VA, Medicare not well-run systems

Your Voice

By: Letters to the Editor | Hickory Daily Record
Published: October 01, 2009

I agree with Carole Hovland that the Veterans Administration is an example of a socialistic health-care system. I disagree about the government's ownership.

They pay for the buildings, staff and other necessities to run these facilities with our tax dollars. I agree that the veteran deserves high-quality health care.

I'm not familiar with the National Committee for Quality Assurance. The very name seems to indicate a government organization. I would expect such an agency would rate the VA health care best in the United States.

I have never heard of the Mayo Clinic or Johns Hopkins having a facility overrun with rats or buildings declared unsanitary with mold, resulting in the director being fired. There some VA facilities that can make this claim.

I'm sure there are veterans happy with quality of care received from VA facilities, and I'm sure there are just as many if not more who can tell horror stories about the VA. I have experience with VA hospitals in Columbia, S.C., and Asheville. In 1991, I began receiving VA care. The older I get the less care I receive from the VA. Draw your own conclusions in that regard.

Our government tells us Medicare is broke and plagued with fraud and abuse. Medicare has been around a while, and the fraud and abuse didn't get started yesterday. How someone can consider Medicare and VA are excellent-run health-care systems is beyond me.

Our elected leaders are working on a scheme to give every citizen health care while telling us they are going to fix the problems with Medicare.

Seems to me that if a new system is created, those currently in existence will see reduced funding or elimination.

Phillip Baker
Newton

Satirical humor also applies to bad drivers

Everyone has heard of Jeff Foxworthy's "You might be a redneck ..." Well, I have devised one further. Mind you, I am also guilty of some of these too.

You know you're an "Idiot (redneck)" if:

• You are driving down a four-lane divided highway using your cell phone, going 20 miles per hour over the speed limit.

•You are driving down a four-lane divided highway using your cell phone, going 20 miles per hour less than the speed limit in the left lane.

• You are coming up to U.S. 321 to go north off of Old Lenoir Road and stop at the light and wait for the light to change to green instead of using the acceleration lane to merge onto 321.

• You never use your turn signals.

• You never turn off your turn signal after you make the turn and confuse everyone behind you.

• You pull out in front of someone just to turn 20 feet up the road and make everyone behind you slam on their brakes.

• You are trying to get on the interstate and stop on the entrance ramp instead of merging.

• Someone is in front of you doing the speed limit, and you are tailgating.

• You are trying to road shop at a car lot, because you see a car you like, or a yard sale, to see someone's junk, instead of pulling over to get out of the way.

• You're breaking the speed limit on a four-lane divided highway and see a Highway Patrol officer on the opposite side giving a ticket, and you slam on your brakes to get down to the posted speed limit and almost cause a wreck.

P.L. Hagerty Jr.
Granite Falls