Writer lacks heart in health care position

In his recent letter to the editor, Jeff Lonigro wrote: "No one has a right to medical care, education, or government redistribution of wealth programs known as welfare."

This is akin to Ebenezer Scrooge's line in "A Christmas Carol" in which he told two men soliciting donations for the poor that, "if the poor be like to die, they'd better do it and decrease the surplus population."

His attitude is basically the same selfish attitude of the kooks showing up at the health care town hall meetings hoping to get their faces on YouTube: "I've got mine and to heck with the rest of you."

Most other civilized nations consider access to health care a basic right of citizenship. Countries with universal health care spend half of what we do because they don't waste billions of dollars on insurance company profits. For all the baloney right wingers put out about the long wait people in the countries supposedly have for health care, none of those people are demanding change to the system we have of paying ridiculous premiums to an insurance company and then hoping they won't find some lame excuse not to pay a claim or just dropping us altogether if we get sick.

Courts have, like it or not, recognized a right to health care to those who are in jail for having committed crimes. Shouldn't the law abiding have the same right?

The bottom line is that the private sector has done a poor job of providing health care. This is why a public option is necessary.

To have the selfish attitude that health care is a privilege reserved for the wealthy is disgusting on many levels. Those who whine about having to pay taxes for it were strangely silent when we threw $700 billion down a rathole bailing out the banks. They should also remember that others are paying for their police and fire protection as well as the public schools their children attend and the roads they drive their BMWs on.

Charles E. Crouse

Elgin