Private ambulance service not needed

To the editor:

In response to your Nov. 13 report, "Paramedic strike looms":

The Las Vegas Valley's fire departments have extremely well-trained and well-equipped units that could easily take care of the valley's needs. In times of serious fiscal restraints, why not phase out private contracts with AMR? The city and county units could pay for themselves through billing for their services.

For those of us whose health care careers date back to the 1970s, we can recall the contracts with Mercy Ambulance in which the county provided "grant" money of at least $600,000 with other guarantees, including giving Mercy the first right of refusal in deciding whether to accept transport at the scene of an emergency. We used to call that a "wallet biospy."

In other words, Mercy and fire units would respond to the scene of an emergency. If firefighters got there first, they could administer life-saving measures, but they had to wait for Mercy paramedics to show up and decide whether they wanted to take over (i.e. "wallet biopsy"). If I recall correctly, fire units did not bill for their services in those days.

The point is, why are we still contracting for private ambulance services when we have adequate fire units in the cities and the county, which could be expanded if needed, and which could bill to cover their services?

Leonard Kreisler, M.D.

LAS VEGAS

THE WRITER IS FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF OF UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER.

No change at all

To the editor:

I darn near choked on my coffee when I learned that Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have set aside more than $13 billion for bonuses. I feel so much better now knowing that well-heeled executives will not be going without this Christmas season.

I am sure friends of mine who have lost their jobs can sleep easier now. They may not make their house payments, but at least these executives can afford their yachts.

It is reassuring to know that Congress is ever-vigilant in looking out for the best interests of our country. Just knowing the bailout was not to save our economy, but theirs instead, will help me sleep better at night.

I shudder to think what could have happened had these executives and their companies not contributed so heavily to the political process.

That's right folks, it was the Republicrats who pressed this monstrosity. Funnier still, they want to do it to us again to the minimum tune of $500 billion.

What strikes me as asinine is that change in Washington was wanted.

Yet the same folks who brought us this economic mess got re-elected.

What will our senators and representatives do? They will seek out the best photo-op and compete for the sound bite as the soup lines get longer. In other words, not a blasted thing. Nero had nothing on these guys.

Darrell Welch

NORTH LAS VEGAS

Rewarding delinquents

To the editor:

Financial institutions, due to mismanagement, greed, a lack of ethics and possible illegal activities, were bailed out.

Individuals who incurred debt (mortgages, credit cards) without the ability to pay the principal and interest were bailed out.

An auto industry that gave away the store to labor unions wants a bailout.

What about the responsible citizens who worked hard and paid their debts on time and in full? Those who established savings for emergencies and retirement and have suffered substantial losses on their homes, savings and retirement accounts, endangering their financial security.

Not only do we have these losses, but we are being asked to provide with our tax dollars the funds necessary to bail out the irresponsible.

What about us?

Steve Sica

HENDERSON

Feeling like a sucker

To the editor:

Could someone please explain to me what happened to all the money people paid for private mortgage insurance when they bought their houses with little money down? I was of the understanding monthly PMI payments guaranteed your mortgage against default. Was that just another way for someone to line their pockets?

What about all of us who paid that PMI until we had enough equity, then refinanced so we didn't have to pay the PMI?

And what about all of us who didn't buy a house above our means and knew that in two or five years we wouldn't be able to afford the mortgage after we ran our credit cards up to fill our huge house with new furniture and have a new car parked in our new driveway?

And what about all the unscrupulous real estate agents who sold houses to unwitting, uneducated buyers, knowing full well they were not going to be able to afford the house in five years, but telling them to jump on the bandwagon of "flippers" before the interest rate adjusted?

I think the investor who is stuck with a second or third house -- there are a lot of them in Las Vegas -- should not reap the benefits over someone who has lost his job and is having trouble making his mortgage payments.

It is time for AIG and the banking industry to step away from the trough, and time for Americans to step up to the plate.

Kay Burger

LAS VEGAS