Dangers of hospital treatment
I would like to express my thanks to Creighton University Professor Jos VM Welie (Oct. 20 Midlands Voices) for so gently debunking the myth that we Americans have the best health care system on the planet.
Many other wealthy nations spend 10 percent to 15 percent of their gross national product on health care to ensure universal coverage and maintain healthier populations by most objective measures.
The United States spends more than 17 percent of GNP, while tens of thousands of Americans die prematurely each year due to a lack of access.
Furthermore, according to Shannon Brownlee’s book, “Overtreated,” at least as many Americans may be dying prematurely due to overly aggressive treatment. Each year, tens of thousands succumb to surgical mishaps during unwarranted procedures, drug errors and hospital-borne infections due to unnecessary confinements and undisclosed side effects of newer drugs.
In this decade, two blockbuster drugs alone caused more than 50,000 fatal heart attacks and strokes. One was a popular painkiller, which was no more effective than Ibuprofen but cost 10 times as much. The other was for diabetes, for which safer drugs were available.
B.K. Chaney, Omaha
Care plan could be even better
Not said in Jos VM Welie’s excellent Oct. 20 Midlands Voices essay is that the many countries with better health care systems than the United States have single-payer plans or variations thereof.
“ObamaCare,” so decried by the right wing, is like something jointly concocted by Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader John Boehner, in comparison.
John A. Hansen, Council Bluffs
Democrats reap what they sow
I’d like to answer E.J. Dionne Jr.’s questions in his column, “Buying election made easy” (Oct. 22 More Commentary).
Who is paying for this election? It’s the people at the top — the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the Service Employees International Union and the National Education Association unions. What do they really want? Money to pay big union bosses and money to pay for Democratic Party ads.
Who gave them the right to buy an election? The Obama administration.
Greg Schmid, Council Bluffs
Don’t recall, but give demands
Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle touts the fact that he didn’t raise the property tax rate, but he did create new taxes. We end up paying for it, anyway, so what’s the difference? It’s just more ways for the government to drain us of our hard-earned money!
Those trying to recall the mayor are only going to make matters worse. It’s going to cost us more money that the city doesn’t have. Most of the shortfall would have needed to be paid, anyway.
What we truly need to do is get the signatures that are required and show Mayor Suttle we demand accountability. The city should pay off its current debt before embarking on any further endeavors and should make better fiscal decisions as well.
Joseph P. Velasquez, Omaha
Rest of council needs to catch up
Four Omaha City Council members chose to be politically correct, rather than morally and constitutionally correct, this past week. City Councilman Ben Gray’s ordinance to afford all citizens of Omaha equal protection under the law should have been passed.
Instead, a major group of our voting, taxpaying citizens was left unprotected and vulnerable to discrimination. Council members voting against this ordinance should be ashamed for touting lame excuses, such as supposed extra costs to businesses, to hide their homophobia.
The only businesses in jeopardy would have been those breaking the law. I would imagine many African-Americans felt the way GLBT people feel now when red-lining and segregation existed into the 1960s in this city.
How sad that these council members failed to stand up and do the right thing, just because it was not the easy thing. Praise to Ben Gray who dared to fight for justice for all people in our city. Many people in this city realize that Jesus really meant “love thy neighbor” without exclusion.
Hopefully, all of our council members will have the courage to soon follow Mr. Gray’s lead.
Jann Dappen, Omaha
Protecting rights of all people
It’s the responsibility of our elected officials to fight for and protect the human and civil rights of all people, not just some.
All law-abiding people, regardless of race, faith, culture, sexual orientation, gender, age or ability, should share in the right to access and obtain economic opportunity and security for themselves and their families, as well as the right to live and work in peace, with dignity and respect and without fear of exclusion.
Denying these rights to anyone for any reason goes against the very core values for which this country was founded — liberty and justice for all.
Inclusive Communities supports Omaha City Councilman Ben Gray and his fellow councilmen Pete Festersen and Chris Jerram for their commitment to end all forms of discrimination in Omaha. We appreciate their courage to do what is right.
Barbara M. Angelillo, Omaha
Executive director,
Inclusive Communities
Tax doesn’t shorten wait time
I am not for Omaha’s restaurant tax. I can’t vote in city elections because I live in a Sanitary and Improvement District. I do not spend a lot of money eating out on a regular basis.
Regarding those who say they will not spend money in restaurants now that we are subject to an additional tax, why was I recently subjected to 30-minute waits at several restaurants in Omaha on a Friday evening? Looks like nothing has changed since the tax was enacted!
Don Dickmeyer, Omaha
Trust had vital role in projects
Nebraska’s best-kept secret continues with an Oct. 22 Money story, “Fill ’er up with natural gas,” and an Oct. 26 news story, “Unique landscapes preserved.”
The articles covered two diverse environmental issues that both preserve and protect natural Nebraska for future generations. Without the Nebraska Environmental Trust (NET), neither of these projects would have happened.
The Nebraska Environmental Trust, by being a beneficiary fund of the Nebraska Lottery, is able to contribute close to $15 million per year to worthy environmental projects across the state, yet the Trust is far from being a household name.
However, those seeking funds certainly know about it. Our 143 grant applications in September drew requests in excess of $54 million. Categories for funding include habitat, waste management, air quality, soil management and surface water or groundwater. Often, NET funds are used as a required match to obtain federal money or other grants.
As board chairman of the Nebraska Environmental Trust and last year’s Grants Committee chairman, I’m well aware of these projects and how critical the Trust’s participation was for them to come to fruition.
Paul L. Dunn, Omaha
Needed to tell librarian’s story
As a librarian at the Sump Memorial Library in Papillion and a past president of the Eastern Library System Board, I believe an Oct. 24 news story about librarian Karla Shafer in Hooper, Neb., made a great point.
Karla’s treatment, in my opinion, came close to being criminal. Karla has done so much for her library to improve services, and all for a little beyond minimum wage.
We honored her during our Eastern Library System annual meeting in June. Her impact on American libraries goes far beyond Hooper. Her presentation to Dollar General resulted not only in the $5,000 to her library friends organization. Dollar General also granted a total of $750,000 to the American Library Association that permitted a large number of grants to libraries throughout the country.
Karla’s exit is a huge loss to the village of Hooper. Thanks for the coverage of this story. It needed to be told, with the behavior of the village government exposed.
John W. Seyfarth, Papillion
Security needs more than fence
John Welker (Oct. 27 Pulse) was curious about what people have in mind when they complain about securing the U.S. border.
A fence just won’t do the job. A fence is what keeps puppies in the yard. If the United States is serious about securing the border, we need to think of barriers, not fences. Barriers could take many forms, including heavy-duty metal spikes that could be angled and intertwined to make it extremely difficult to penetrate.
Such a barrier would probably cost billions of dollars, but it should be a one-time investment and would create thousands of jobs during an extended construction period.
There also would be a need for maintenance crews to inspect and maintain the barriers. I realize this design is not the perfect solution. I’m sure there are other barriers that may do the job.
If we are serious about securing the border, it can be done, but not with a fence.
Dan Hedrick, Omaha
We can’t afford to do job twice
Several weeks ago, I saw a city crew patching potholes on 160th Street, south of West Center Road. There were four men, two trucks and related equipment. Two days later, a crew was back there milling the street for a new surface.
My question is why did they fix the potholes and then remove the material when they milled the street?
It looks like someone in the Public Works Department didn’t know what someone else was doing. Where else is this waste of our money going on?
Jim Huffman, Omaha
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