Letter to the Editor

Obama and the private sector

I was born in the 1920s. I have always worked in the private sector and still do in 2012. We have elected 14 presidents during this period -- seven Democrats and seven Republicans. Mr. Obama is the only one to announce that he wants to fundamentally transform America and spread the wealth.

President Obama recently stated, "If you've got a business, you didn't build that." Credit must go to the government for the roads, infrastructure, etc. Our president does not seem to understand that we are the government. Private businesses and millions of their employees ultimately pay all the taxes. Government does not create jobs.

I ran a private business in the 1970s. When our costs went up, we had to submit a request to the federal government to raise our price on each item. It was abandoned as a failure. Later in the '70s, prices at convenience stores and gas stations were monitored, which also failed. The federal government is now mandating how much administrative expense a health insurance company must have. This mandate will destroy private health insurance companies.

For the last 42 months, we have been borrowing 42 cents of every dollar we spend. We now have four years of trillion-dollar deficits. We had none in the last 220 years. Daily emails, calls, etc. appeal to Obama supporters, saying: Donate now so we can finish what we started. It scares me to think what could be planned for America.

GLENN REEVES, Cape Girardeau