A valid fear

Letter writer Georgeanne Koehler (Jan. 13) must be living in a cave if she thinks "a robust health-care bill is nothing to fear." In the words of Ronald Reagan, "government is the problem, not the answer."

What gives her the confidence that another government bureaucracy is what we need is beyond me. There are too many government failures to list, so let me give you one. In 1977 the Department of Energy was created under Jimmy Carter to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. Well, here we are 33 years later and our dependence on oil imports has grown from 30 percent to 70 percent. The Department of Energy has a budget of $25 billion this year, has 16,000 government employees and approximately 100,000 contracted employees, and the department has never accomplished the original objective.

Health-care reform is estimated to cost you and I $1 trillion over the next 10 years. A robust health-care bill is exactly what we should fear. Be afraid -- very afraid.

 

JIM HOCHENDONER
Carrick