Letters to the Editor

Letters To The Editor, 6/23/09

Will Regulation Give Altria Immunity?
Editor, Times-Dispatch: At last, the dreams of Altria (Philip Morris USA) have come true, and all the money it spent lobbying legislators has paid off. Congress has now passed legislation that Altria has wanted for years -- namely, to get the federal government into the cigarette business.

Why would a big company like Altria advocate federal regulation of its business, if it weren't for an ulterior motive? Certainly not for any altruistic reason. Could it be that once the government regulates nicotine and tars, Altria can dodge any further cancerand health-related lawsuits, and simply point to the FDA, saying, "You can't sue us, it's not our fault, the government said it was OK."

This is a greater boondoggle than Sen. Ted Stevens' Bridge to Nowhere. We've all known since 1776 that Congress is still for sale, and that taxpayers will provide the legal tender for said sale.

Ernest Irby.
Henrico.

In his letter, J. Michael Schweder complains that the rates his company pays to use Embarq's local telephone network contain support that helps keep basic service rates affordable, especially in high-cost areas of the state. Based on his comments, it appears he has not read the SCC's May 29 order, which reduces by half the rates he finds troubling.

As a resident of Pennsylvania, and not Oakton, Va., Schweder may not know that although Embarq serves less than 10 percent of the local telephone customers in Virginia, those customers live in the more rural parts of the state where the cost to provide basic telephone service is extremely high.

The support Schweder complains about exists because, as a nation, it was decided many years ago that all Americans should have access to basic telephone service and that it was a benefit for everyone to be able to call to -- and from -- places where telephone service would otherwise be cost-prohibitive. In some areas of Virginia served by Embarq, the real cost of service is more than $100 a month per customer. Without some form of support, many of these Virginians could not afford even the most basic telephone service.

Although further access reductions might be welcomed by an AT&T president in Pennsylvania or by its corporate headquarters in Texas, they would only harm Virginians. The SCC was sensitive to the needs of rural consumers in the recent order reducing Embarq's access rates. Although the SCC did not adopt the Embarq position in the case, it certainly did not adopt the extreme position taken by AT&T and others. Rich Schollmann, State executive, Embarq.


Richmond.

Obama Health Plan Makes No Sense
Editor, Times-Dispatch: Do people think the Obama administration's health care plan, whereby pre-existing health conditions cannot be used to exclude coverage nor increase the premiums for coverage, is good? Does it make them feel good that the government is going to take care of that unfortunate person with poor health?

Well, think a moment about this theoretical situation whereby all of the car owners in my neighborhood participated in a single group automobile insurance plan. This plan would not allow the insurance company to limit pre-existing conditions nor charge policyholders anything extra for them.

So all of the car owners in the neighborhood sign up for this group policy. Then, one day a new neighbor moves in. He has a badly damaged car from a recent wreck. He decides to participate in our neighborhood group car-insurance plan, and because the plan stipulates that the insurance company cannot limit coverage for pre-existing conditions nor charge extra for them, this new neighbor signs up for coverage with the exact same rate that I am paying.

The next day, he files an accident claim, and the insurance company pays him $12,000 to repair his wrecked car. At the end of the month, all of the neighbors receive bills from the insurance company increasing their premiums to cover the new neighbor's claim.

Now, if you were me, would you think that was fair? That the new neighbor with the already wrecked car could pay the same premium that the rest of the neighborhood was paying, get his car repaired the next day, and then everyone's premiums are increased, even though they are good drivers and are taking good care of their cars?

Well, that's exactly what the Obama administration proposes to do with its government health care plan. I don't know about others, but it seems ludicrous to me.

William E. Kahl.
Moseley.