Letters to the Editor Policy

Time To Come Together

Now that the debt ceiling has been raised and the debt default has been avoided at least until after the 2012 presidential election to President Obama's advantage, it's time for the Democrats and Republicans to stop the vicious rhetoric between the both parties and get serious about doing what is right for all the American citizens that elected and sent them to Washington, D.C. to do just that.

It's debatable about which party is more to blame for the serious financial debt this country has accumulated over many years, and is still continuing to get bigger, but the fact of the matter is that both parties are to blame, not just the Republicans as the main stream America's columnist and radio and TV reporters are saying it is.

Both political parties have the perfect chance and opportunity now to come together for the common good in a bipartisan way to get the huge financial debt this country has under control before it goes over the cliff it's headed for because of this country's past and current political representatives actions that created this problem. I hope all our elected representatives in Washington will now come to their senses and realize that if they continue to allow this country to stay on the path it has been on, they're to blame for what will eventually happen in the future.

God help all of us if it does happen.

Sincerely,

John Hollenback

Greenfield Twp., PA

Seeking Most Qualified Applicants

I attended a meeting of the Barnes Kasson Hospital Board of Directors, held on Thursday, July 28. This was their annual “Open to the Public” meeting. Just three persons from the public were there. During the meeting it was revealed that the director for many years had resigned as Chief Executive Officer. Another visiting attendee spoke and emphasized to the board the importance of recruiting an experienced CEO to guide Barnes Kasson into the 21st Century. That same individual, Mr. Roger O’Neil, offered to donate through the Claire Williams O’Neil Foundation, a considerable amount of money in order to hire a professional recruiting firm to conduct a search in that endeavor.

I addressed the board reminiscing about the early years when, Dr. Shelly, Dr. McClure, Dr. Davis, and myself, the last remaining, active, licensed physician of the group, along with citizens of Susquehanna Depot and surrounding communities, started Barnes Hospital and how it grew to become such an important part of our community, not only for health care but for employment and the general economy.

It is my understanding the board of directors has taken up the “citizen offer” and has decided to contract with a professional recruiting firm. Assurances have been given to conduct this search for the “most qualified applicants” in an open and transparent manner.

I urge every citizen in the community to support the efforts of the Barnes Kasson Board of Directors in their critical task to hire the best person possible. Perhaps personal contact with the hospital board and letters to the editor from the community will assist them as to how the community feels on this issue. We are experiencing the changes in health care from funding in Medicare and insurance. Costs are driving takeovers and closings. Modernization and efficient management will be critical throughout the health care industry. The future is now!

Sincerely,

Dr. Willard Noyes

Thompson, PA

The Republic Flounders

Those irritating tunes and phrases that seem to run through our minds in a closed, persistent loop over and over again, they're called earworms. Several drone through the American physic every national election year. A recent letter in the Transcript by Larry Gary mentioned three such entrenched refrains that most Americans unquestionably accept as true - most, but not all.

Let's dissect this trilogy of platitudes cited by Mr. Gary.

1) ”We must vote, for many died to give us this privilege.”

To begin, anyone who needs to be encouraged to vote by definition should not vote. They are the ones least likely to be informed about, well, everything.

For example, 60 percent of voters cannot name the three branches of the federal government; 49 percent think the president has the authority to override the Constitution. Their votes will be decided upon by the last 30-second political commercial they heard.

And did anyone die to give us the privilege of voting? Very unlikely. Soldiers fight to stay alive; shoot the other guy before he shoots you. A few stand in harm's way to protect their buddies some even at the cost of their own lives. But to die for voting? Not in a firefight.

By the way, voting is not a privilege granted by the state that can be withdrawn; it is a right guaranteed by the Constitution: “the right... to vote shall not be denied or abridged.”

2) ”We must write our congressional representative.”

Letters don't rule D.C., money does. A lobbyist representing megacorporia walks into a congressman's office and says in a round-about way, “I have $1 million for your election campaign if you look favorably on this legislation, or I have $1 million for your opponent.” It's green paper versus white stationery.

Last year there were 13,000 lobbyists in Washington who spent $3.5 billion. Dividing that by the 535 legislators equals $6.5 million for every congressman. This is not to say that this sum was equally portioned out, but it does say that Washington is awash in money and money talks.

In the 2008 election, 93 percent of the races for the House of Representative and 94 percent of the races for the Senate were won by the candidate who spent the most money. Which is to say that elections were bought by slogans, sounds bites, ads, and commercials. Letters didn't seem to play much of a part in this.

3) ”Do you want 'Socialism' or 'Capitalism.' It is time to choose.”

Voters have already chosen and it's clearly socialism. “We write 80 million checks a month,” said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. “There are millions of Americans that depend on those checks.” Think about that: 80 million citizens who “depend” upon mailbox money. That, my friends, is socialism.

And if these people had to choose between capitalism and losing their federal stipend, or socialism and keeping their monthly dole, for whom do you suppose they would cast their ballot?

The hallmarks of socialism are big government, “entitlement” programs, and crushing debt. We'll discuss each.

The principle that “the government that governs least governs best” is as obsolete as the crank telephone. Three million citizens are employed by the federal government, 5 million by the state government, and 14 million by local governments. That's 22 million employed by the three levels of government. The next biggest employer is a pygmalian Wal-Mart with 1 million U.S. employees.

Two hundred years ago Benjamin Franklin noted that “A democracy can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits.”

It seems evident from “entitlement” programs such as Social Security ($695 billion), Medicare ($453 billion), and Medicaid ($290 billion), the voters have made this discovery. Adding the cost of these to the 29 other federal “entitlement” programs, plus state and local welfare handouts, totals an annual $2 trillion.

Franklin went on to say that voters raiding the public treasury would “result in loose fiscal policy.” A sovereign debt of $15 trillion plus $1.9 trillion for next year's projected national deficit attests to Franklin's prescience prediction.

Lastly, Franklin noted that the last stage in the decline of a republic is “always followed by a dictatorship.”

Socialism flourishes, the Republic flounders.

Sincerely,

Bob Scroggins

New Milford, PA

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY
Letters To The Editor MUST BE SIGNED. They MUST INCLUDE a phone number for "daytime" contact. Letters MUST BE CONFIRMED VERBALLY with the author, before printing. Letters should be as concise as possible, to keep both Readers' and Editors' interest alike. Your opinions are important to us, but you must follow these guidelines to help assure their publishing.

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