Will history repeat itself: Letters for Sept. 18, 2009

Re "Technically, the recession is over" : Before the current administration gets too carried away, they should remember that the last president who claimed that the then-recession was over got thumped in the next election.

[no responsibility]

Mickey writes, "I take my daughter to the park and don't want her breathing secondhand smoke."

I have a news flash for you. The air she breathes (plane and diesel exhaust, etc.) is far worse for your daugher than second hand smoke and by the way I don't like people who blow smoke either. However, if you or anybody thinks the air is nice and pristene because of the lack of second hand smoke, think again.

[The Cynic]

We have a government program in place...it's called MediCare. Anyone who's not insured or can't get insurance should be able to opt in.

[The Cynic]

Right on!, "no responsibility." The writer has been brainwashed. What makes him or anyone else think there's any danger from secondhand smoke outside. The toxic fumes from cars are far worse, and if his daughter is a toddler, she's nose-to-tailpipe height when he walks her through the parking lot where cars are driving in and out.

Think people! You make no logical sense, and neither did the Bd. of Supes when they passed this dumb law. Notice how they exempted golf courses; they might lose money.

[Anamouse]

If Obama was really interested in improving health care now he would work on passing legislation that only contains improvments that EVERYONE agrees is needed.

Who wouldn't pass a bill that reduced drug costs to all Americans by allowing us to buy them from other countries if their cheeper there?

Who won' t pass a bill limiting outragious lawsuits that are adding millions of un-necessary costs to healthcare?

Who except illegal aliens and their advocates wouldn't pass a bill that stoped illegal aliens from soaking taxpayers for millions of dollars worth of health care that they should be seeking from their own country?

Obama is loosing his fight for healthcare improvements because he's holding these improvements hostage, and refusing to make them unless we allow him to also make unlimited changes to things that have little to do with healthcare and half of America doesn't want to have happen.

His failure is entirely his own fault, he's just a greedy Bast ard for characterizing anyone whose opposed to his GRAND PLAN as everything from stupid and anti American to racists.

No one will ever agree on thousand page bills that contain hundreds of contriversal changes, and he knows it.

[LADIMAS]

Good idea.

[Landofnorain]

Allowing Americans to buy pharmaceuticals from foreign countries would cause the pharmaceutical companies to oppose any health care plan. As it stands now, they support the plan. This is the crude calculus of passing a bill. You can't alienate too many big groups who can throw massive amounts of money at your opponents. In any case, I think banning drug ads in the media and print would accomplish much the same as allowing us to buy drugs from other countries. Only the US and New Zealand allow drug ads.
California has a $250,000 cap on malpractice payouts. This has effectively shut down malpractice suites in this state. A couple of expert witnesses and a handful of depositions plus the lawyer's wages and you have used up that $250,000. Talk to any liability lawyer in this state, no one sues for malpractice in this state. Now, here is what you have done with this cap. Doctors can hurt you, make stupid mistakes, even kill people in California and that cap means there are no lawyers willing to take such a case to court. It is not economically possible for a lawyer to make money for him or herself and for their client. Maybe the real answer is for doctors not to make mistakes? Do you think? Doctors screw up too, but there is no accountability unless you can sue them.

[A bystander]

The Cynic wrote:

We have a government program in place...it's called MediCare. Anyone who's not insured or can't get insurance should be able to opt in.

MediCare doesn't pay worth squat, which is why many doctors have to limit how many MediCare patients they accept.(Same is true of Medicaid, called Medi-Cal in California.) As our population continues to age, more and more people will be eligible for MediCare, and we'll be in quite a pickle then. Those who are uninsured need a better solution, and so do the folks on MediCare.