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Reader Mail 

Why There’s No Single-Payer Proposal

Please go to opensecrets.org/news/2009/06/-name-office-party-health.html to uncover the ugly truth concerning political contributions (bribes) to our congresspersons.  The site has all contributions since 1989 to all congresspersons as well as Barack Obama.  This should help us understand why “universal, single payer health care” is “off the table”.  The health industry doesn’t want single payer and our congresspersons and president have been taking bribes (errr... political contributions) from them, big time, to keep it off the table! 

       Barack Obama, $20,163,933

       Patty Murray, $924,168

       Maria Cantwell, $561,826

       Rick Larsen, $602,865 

How in the world can folks believe that our president and congress persons will represent our interests in the face of such a vast monetary investment by the health care industry?

This ought to be front page news!

Howard Pellett 

Public Option is Accountable

Someone has to be in charge of our healthcare system. Who would you prefer: a Washington bureaucrat whose position can ultimately be eliminated through our electoral process, or an insurance company executive who may receive a multi-million dollar bonus for denying an appendectomy, for example, to your child (and others) because he has decided the procedure is not cost effective? He is accountable only to company bean counters.

Bob Markey 
 

Toilet Paper Tax

Democrats are hitting us again!  Taxing toilet paper, cooking oil, toothpaste, cosmetics and other products we dispose in our wastewater, was proposed by Oregon’s Democrat Representative Earl Blumenauer. His tax will be aimed at the manufacturing level. HR-3203 is called the Water Protection and Reinvestment Act of 2009 but will further burden our economy.

Taxes at any level become a part of corporate expenses, increasing corporate profit. Blumenauer’s “financed broadly by small fees” will multiply before it reaches you, the consumer.  The toilet tax will increase the profits for the companies by increasing prices far beyond that of the original tax. The 3% excise tax will ultimately take much more out of our pocketbooks than just 3%.

As prices rise, the value of our money declines. Democrats contribute to inflation with every tax implemented. Bigger government, more taxes and regulations become oppression to the worker and the poor. The adage is that “Democrats are for the poor.” It sounds more like the Democrats are for corporations, increasing their profits.  Taxes and regulation increase inflation and unemployment rates. Democrats prove they are not for the working family and the poor.

Roger Hancock 

Editor’s reply: While I agree that excessive taxation can be a drag on the economy, I don’t follow the logic that a tax on corporations would increase corporate profits, though the cost of it—in part or whole—would surely be passed on to consumers.

Considering the current economic quagmire, I would furthermore argue that taxation is possibly one of the better alternatives out of the country’s deep indebtedness. Basically, the government has three options to balance our dismal public budgets: taxation, budget cuts, and the printing of money.

If any one of these methods is limited, the other two are more likely to be used. So if Americans successfully fight any new taxation, it increases the likelihood of the “printing press” solution, which could be much more destructive in the longterm because of the risk of runaway inflation.