Re: "Wyden calls for universal health care," ADH, 12/13/06:

Can we trade Senators Wyden and Smith to Oklahoma for Tom Coburn and former Rep. J.C. Watts? Smith's recent pandering over the war in Iraq is another subject for another letter. Wyden's proposed Healthy Americans Act deserves criticism.

Nearly all the problems with medical insurance in the USA can be traced to congressional action during and shortly after World War II. Government-imposed wage freezes during the war forced employers to offer medical insurance as alternative compensation to attract the best-qualified employees. Congress cemented the practice by making it tax-exempt for the employers, that is, a corporate tax shelter.

Wyden's proposal would create yet another huge federal bureaucracy, a la Homeland Security, IRS, Social Security Administration, etc. The efficiency of medical services would be even worse than it is now, much like Canada and Europe. The cost to taxpayers would exceed the outrageous premiums we pay now, and the cost would ultimately be borne by all of us. Choice and innovation would suffocate. The U.S. Constitution does not even authorize Congress to provide medical insurance - separation of medicine and state, as it were.

Wyden should work to revoke the act that made employer-provided medical insurance a tax shelter, and give it to individual taxpayers instead. Once medical insurance companies are competing for individual and family subscribers rather than corporate clients, the rest of this nation's medical crises will solve themselves.

Richard Chinn

Albany

About a puzzling comment

Moving on, the Dec. 22 article about "Helping out needy parents:" I find it very puzzling that a man states, "I was raised to take care of myself," yet lacks or doesn't understand the basic sense that when one can't even feed themselves it's plain stupid to produce children you can't feed either.

Sheldon Ede

Albany

No need for wireless network

I am amazed at the incompetence exhibited by our employees, our elected officials, namely the governor.

Some $561,000,000 (that's half a billion dollars) he wants to spend on a wireless network that already exists and is available at a tiny percentage of that cost.

We already have a communications system in place that does exactly what this "plan" wants to do.The system is called satellite phone.

A satellite phone works perfectly all the time from anywhere in Oregon, every time, without fail. Satellite phones cost as little as $345. So let's see, half a billion divided by 345 equals 1,449,276. It would be cheaper to issue over 1 million satellite phones that we know work than to build a useless wireless interoperability network of waste.

How much longer will Oregonians tolerate such dishonesty in governance? The only way for Ted to help with search and rescue would be to put on snow shoes and start looking for the lost souls who underestimated Mother Nature.

By the way, what sort of communications tower costs $10.3 million each to serve only one purpose? Most communications towers make money, not burn it. The excess capacity is rented to others as a cash cow, not a cash bonfire of wasted tax dollars.

Please see this shell game for what it probably really is, a way for Ted to reward cronies by paying them millions for 40 square feet of useless, unneeded dirt resulting in nothing gained but for the few pals he pours money on.

Michael St. Romain

Albany

Proud of Lebanon's people

During this holiday season I feel very thankful for and proud of the citizens of Lebanon. There are so many exciting things happening in our community, and I am overwhelmed with the support and affection you show to Thelma and me on a daily basis.

The fact that you voted for the positive slate of candidates for City Council positions in the recent election shows how in tune you are with today's political climate. The fact that you saw the needs and are willing to help pay for a new library, police station and fire bond speaks volumes about your caring, positive attitude toward the betterment of our community.

I served on the City Council for 18 years, and have worked with our outstanding city staff as your mayor for the past four years. It has been a pleasure for me. Their dedication is evident in the great job they do for us. They have received recognition from the state for their expertise. Even though they work in cramped spaces, it doesn't detour them as they strive to make Lebanon the best place it can be.

We have seen many changes in Lebanon since moving here in 1964 from Eastern Oregon. It was a thriving logging town until the early 1980s when the timber industry was shut down and we lost our timber jobs, which in turn caused a difficult recession for our community. We have been a long time coming back, and now, because of your confidence and support, Lebanon is getting those jobs back. Thank you for being part of that team. We are survivors, and we will have jobs so that our children and grandchildren can live and work here close to family.

The new year promises to bring us even more positive things, because of you, the caring citizens of Lebanon. Thank you very much.

Ken Toombs

Lebanon Mayor