VOICE OF THE PEOPLE | Aug. 8

The Herald

Sandwich better with whole wheat

Being as it's such an important subject, I must comment on the “Bring on the maters” article in The Herald's Lifestyles section. Although my friends Barbara Barkley and Jane Clute mean well, there are serious problems with their tomato sandwich recipes.

Jane, please do not put low-fat mayo on your sandwich. That's like putting costume jewelry on the Queen of England. Just use less of the real stuff.

Now, Barbara, come on, where's the salt and pepper, and after giving up white bread, you will find the sandwich is better on a whole wheat English muffin or really fresh whole wheat bread. I won't even get into the Hellmans vs. Dukes argument because I use the cheap stuff from Aldi. Shame, shame!

Ric Porter

Fort Mill

Why won't Spratt hold public forum?

During the summer recess of Congress, many representatives and senators are heading home and holding town halls with the people who put them in office. For those who have had video shown from these meetings, there is an overwhelming negative response to the health care bill that is floating around Congress.

I was hoping to discuss health care with my congressman, John Spratt, along with other people he is supposed to represent, while he is on vacation. But Rep. Spratt will not be holding any town halls. Why is he avoiding the people who elect him to office and why does he refuse to answer questions about his recent voting record in a public forum?

Chris Adams

Lake Wylie

What would happen if limit is lowered?

I recently read an article saying that the drinking age in South Carolina could potentialy be lowered to 18. At first, I was a bit skeptical, to say the least. As a 20-year-old male college student, one would think that I would be all for it.

I am not all for it but would support the decision. The usual problems will always arise. Are younger people capable of handling the responsibility that comes with alcohol? Will it destroy the youth of America? Yes, they are, and no, it will not.

At first, there would be a surge of young people wanting to go to the bars and party, but it would soon die off. I would say most of the reason drinking is such a popular pastime is simply because you're not supposed to do it. But let's face it, the drinking age being 21 really does not stop anyone from drinking. If a kid wants alcohol, it is certainly not hard to get it, especially around a college campus. So, really, what is the 21-year-old minimum age doing?

I say nothing but making underage kids party in sketchy places, get completely wasted when they have the chance, and filling the jails with unnecessary tennants.

Josh Snipes

Rock Hill

Status quo isn't working

Forty six million Americans are uninsured, 25 million more under-insured, and 14,000 people lose their health insurance every day.

U.S. health care spending is over $2 trillion per year and increasing rapidly. The average cost per year for every U.S. citizen $6,700.

The average cost per year in the United Kingdom is $2,800, in France, $3,500, and in Canada, $3,700

What does all that additional spending buy? Not life expectancy, where we rank 50th in the world; not infant mortality, where we rank 180th in the world. Countries such as Angola and Turkey rank better than the U.S. on infant mortality rates.

Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have doubled in the past nine years, three times faster than wages. Deductibles and co-pays continue to increase.

A high percentage of personal bankruptcy involves medical debt. Those of us with employer-sponsored heath insurance are a pink slip away from being uninsured.

Beware of statements from special interest groups that profit from the status quo and their political allies. When you hear that we need to slow down the process and health care reform equals socialized medicine, you should be skeptical.

When politicians make scary sounding proclamations such as: A new government-run program will make health care more expensive, raise taxes, ration care and empower bureaucrats to make key medical decisions instead of patients and doctors, you should think about who benefits from the current system. All this fear-mongering is code language for doing nothing while protecting the status quo.

If you believe the health care status quo is unacceptable, contact your congressman and senators this month and tell them that American citizens deserve better: No more discrimination for pre-existing conditions; no exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses, deductibles or co-pays; no cost-sharing for preventive care; no dropping of coverage if you become seriously ill; no gender discrimination; no annual or lifetime caps on coverage; extended coverage for young adults; and guaranteed insurance renewal so long as premiums are paid.

We pay the most for health care; why shouldn't we get the best health care our money can buy?

Frank J. Traficante

Rock Hill