Don’t be blind to Internet’s falsehoods

It is sad and disappointing to watch opinions about our country’s future be published in this newspaper without someone, somewhere first checking the facts. I refer to the letter to the editor dated June 17, “Know what will happen to Medicare” where Ms. Elke Trescott states Medicare premiums will double in 2014 as a result of the Affordable Care Act (that’s what it’s called — not Obamacare). The fact is that statements about Medicare doubling its premiums are totally false.

Maybe that’s why, as the writer states “we have not heard anything about this on television or read it in the newspapers.” Check it out for yourself. Go to Google and type in the phrase “Medicare premiums to rise in 2014” and you will get several reputable sites (factcheck.org, politifact.com, and others) that not only state this is categorically wrong, but those same sites also say that information about this is similar to a falsehood-filled screed that went around last year, urging “retribution” against members of Congress in the 2010 midterm elections.

Here is another fact — Medicare trustees issued these projected premiums in May 2011: for 2012, $99.40; 2013, $110.50; 2014, $115.80; 2015, $120.80; 2016, $1260. In this contentious political environment, I hope all Americans become aware of this simple fact regarding the Internet: just because something is “on the Internet” does not make it true.

Lawrence Hamsing

Streamwood