paid for.

Money that they could have used to provide health care or insurance for themselves, they have a right to expect that contract be honored.

So, cut the crap. You already know all this. Do not again equate governmental compulsion of citizens into a forced program with citizen approval of that government program. You must give people a choice before you can infer approval.

Not so respectfully,

Charles H. Sawders
Doddridge, Ar.