What's the complaint?
Friday, December 19, 2008 12:52 AM PST
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E-mail this articleDec. 19 Letters to the Editor
What’s the complaint?
I was interested to see a column by Pat Zimmerman on Medicare. In that column she commented somewhat critically that the boss of one of our private Medicare providers makes $124,800,000 a year in salary.
I don’t know, however, what the complaint is all about. He’s probably got a mortgage to pay out of that and electric and gas bills just like the rest of us. And when you work the arithmetic, $124.8 million a year is only $10,333,000 a month and $2,384,000 a week and who can live on that? Think of it, what would you do if you had to get along on just $339,726 a day? Barely just three squares and a cup of coffee.
I mean, if you work it out for a regular job of 40 hours a week, it only comes out to $62,000 an hour. What’ll that get ya? It ain’t like it’s any big deal; $124.8 million a year is only the equivalent of a year’s pay for 3,543 families making $35,000 a year. I mean, gee wiz, wouldn’t you rather pay more for health care so this poor fella and his friends can make this kind of money?
Mike Sheehan
Scappoose
Taxes aren’t so high
I would like to respond to a letter (William Schumacher, Nov. 11) calling Obama a socialist. In that letter, he took Finland as an example, saying people there pay as much as 75 percent income taxes because of their national health care. That is absolutely untrue. In fact, they pay anywhere from 21 percent to 31 percent income taxes, depending on their income level.
Let me mention one other thing. In Finland I have a friend who had an open heart surgery. She chose a private doctor because it was an emergency. Total cost was $10,500, including hospital, doctors, ambulances and so on; her share was only $4,000, although that same service would have been a lot less through the National Health Plan. Can we beat that here?
M.S. Saastamo
Woodland
Statement is insulting
This is in response to Albert Engebretson’s Dec. 12 letter on fragile faith. When a public statement blatantly says that religion is false, it is an insult.
The Christian faith is my entire life, and when something or someone tells me that it is “but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds,” it’s as bad as insulting me personally. A sign that said “there was only the natural world” would be a much different story, as that truly is a statement of belief, not a ridiculously offensive remark.
Also, anyone who believes that Christians can “dish it out but not take it” is sadly mistaken. We take it every single day from more people than you can imagine.
Sarah McCrady
Longview
The spirit of the season
I would like to respond to a Dec. 16 letter from Rev. Tim Ilgen. Yes, our ancient traditional cultures were adopted through wars, modified to fit ideologies of the time, remade in the wake of political necessity and overtaken by monetary interests throughout history; however, from a minister, I was surprised and dismayed to see the perpetuation of the notion that it was “helpful” for people to overcome what he termed “erroneous” beliefs about gods and nature.
I am a pagan member of this community. Pagan culture and belief is no more or less erroneous than the belief in the God of the Christian (whom I also believe in). It would appear that earlier cultures weren’t fraught with the ills of today in that their worship and practices made them actively mindful of what created them and what sustained them. They knew that Our Mother the Earth and Our Father the Sun, in their Blessed Union, provided the necessary aspects without which Life would not exist.
The Gods and Goddesses of our faiths not only teach us of life, but good stewardship of the land, strong familial bonds and the nurturing of our spirit through honoring the divine. The Solstice is celebrated as Our Father the Sun is reborn of the Maiden and we celebrate His rebirth, much as the Christian celebrates and remembers and honors the birth of Jesus.
Rachel L. Paquette
Silver Lake
Charging for runoff?
I can’t believe it. Charging for rainfall runoff. Come on, how ridiculous can they get? What’s next — the air we breathe?
Ivan Kleppen
Longview
No reason to take offense
A couple of weeks ago, some teachers in Rainier made the heinous mistake of calling their “Winter Party” a “Christmas Party” in a note sent home to parents. Some parents were offended, and a memo and a staff meeting were needed to remind school employees of the state of Oregon’s guidelines on separation of church and state.
Employees in several stores are not allowed to wish shoppers a “Merry Christmas.” Christians are accused of stealing the Winter Solstice from ancient pagans and turning it into Jesus’ birthday. Plus, the tacky anti-Christian sign in Olympia.
What’s so offensive about a lovely holiday, which celebrates our Savior, who taught His followers to love even their enemies? What is so terrible about teachers and store workers inviting you to be merry during the season which honors His birth?
Most pagans looked upon the Winter Solstice as a celebration of the “victory of the Sun over darkness.” Replace the word “Sun” with the word “Son” and you’ve got it right. Merry Christmas to all, and God bless us everyone.
Lugene Ontiveros
Rainier
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