Winston-Salem Journal LTE TU 07/10/12

Accept the decision

In my opinion, mandating health insurance is no different from mandating automobile insurance. It is an accepted law that we cannot drive a car without it.

My husband and I have paid automobile insurance for more years than we can remember, and we are still paying. We have never been in an accident that was our fault, but it could happen any day, and therefore we would never want to be without insurance. The same principal applies to health care.

Hospital bills are out of sight because those of us who have insurance are paying not only our bills but also the bills of people without insurance.

When people go to the emergency room without insurance and are unable to pay, the hospital has no choice but to increase charges for those who have coverage.

I know there are those who cannot pay for insurance, but in the act just upheld by the Supreme Court there are provisions made for those who do not have the income to pay, and that is as it should be.

Those who are pledging to repeal this act should accept the Supreme Court's constitutional decision and leave politics out of it.

Those who think this is taking away our freedom must not have noticed: If you are satisfied with your current insurance you may keep it.

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NAOMI J. DAVIS

Winston-Salem

U.K. health care

I can add to Cal Thomas's list of anecdotes ("A guide for U.S. health under Obamacare," June 27) trying to prove how terrible the U.K.'s health care is with the fact that one of my wife's brothers-in-law died recently in an English hospital. I can also state that the CIA World Fact Book says that the citizens of the U.K. have a life expectancy of 80.17 years, the U.S. 78.49 years. The infant mortality rate in the U.K. is 4.56 per 1,000 births to the U.S.'s 5.98, and the maternal mortality rate in the U.K. is 12 per 100,000 births while the rate in the U.S. is twice that, at 24.

The World Fact Book also says that the U.K. spends 9.3 percent of its GDP on health care while the U.S. spends 16.2 percent. This translates to roughly $7,000 per capita per year in the U.S. and about half that amount in the U.K.

The disparity between what Thomas writes and what the CIA reports leads me to conclude that someone is lying; I just need to try to determine who and why.

By the way, my wife's brother-in-law was 94 years old and died after a few weeks in the hospital, where my sister-in-law said the staff provided compassionate care while doing all you could expect (and more) to keep her husband comfortable.

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PAUL D. WHITSON

Advance

Health outcomes

As a medical doctor visiting Winston-Salem from the U.K., I have been following with interest the coverage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Cal Thomas, in his June 27 column, "A guide for U.S. health under Obamacare," made unfavorable comparisons between the U.S. and the U.K. system, based on a short visit to Northern Ireland.

I know that no health-care system is perfect, but while all health-care systems have horror stories, it is striking that the most robust data (such as the CIA's own statistics) demonstrates that the U.K.'s National Health Service performs better on health outcomes, including infant mortality and life expectancy, for a significantly lower cost overall.

The successful passage of the ACA represents a really positive step forward for the health of the people of the U.S. It is finally moving toward affordable health care, truly for all.

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DR. SHARON CUTHBERT

Winston-Salem

A serious crime

In reference to the column "Woman gets little penalty for starving dog to death" (June 28), when will the "educated gods" of the justice system figure out that cruelty toward animals is a serious crime that deserves a severe penalty?

The evidence shows that this poor dog suffered tremendously at the hands of its owner, Angelanetta Gladden. I cannot understand how anyone could justify starving an animal to death; and I cannot understand how any judge would be so flippant in the miniscule punishment that was bestowed on Gladden. She didn't even have to pay a fine.

So it seems that the only ones receiving any punishment are the dog, Diamond, and the taxpayers. Judge Todd Burke may have a degree in law, but he doesn't understand justice.

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STEVE MABE

Germanton

Hanes Park

I sit on my porch mornings and evenings looking over Hanes Park. It is well used, much loved, but clearly just a green shadow of what it once was.

P.H. Hanes Sr. presented the 47 acres to the city on July 3, 1919. This past week was the 92nd anniversary of that gift. Soon it will mark its 100th — certainly a time for reflection upon Hanes' original vision.

The deed granting Hanes' land to Winston-Salem succinctly describes the intent of his gift:

"… that the properties herein donated shall be developed so as to make it a modern up-to-date park with the usual and ordinary conveniences for public comfort, … that such development be made under … Louis L. Miller, Landscape Gardener …"

When the park was completed, Miller declared it the "finest public park south of Washington."

Its beauty has faded since. The danger such deterioration poses is evident in recent stadium debates. Some have pointed to crumbling steps as justification to build upon the land in a way that would forever alter the seamless, balanced relationship described in the deed and would separate school grounds from park with a bold boundary that I feel Hanes never envisioned.

I would like to take the attention now focused on the park in a different direction. In honor of Hanes' vision, generosity and act of civil duty, I hope we can find a way to restore Hanes Park's beauty. Let's improve Hanes Park and get it properly prepared for a grand Centennial celebration.

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ELIZABETH COYNE

Winston-Salem

Economic policies

Imagine in the 1980s if we had had four more years of Jimmy Carter's economic policies. It would have been impossible for even President Reagan to turn that economy around. I'm afraid the same holds true if we have four more years of President Obama's economic policies.

Also, it's very discouraging as we learn more about Obamacare — significantly higher taxes as we lose control of our personal health care. Obama needs to be replaced in November, if not for us, then for our kids and grandkids.

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GEORGE W. DICKSON

Pfafftown