My Opinion by George Nichols

Who would have guessed that our illustrious editor would become an expert on health care reform?  In his August 24 editorial, Dr. Dan has demonstrated his ability to reduce a complex subject to a 60-year old comedy routine, which aptly describes our editor himself.  What level of education is required to compress a 1,000-page health care reform bill to 3 pages?  While Dr. Dan is an educated man, his editorial appears to be the work of a child.  As every parent with a child in Miss Sasso’s third grade class knows, last week each student submitted an essay on the subject of health care reform.  And our editor’s grandson is in Miss Sasso’s class.  Must we consult with Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot to reach the conclusion that our learned editor plagiarized his grandson’s essay?  Miss Sasso will not release the essays, so we will never know if there are additional brilliant arguments to add to the health care debate.

George Nichols is a Town Council member and is running for reelection in November.

Editorial: Health Care Forum

August is Health Care Forum Month, as anyone who has a television, radio, or newspaper knows.  Endless interpretations of the Obama administration’s plan for government-run health care have been floated.  With five versions being developed in the House and one in the Senate, the health care debate is reminiscent of Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on First” routine.  That’s right, What’s on second and Idunno’s on third base.  Average Americans rightly rebel against such nonsense.

Meanwhile, the president claims to want only two things: Coverage for all, and lower costs for all.  Liberals claim that this can only be accomplished by the federal government, and conservatives claim that it can’t be done.  But these two goals are worthy and not mutually exclusive if the government gets out of the way.  Instead of 1,000 pages, a three-page bill would do the job:

Page 1: Allow health insurance companies interstate sales to increase competition and reduce our costs.

Page 2: Allow health insurance premiums to be tax-deductible for all, not just for employers, giving individuals control and lower costs at the same time.

Page 3: Government welfare in the form of health care credits for the small minority of American citizens who are not helped by pages 1 and 2. 

Most Americans believe that our health care system can and should be improved, and we have always been willing to help those in need.  From our elected representatives a true statesman must emerge to lead the way to sensible health care management that gives all citizens freedom and control.  Who is that statesman?  No, he’s on first base.