More Letters to the Editor

Government Policies Lead to Socialism

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

The president is implementing a socialist policy; the government is planning the direction the Big Three will go, in order to become more competitive. This policy is detrimental to the consumer because under this plan, car prices would cost $2,000-$10,000 more.

What I find ridiculous is that the government is loaning $25 billion to the Big Three to manufacture green cars at a higher price.

If the Big Three don't recognize their own self-interests, the government shouldn't help them. Consumers must band together to advocate their interests in our capitalist society before socialist policies become the norm.

Albert Yeh. Fork Union.

Does Tavenner's Logic Apply to Single Moms?

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

Amen.

And while we're on the subject of individual responsibility, what about all the single mothers and their sperm donors who expect taxpayers to foot their bills?

The costs to taxpayers and society for the babies involves more than just delivery-room costs. Many have special needs, from medical to psychological, and are raised in non-nurturing environments. I'll bet the total financial aid they and their families receive rivals that of smoking-related health care costs. For one thing, smokers die earlier.

"Single mother" is a non-judgmental term, designed to conjure up images of an exhausted mom trying to cope with a job and raise children on her own. It is ennobling. Candidates cite the need for increased spending for single-parent families. Only the hardest of hearts would deny funds to innocent children.

I wish Tavenner well in her campaign to encourage personal responsibility. Would that it extended into other areas of human behavior instead of just smoking.

Nancy Fuchs. Burgess.

Bill Could Stimulate Loss of Privacy

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

A congressional summary of the $825 billion stimulus states that $20 billion will be invested in nationwide electronic exchange of health information. How will nationalizing private health records fix the economy? Why should our personal health records be collected in a federal database in the first place?

The congressional summary cautioned, "As health care providers move to exchanging large amounts of health information electronically, it is important to ensure that such information remains private and secure." Have they forgotten the numerous breaches of security involving federal and private databases, most recently Heartland Payment Systems involving tens of millions of credit and debit card transactions?

It is bad enough there has been little transparency, sparse tracking, and loss of billions already disbursed. Now national health and pork projects are being slipped in the new stimulus package that must be passed "swiftly." What else is buried in this bill? Change without full disclosure, intense media scrutiny, and honest citizen debate is not the change we need!

Cathy Marshall. Manassas.