LETTERS: Obamacare the latest utopian scheme

To the editor:

An awful lot of hot air and printer’s ink is being expended over Obamacare. What a waste, both pro and con. Obamacare became the law of the land when Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts said the government mandate was legal if it was considered a tax. That created a problem for the D.C. elites. It is almost impossible for them to say the word “tax.” The word smiths solved that problem; a tax is now an insurance premium paid by somebody else.

Obamacare is another utopian scheme invented by the long-ago forgotten Socialist Party. In the past 80 years, under the banner of the Democratic Party, it has created Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, the war on poverty, the war on education, affordable housing, food stamps and college loans.

Every one of these schemes was conceived for humanitarian reasons, to help those who cannot provide for themselves. Nobody can argue against that logic. But, by deception, every scheme has turned into a fiscal nightmare. Prior to implementation, there are grossly exaggerated projections of benefits and grossly underestimated projections of costs. After implementation, when projections are replaced by facts, the schemes have proved impossible to reform. And prior to almost every election cycle, the schemes are expanded to buy more votes.

Obamacare illustrates all those facets — deception, exaggerations and vote-buying. We are now hearing that not enough young and healthy people are signing up, which is a pretty good indication that it will not be self-sustaining. The chronically sick and the poor are signing up for the free stuff. Down the road, the elites in Washington, D.C., will make promises of reforms. The Congressional Budget Office will grind out reports of huge potential savings that never materialize.

Raising taxes on the 55 percent so the 45 percent can have free health care will be a hard sell at election time. So only the rich will be taxed. Any politician who calls for reduced funding will be subjected to character assassination.

The only solution is printing more money. Since President Richard Nixon abandoned the gold standard (1971), the printing press has become the solution for all humanitarian schemes. For the D.C. elites, it is the easy way to solve problems — no hard choices, no compromises and no angry voters.

CURTIS F. CLARK

BOULDER CITY

Minimum wage

To the editor:

Small business owners are completely left out of the debate about raising the minimum wage. Any small business owner or certified public accountant can tell you of the devastation such a move will cause in the loss of jobs. A small business needs a certain level of revenue to be profitable.

To assume that a clerk working part-time shifts at McDonald’s should make enough money to afford a three-bedroom home with a two-car garage in the suburbs is totally ludicrous.

To build a new business, there are a variety of studies that need to be done before opening. Higher costs imposed by government — at the federal, state and local levels — make it is less likely the business will be built. That means less tax revenue will be received by the government, and many good-paying jobs will not be created in areas such as lot development and construction work. Electricians, plumbers, roofers, tilers, equipment builders, sign manufacturers, etc., will not be employed.

A much better choice would be a proposal that allows business developers to recoup their investment in a shorter time, which would allow for continued expansion.

Unfortunately we have chosen a community organizer/rabble rouser as president of this country, rather than a businessman who could get the economy moving.

FRED STALIANS

LAS VEGAS

Hispanics and Obamacare

To the editor:

Although I have never written before, I feel compelled to respond to Daniel Garza’s commentary (“Obamacare a big headache for Hispanic community,” Feb. 4 Review-Journal).

Mr. Garza fails to acknowledge that the United States is an English-speaking country and has no obligation to publish in any other language. It is the responsibility of Hispanic members of our community to either learn the language or get someone to help them. I am of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and neither I nor my predecessors would’ve had the arrogance to think the U.S. government had a duty to communicate anything to us in Gaelic. Our government does not have the time, money or manpower to cater to every subgroup in the country, as evidenced by our huge debt problem. Instead of uniting us, this kind of thinking further alienates us and is counter-productive to what Mr. Garza should be trying to accomplish.

Many of the problems Mr. Garza is ranting about are being experienced by all Americans. Obamacare is a disaster and will be very expensive, hard to acquire and bad for the country if not changed or repealed. Perhaps Mr. Garza should be reminded that more than 70 percent of Hispanics voted to re-elect President Barack Obama in 2012.

Maybe electing representatives from the other party might bring different programs that would be more beneficial to the membership of Mr. Garza’s LIBRE Initiative group. Just a thought.

JEFF MIXSON

LAS VEGAS