Good health care benefits everyone

Jerry Bitts, Las Vegas

Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011 | 2:04 a.m.

There is a rift in our country that centers on President Barack Obama’s health care plan. In his Dec. 31 letter to the editor, Ray Kolander protests that the federal government has limited powers and should not do what is unconstitutional.

Mr. Kolander also had a letter published on Dec. 18 in praise of a federal judge’s decision opposing the federal government’s right to force citizens to purchase health insurance. Mr. Kolander goes on to support his view by referring to the founding of the nation and American history.

While the Sun’s editorials and I disagree with Mr. Kolander on the Constitution and on American history, we are arguing the wrong issues here. Any president can stack the courts with like-minded judges, and a view of history may depend upon who is rewriting it. The important questions are “Who are we?” and “What kind of country do we want to be?”

Are we a group of isolated individuals or are we a country working together for the common good?

Mr. Kolander’s Dec. 18 letter also says that while death is a part of life, that fact should not force one to buy health insurance. Again, this is the wrong issue. All that people want is a good quality of life for as long as they can have it. That quality is largely dependent on good health care.

Other countries with universal health care have better outcomes with less expense. It is clear that the federal government is in the best position to control that care for all of our citizens.