Doctors' salaries
I was astounded to learn the expected starting salary for a cardiologist in Raleigh is $350,000 ("Cardiology practices in keen competition," Dec. 19)! Just what do they do to earn all that money? Do they really bring that much benefit to the citizens of North Carolina?
I studied general practice for five years after medical school, then moved to Hayesville in 1976. My earnings that first year might have reached $10,000, and I was happy to get that much. I delivered babies, examined the deceased for the N.C. medical examiner and took good care of everyone in between. Night calls and house calls were routine. Now after 40 years of practice, I am grateful to make about $100,000 for a year's work. Of course, a lot of that goes to taxes. Despite this "low" salary, I have managed to get the mortgage paid off, support three children through college and stay out of debt. I drive a used car, take relatively inexpensive vacations, and enjoy life in general. What would I do with $350,000 a year? Give most of it away, I believe.
So I can sympathize with the administrators of Medicare and Medicaid when they want to cut doctors' salaries. The reimbursement for specialists has gotten way too inflated, as far as this old practitioner can surmise.
DR. JAMES S. CAMPBELL
Pfafftown
Extreme conservatism
Since President Richard Nixon's administration, the Republican Party has been shifting to the right. Unhinged extremists push it even further right.
President Lyndon B. Johnson's housing and voting-rights legislation enraged segregationists, enabling Nixon to "flip" blue-dog Democrats into red-dog Republicans. The party's center is no longer the Midwest, it's the Southeast. South Carolina, not Iowa or New Hampshire, now predicts the Republican presidential nominee.
Prior to Nixon's era, Republican leadership was typically reserved, informed and responsible. Moderate social conservatives were the party's main constituents. An informed conservative advocate of yesteryear was William F. Buckley. Today, it's a pompous buffoon, Rush Limbaugh. Moderate Republicans, once pillars of the party in Congress, are now virtually extinct.
From President Franklin D. Roosevelt's time, conservatives have opposed "socialism." They still do, but willingly accept "socialist" program benefits. Corporate lobbyists influence congressmen to approve expensive military legislation. Conservative mega-corporations such as GE and Halliburton compete with social programs for our tax dollars and are more successful.
World War II-belligerent countries have maintained peace among themselves. We, however, have waged five major wars, annihilating and maiming millions of people. Have these military solutions made us safer from "those who want to kill us"?
Extreme conservatism is a social disaster. It's anti-black, anti-Muslim, anti-European, anti-gay, anti-indigents, anti-unionist and anti-migrant. Its social vitriol is un-American.
Neoconservatives advised war with militant Islamists. It was tried and found wanting. Militant extremists worldwide are a scourge on humanity for consistently choosing military solutions over peace initiatives. Paranoid militants sustain perpetual war.
JOSEPH J. CUTRI
Winston-Salem
A selfless and serving leader
I have lived and worked in and around Winston-Salem for the past 31 years. I do health care. And I have worked with and very carefully observed many health-care leaders around the Triad during these three decades. I read with great interest your Dec. 17 front-page article about Donny Lambeth ("Baptist chief steps down").
Donny is a thoughtful, effective, grounded and humble leader. A selfless servant. A fine man. It is a rare individual who would willingly work hard all day and then spend 17 years after hours leading any school board — much less one as large and as complex as that of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools.
After many years of successfully managing the complexities of health-care delivery and ably leading in many important roles at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Donny was well prepared and ready for new challenges. True to his willingness to serve where most needed, Donny has focused his professional energies and best efforts on enhancing the health care being delivered in smaller regional hospitals outside of Forsyth County.
Donny Lambeth is a health-care hero. Those reading should realize that the high-quality health care that we all enjoy (and too often take for granted) locally only comes from years of devoted and intentional service by the likes of Donny Lambeth. And for that, my family and I are particularly grateful.
DR. T.J. PULLIAM
Lewisville
What specific responsibilities and duties do cardiologists in Raleigh typically undertake that justify their expected starting salary of $350,000, as mentioned in the article?Telkom University
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