Please critique my LTTE

Thanks... it's for the Hartford Courant.

John Ruggiero of Glastonbury (LTTE, Dec. 28) should really do a bit of research before denouncing government run health care and pensions.

First, polls indicate that 2/3 of Americans would pay higher taxes in exchange for a health insurance system that covered everybody. While America has some of the finest doctors, hospitals and medical schools in the world, our health care system is only ranked #37 overall, and in the 50s in terms of fairness. This is while paying twice the per capita cost of Europe for our care. While national health care is not perfect, it has proven to be far better than our scandalously bad patchwork system.

Second, despite the 70% number Limbaugh and his ilk like to throw out there for European tax rates, the true tax burden in Europe is a little over 40% per capita. In the US, it is 27%. Yes, it is more than 50% higher than our tax burden. But, in exchange, Europeans have universal health care, are generally healthier and better educated, have greater social mobility and much less of a gap between the rich and poor than America.

So, while Mr. Ruggiero would prefer to trust his retirement to the likes of AIG and Enron, and his health care to Pfizer and Aetna, I think most Americans would prefer the comfort of having Uncle Sam watching their backs.

Here is the original letter:
Out Of Pensions

David Morse's Commentary article "Going For Broke" brings forth the typical liberal view: Let's have the government and employers establish what we should get for retirement instead of educating people and letting them be responsible for their own decisions.

Maybe we should follow in the footsteps of many European countries where the government runs pensions and health care. For this, workers only pay about 70 percent in taxes. Let's see if Americans really like that.

If the government paid back all the money it took from Social Security, there would be enough for all the baby boomers and the people who follow. The real shortfall has been created by our elected officials.

John L. Ruggiero

Glastonbury

Second, despite the 70% number Limbaugh and his ilk like to throw out there for European tax rates, the true tax burden in Europe is a little over 40% per capita. In the US, it is 27%.

This implys that the cost of health care is not included in products made in America. I belive it was about $5000 per car for the cost of health care for the auto workers.

but, in America we get nickel & dimed to death with insurance co-pays and the like that are not direct taxes.

This is according to a recent (last two months) Time Magazine article for which I don't have a link (we subscribe), but could probably be found with Google.

Are you sure your editor will print a response to another letter? Our newspapers in NJ do not, saying that it gets into a letters war and that is not the focus of a letters page.


Cher

Last year, somebody had written an LTTE about how generous red states were, while blues were stingy, citing the College of Philanthropy list. I did some research and wrote in an LTTE that got published...

and is the perfect length for publication.

The only thing I'd do is punch up the very last phrase, "would prefer the comfort of having Uncle Sam watching their backs". (Are you really talking about comfort or, security? What does "watching their backs" mean? Saying it directly would be more powerful, imho -- as you do in the rest of the letter.)


:thumbsup:

IMO, the last sentence could be reworded. To me the phrase "Uncle Sam watching their backs" has a negative "Big Brother" connotation.

I was originally going to say having Uncle Sam watch over them, but with Snoopgate, that might not be true...

In more direct language, maybe it would be "appreciate the security of a well funded national healthcare plan" or, (your words). :)

preventative care can save money down the line -

flu shots, inoculations against common diseases (say, the bird flu?), and catching early symptoms of a major problem, as opposed to the standard practices of those with no health care - going to the emergency room because the emergency rooms by law have to take the people in, and are more expensive to treat minor problems.

As the old cliche goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure...

You say this:
Second, despite the 70% number Limbaugh and his ilk like to throw out there for European tax rates, the true tax burden in Europe is a little over 40% per capita. In the US, it is 27%. Yes, it is more than 50% higher than our tax burden.

I think that could be a little stronger by saying something like:
Yes, that is a 13% difference...

The way I've stated it there could probably be improved upon. It's just that to say it's 50% higher, when you are trying to show that the differences are not as much as generally thought, doesn't seem to support your purpose as well as saying it another way might. The use of that 50% figure tends to inflate the difference, imho.

And I agree with the earlier posters about that "Uncle Sam watching our backs" comment. That might inadvertently play into the fears of some of your readers about "socialism." Might be better to say something about "eliminating the middle man, insurance company profits, or something that would indicate how the system you propose would cover all Americans, not just the wealthy.

though I do agree about changing the Uncle Sam watching our backs.

Not that I want you to change anything else, but does the 27% US tax rate include sales tax and property tax? Does europe's tax rate include VAT or whatever else they pay?

Bill