THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 25, 1995 TAG: 9511230042
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 38 lines
Does anyone really think that balancing the federal budget in seven years is a good idea if it entails cutting Medicare, ending federal regulation of nursing homes and placing restrictions on the EPA?
Federal programs and regulations are enacted to correct deficiencies. There was a time when many elderly people were expected to live in poverty. (Come to think of it, that was the last time Republicans ruled the House.) In its wisdom, our government determined that all taxpaying Americans should have food and shelter. Social Security and, later, Medicare were born.
As a native Ohioan, I remember when the Cuyahoga River burned. No ordinary citizen argued about the value of regulations to curtail the amount of pollutants released. I also remember horrifying nursing-home scandals. Most Americans agreed with the laws written to protect their loved ones and themselves. Federal programs and regulations provide for a minimum standard of living, environmental quality and care.
Republicans have confused the function of government with the stark utility of the balance sheet. I want my government officials to consider what their actions will do to me, to you and to our loved ones. There are many countries in the world in which there are low taxes and few rules and programs to guide their citizens, They are Third World countries. I expect better.
This should not be a battle of personal ideologies. Our future is at stake. I do not want yours and mine to rest on the whining heads of Bob Dole and Newt Gingrich. I call for wisdom and reason to prevail!
CATHERINE M. WORTHING
Portsmouth, Nov. 14, 1995 by CNB