LETTERS: THERE ARE BETTER WAYS TO COVER THE UNINSURED IN THE U.S.

To the Editor:

I applaud Cal Thomas on his Aug. 11 commentary on socialized medicine. Well put. I would hope everybody read it, but I know they didn't. How sad it is people won't read or listen to the news to learn what's being done to their future.

When government started talking about universal health care, it was to cover 38 million people who didn't have it. That is about 15 percent of the population. They didn't say how many of that 15 percent didn't have it by choice, meaning there were some so young they think they will never die or elect to spend their health insurance money on vacations or material things.

The government is shooting for full coverage, which means to them 95 percent of the population. That's 237 million people covered. This means they're governing 12 million of the people who elect not to have coverage anyway.

The bottom line on these figures is there are better ways to cover these people without the government stepping in and screwing up the benefits of the 212 million people who are already covered. Not to count the massive tax and spend bureaucracy it will create. All they're doing is setting up a smoke screen for the vehicle that will ultimately lead this country to socialism. If you don't understand what this means to you, study up on socialism and see how your life style fits into it. You may only think you want government handouts.

MITCHELL SHELL

Cape Girardeau