I would like to add my personal tribute to Syl Fulwiler, former Spokane city manager, who died last week. I had the honor of serving under Syl during the mid-'70s and observed some of the best practices of good management that I have seen during my career.
Many current residents may not remember the pre-Expo '74 days when Spokane had a decaying downtown with a railroad and decrepit buildings occupying what is now Riverfront Park. Syl worked with the civic and political leaders of the time to focus city staff effort toward the fulfillment of their collective vision, while at the same time keeping the city government operating with the highest level of dedication toward providing quality services with always limited budgets.
If there is one thing above all that I remember about Syl Fulwiler, it was that he always maintained the absolute highest level of integrity whether he was dealing with the public, the City Council or the employees. Thank you, Syl.
Roger D. Crum
Spokane
GOP's ears closedOn Thursday, House Minority Leader John Boehner, surrounded by other party members, criticized HR 3962 and accused the opposing party of not listening to the American people. Directly behind him, beaming and nodding in agreement, was Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers.
I agree – someone isn't listening. The American people are being gouged by greedy health insurance companies with no end in sight. Doctors are being squeezed by malpractice insurance companies. Why is Rep. McMorris Rodgers protecting corporations instead of the American people?
Tracy Albrecht
Spokane
Pay-or-perish bad modelImagine a world where you had to pay insurance premiums to qualify for fire department services. You forget to pay several premiums, or just cannot afford to, and one day your house catches fire. No fire department shows up with truck and ladder to help put your fire out.
Imagine a world where people viewed this as quite normal and viewed you and others like you as irresponsible for letting your emergency fire protection insurance lapse.
We are the most powerful country in the world, and the only industrialized nation that does not have medical coverage for all its citizens. Medicine should never be profit-oriented, just like the fire department and police department should not be profit-oriented.
Imagine someone being called a "left-wing liberal" for wanting a nonprofit police and fire department for all citizens? What would one have to do with the other? What has happened to simple Midwestern common sense in this country? Oh, that brings us to education …
Chris Bowers
Liberty Lake
Competition is the answerAs usual, Gary Crooks' analysis on the Obama health plan (Nov. 1) is filled with half-truths and diversions.
As a senior I was against the Medicare drug bill. That was when Republicans tried to be Democrats and bribe their constituents. They were removed as the majority party, but Democrats, true to form, will regain that minority honor.
The drug bill was based on insurance competition and is the only government program that actually cost less than anyone thought, being 40 percent under estimates. The reason was real competition. If only we let insurance companies be able to cross state lines and offer À la carte programs, we would see costs level off immediately or actually decline.
The Obama savings of $500 billion from Medicare is a fraud. Fraud is estimated from $70 billion to $100 billion. In 2007 the government prosecuted about 250 entities with less than $1 billion of fraud, per the Wall Street Journal. Eliminating the 25 percent of seniors who have Medicare Advantage will save $177 billion.
What do those poor people do then? Where is the other $250 billion in savings? Gary Crooks, left-wing health huckster.
Jack Thompson
Spokane
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