Letters to the Editor

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: To send in your Letters to the Editor, email them to Deputy Executive Editor Jessica Luck at [email protected]. Letters pertaining to local issues receive priority. Letters may be edited for grammar and space.

+ Entitlement insanity
Dear Editor:
Your article outlining the financial aspects of Medicaid was excellent. I particularly liked that, on a succinct basis, you nailed the myth of the “money” issue per se.

Politicians have been distorting and hyping the so-called entitlement programs since their inception.

Every entitlement program beginning with Social Security was established primarily for political votes.
Programs were not financially sustainable from inception without deficit financing.

Every program today has been exploited and gamed to include individuals and benefits that were never intended; this was for political votes.

Unfortunately, today we have an entitlement-attitude society, created by politicians over the past 79 years.

The only entitlement for a citizen is freedom, and to be free from government as stated and guaranteed in our U.S. Constitution.

Prior to 1935 and 148 years before, individuals provided for their own retirement needs and medical care.
Franklin Roosevelt and the Democrats with Social Security in 1935 started the current welfare state.

The dominant recipients of social, government largesse are 65 and older. They are receiving far more financial value than they ever paid into any of the programs.

Concerning money borrowed by government to sustain the programs, and the debt for their children and grandchildren: Those financial facts do not concern them. They only pay lip service to the issue.

Former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson of Wyoming described them as Senior chiselers.

Think about this: $744 billion borrowed annually by the federal government, to cover the deficit in support of $1,694 trillion for entitlements.

That is financial insanity.
Victor J. Cameron
Sarasota

+ Resources to sustain life are a right
Dear Editor:
In the editorial, “Why not to expand Medicaid,” I notice the following: “Medical services are like water, food and oil: They are not a right; they are scarce resources. They are not free.”  

Very much to the contrary, I have long read in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

It cannot be true that life is a right, but the food and water necessary to support it are not.

I refer interested readers to many excellent books about the Irish so-called “famine” of 1845-1851. The potato crops had failed. The genocidal practices of the British government exported the food that could be grown, leaving nothing for the million or more who starved because there was no “right” to food.

As for water, “Recent comments from Nestle CEO Peter Brabeck imply that the world’s water will soon come under the control of corporations like his. Brabeck makes the astonishing claim that water is not a human right but should be managed by business people and governing bodies. He wants water controlled, privatized, and delegated ...”

In a satirical vein, there are Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal,” which recommends cannibalism as a remedy for the Irish “famine” and the musical “Urinetown,” where even excretion has been monetized.

Is “free as the air” merely a slogan, soon to become an anachronism? Are we no more than “consuming units,” of value only because we fill the pockets of those who control the necessaries of life?
Dave Coyle
Sarasota

+ Women should be given equal opportunity
Dear Editor:
In today’s society women have more opportunities than ever before. Whether it’s in the work force or even on the ball field.

Back in 1972, Senator Birch Bayh of Indiana authored and sponsored Title IX. Did he truly have any idea of the impact this would have on aspiring female athletes? Mo’ne Davis, the 18th female playing in the 2014 Little League World Series, has captured the hearts of America.  Not long after the passing of Title IX, the rules were changed that barred girls from representing their communities and playing in the LLWS.

She has opened the eyes of so many young girls that they too can play baseball, a game not just for boys. Truth be known, I think she is also opening the eyes of many of young men as well. Maybe  “throwing like a girl” isn’t a bad thing after all.  

I recently began my senior year at Sarasota High. Softball has provided me many opportunities, and the amount of doors it has opened for me is unbelievable. I have traveled the nation, from New York City to the canyons of Utah all because of this great sport. Being an athlete teaches teamwork and responsibility. Being an athlete builds integrity and fosters determination. Being an athlete means being responsible, not only to yourself but to others. Being an athlete means you know how to win with grace and lose with class. Life lessons in the making! Softball has allowed me to earn a D1 college softball scholarship to my dream school, Florida International University. To all of the athletes with a dream, I encourage you to never give up and work until it becomes a reality.

I cannot even begin to tell you how many hours or days I have spent on the ball field, but I can tell you one thing I would not change it for the world. The best memories I have made were on that softball diamond, and I will certainly never forget them. Not only have I made the best memories I have also made the best friends. Being a teammate teaches a young lady how to build strong relationships.
Halie Roberson
Sarasota High senior