Genocide of the PoorEast HamptonMarch 15, 2017 Dear David,“Do No Harm.” The Trump scheme amounts to legalized medical murder for the profit of the already rich and super-rich. Twenty-five to 35 million Americans or more (mostly aged and women and children) will be deprived of health care insurance, according to the statistics of the Congressional Budget Office. How many of these human beings will die because of this callous and irresponsible denial of their fundamental right to health care? How many, tell us?Those of us who stand by and let this preventable genocide of the poor occur are not just innocent bystanders but are in fact participants and complicit in their demise. The extent of this act will exceed any that so far has been inflicted upon us by any terrorist fanatic. Truly, our national security is being threatened, but this time from within. Improve and expand Obamacare to afford us all access to the health care that we and our nation need to survive. Medical murder for profit is un-American and a crime against humanity. We are better than that.Tell Mr. Zeldin, our congressman, that he must not be a party to this Trump atrocity, and he must say so — now!LARRY SMITHAnalysis of TrumpcareSpringsMarch 14, 2017Dear David:“We’re going to have insurance for everybody,” crowed Candidate Trump. Really? The Congressional Budget Office on Monday released its long-awaited analysis of Trumpcare, and it contains some very bad news for Mr. Trump. As background, the C.B.O. is a nonpartisan office that conducts objective, impartial analyses on issues related to the congressional budget. The president and the president of the Senate appoint its director. C.B.O. projects that Trumpcare would cause 24 million Americans to lose coverage by 2026, a much bigger drop in coverage than experts had expected. Mr. Trump will now be forced to square his promise with the threat that tens of millions of Americans will be uninsured and how Trumpcare will protect those people. In short, Mr. Trump’s promise that his bill would cover everyone and that no one would lose coverage under his plan is flatly false.Trumpcare offers less help to people who buy their own insurance than the Affordable Care Act (known as Obamacare to some) currently does. It also ends the Medicaid expansion, which covers millions of low-income Americans. The C.B.O. report lays bare the Trump spin, and instead makes clear that these changes, taken together, mean million fewer Americans would have coverage.C.B.O. estimates 14 million would lose coverage in 2018, mostly people in the individual market. It also projects that Trumpcare’s repeal of the A.C.A.’s individual mandate (requiring that all Americans purchase coverage or pay a fine) will be the cause for much of the early coverage loss. According to the C.B.O., many people will choose not to have insurance and some people will forgo insurance in response to higher premiums.After that, changes Trumpcare will make to the A.C.A.’s expansion of Medicaid, which allowed more low-income adults to enroll in the program, will cause further increases in the ranks of the uninsured. Trumpcare freezes enrollment in that program on Jan. 1, 2020 (and perhaps earlier). This decrease in Medicaid enrollees will lead to a large decline in coverage. The C.B.O. projects that the number of uninsured will rise by 21 million in 2020 and hit 24 million in 2026.On the campaign trail, despite Mr. Trump’s promise to repeal Obamacare, no one seriously believed his or her health care would be at risk, and voted for him. He has deceived us all.CAROL O’ROURKEWhat We Don’t NeedSpringsMarch 16, 2017To the Editor:Let me state this clearly before I go on: We need a comprehensive immigration plan, and what we don’t need is to build a wall.The U.S. border with Mexico is approximately 2,000 miles. Estimates to build a wall along that border run $15 billion to $25 billion and it will take at least three years to build. And, don’t fool yourself, we the American taxpayer will be footing the bill, not Mexico.By far, most illegal immigrants come for work. If the goal is to stop illegal immigration, then institute a national biometric identification card all American workers would be required to have and show before starting a new job. If done, this card would accomplish the objective of greatly reducing illegal immigration, and it does so at a fraction of the cost.FRANK RIINAFired!East HamptonMarch 12, 2017Dear David,The Donald and Big Mitch promised to keep Preet Bharara as the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York if for no other reason than for the successful prosecution of corruption. On March 10, after refusing to resign, he was fired! Could that be as a result of the requests by several public interest groups to investigate the Trump organization? We deserve the people we elect!STEPHEN A. GROSSMANWithout Internet AccessEast HamptonMarch 15, 2017Dear David:People with low incomes struggle to make ends meet and often have to make difficult choices about how to spend their money to best support their families. This is why so many people are still living without internet access. And those without reliable home internet access are missing out on opportunities to connect to jobs, complete homework, and engage in our democracy.Last year the Federal Communications Commission took an important step toward bridging the digital divide by updating its Lifeline program. For over 30 years Lifeline has brought affordable telephone service to millions of people. Today it’s the only federal program poised to bring broadband access to families in need across the United States.Mr. Trump has a new chairman of the F.C.C., Ajit Pai. Since his promotion to chairman, Mr. Pai has taken steps to limit Lifeline broadband options and has essentially frozen Lifeline implementation. This has left millions of poor people without access to the internet. The F.C.C.’s failure to move forward on Lifeline has disproportionately harmed people of color, who are far less likely to have home internet access due to systemic racism that’s impacted the broadband market. These communities overwhelmingly report that the high cost of service is their primary adoption barrier.Internet access is no longer a luxury; it is a necessity. Try finding a job without internet access — most employers now require online employment applications. Programs like Lifeline are one way to help make broadband access more affordable and provide the tools people need to improve their economic situations.BOB BRODYShocking BudgetSpringsMarch 19, 2017Dear David: Mr. Trump’s shocking budget proposes deep cuts in programs that some states use to provide funding for Meals on Wheels. That’s the program that provides meals to more than 2.4 million elderly and disabled people in the U.S. Mr. Trump’s budget director, Mick Mulvaney, launched into a diatribe, denying the effectiveness of the program. According to Mr. Mulvaney, Meals on Wheels sounds great but isn’t showing any results. If his words sound like those of a heartless, soulless administration, that’s because they are. The Trump administration is saying that there is no return on investment in taking care of our most vulnerable citizens. Heartless. Soulless. It’s an abdication of leadership.Locally, we are more fortunate to have a town board with the compassion and commitment to serving residents who need an extra hand. This year, through a $10,000 grant, the Town of East Hampton will help support East Hampton Meals on Wheels and its extraordinary volunteers in their efforts to deliver meals to more homebound residents throughout the entire town. The goal of our town’s support is to cover the expenses of residents now receiving meals who are unable to pay and to add residents now on the waiting list who otherwise would not have been served. This is leadership. Period.Sincerely,BRUCE COLBATHFind Someone ElseSpringsMarch 20, 2017 Dear David,It seems one Ken Rafferty has decided to make me his whipping post, by writing a letter praising Barrack Hussein Obama, the ex-president that wanted to and almost succeeded in fundamentally changing the U.S.A. His thoughts, brainwashed by Saul Alinsky training, decided that the Constitution was flawed.I will not give my time and/or trouble to any further letters that you use to praise his name. Find someone else’s name so you can rant your information, some being false, repeated by all liberal progressives. My first letter that your name was mentioned was all about in your vile language! Sorry you can’t understand that statement.In God and country,BEA DERRICO
Published 5 years ago
Last updated 5 years ago
Letters to the Editor: Trump 03.23.17
March 23, 2017