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Letters
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- Written by: Nelson Strasser
Let us recall that President Obama campaigned for office with the promise of health care reform. And, we elected him to do just that.
And so, he began an effort to draft a bill after he was elected. Many are unhappy with the bill that resulted, but, keep in mind that 3,000 lobbyists from the health care industry descended on Washington, D.C. to influence the bill, and the end product was the best that the administration could do under the circumstances.
Some folks are saying Obamacare is bad because it forces people to have health insurance. All the folks on Social Security have Medicare.
They (like me) are forced to pay for Medicare – it is taken out of our check. Have you ever heard one person complain about Medicare because they are forced to pay for it? Not!
I found a site that calculated my payment for health insurance under Obamacare in California. I entered my circumstances, except used a younger age (at my age, I get Medicare). My health insurance under Obamacare would be $244. With Medicare and supplemental, my actual health insurance is about $255. Obamacare is very reasonably priced.
Then, why the obstruction?
First, there are enough Republican votes to pass the budget, according to my son. Speaker Boehner is refusing to accept the plan, and it can’t pass without his approval.
One man is jamming the machinery of government. How can he do this? He can do it because his stand on Obamacare does not threaten his reelection, which is also true of many other Republican congressman.
This means that their constituencies are saying, “I don’t want health care for myself and my family.” The irony is that many are middle class and working poor, and yet they have the same world view as millionaires, who have no issue paying their own health care.
So, the reason the government is closed is that some people vote against their own interests. They see the world through the same prism as do the rich.
This is doubly sad, because there are many more of us than there are of them. How do we turn on the lights in the hinterland?
Nelson Strasser lives in Lakeport, Calif.
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- Written by: Ed Robey
I would like to explain why the Sierra Club has endorsed Measure H, which would raise funds for road repair in the city of Clearlake, as well as for code enforcement.
It has long been evident that erosion from deteriorating streets in the city of Clearlake results in the introduction of soil and road surface pollutants into Clear Lake, and that excessive nutrients from hard surface runoff of this kind contribute to noxious algae blooms.
Very suggestively, the county's recent analysis of satellite images of Clear Lake has shown a “hot spot” in the lake adjacent to the city of Clearlake area consistent with a high level of pollution from this source.
By providing the funding needed to repair the city streets, Measure H will reduce erosion and discharge of polluted waters into the lake.
Effective code enforcement will also reduce pollution by removing sources of toxic materials in the city, including those originating from excessive marijuana grows in violation of the city's cultivation ordinance.
These are the primary reasons that the Sierra Club supports this ballot initiative. Therefore, we ask the voters in Clearlake to support and vote for Measure H.
Ed Robey is chair of the Sierra Club Lake Group. He lives in Lower Lake, Calif.
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- Written by: Anthony Farrington
After much careful thought and deliberation, I have decided to withdraw my candidacy for the Fourth Assembly District race.
Even though my family, friends, and supporters, in particular my wife, have been supportive of my candidacy, I have decided that the time is not right for me to seek higher office.
I owe this great community a huge debt of gratitude, for the honor and privilege to be able to represent my constituents and the residents of Lake County. I love Lake County, and it is here where I plan to grow old and raise my family.
There are currently many pressing issues confronting our community.
For example, the need to find ongoing revenue to better manage Clear Lake and our watershed; the need to move forward with our Board's current application to secure surface water rights to Clear Lake; my desire to continue to serve on the Marymount University Advisory Committee, and continue to grow this new treasure within our community; the urgency to see that Konocti Resort is reopened; moving forward to upgrade our antiquated infrastructure, in particular the North Lakeport, and Soda Bay water systems; and to complete the $15 million road project in the South Main/Soda Bay corridor which includes the under grounding of utilities, and providing water service, to name a few.
In addition, it is with a great sense of obligation that I finish my current term so that I am able to continue to represent my constituents who have been devastated by the landslide that took place at the Lakeside Heights subdivision in North Lakeport.
While my campaign never began fundraising, we did receive generous donations from individuals and businesses eager to support my candidacy. I thank those individuals, and I will be returning their donations.
I truly hope that in the near future Lake County will have a representative of its own. History has shown that we only see state candidates during an election.
Lake County deserves better – we deserve a candidate who is committed to Lake County at all times, and not just when they are running for office.
Lastly, I want to thank everyone that believed in me, and supported my candidacy. I will forever be grateful for your faith in me.
Anthony Farrington represents District 4 on the Lake County Board of Supervisors. He lives in Lakeport, Calif.
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- Written by: Dave Gebhard
Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and now the Affordable Care Act constitute our social safety net.
Prior to their enactment, the disabled and elderly, sick and poor, were on their own. They were left to their own devices. Leave them to the churches, say the Tea Party people. Government is not responsible.
Regretfully, neither states, counties nor cities are equal in their application of compassionate programs. There are hard-hearted politicians who think like the Tea Party, that tax money is misused for these programs.
The Republican-dominated House of Representatives has voted more than 40 times attempting to repeal the Affordable Care Act. They have no qualms keeping the status quo, millions of Americans without health care.
They have convinced themselves and many Americans that it is a bad investment, but giving health care to people can only reduce serious illness, thus reduce the taxpayer responsibility in the long run. Taxpayers pay for uninsured patients anyway, we might as well catch illness in the bud.
Investment in health care and education, as well as nutrition, is necessary to a healthy future for the whole country.
Think how the present recipients would live without the safety net, and how would it affect our environment and the spirit of our country.
Dave Gebhard lives in Lakeport, Calif.