Kinder's 'crises' are attempts to raise money

To the editor:

Imagine you are the term-limited majority leader of the Missouri Senate, who wants to stay in politics. How do you create buzz so contributors will open their wallets? If you are state Sen. Peter Kinder:

You cry about the failure of tort reform and the influence of those nasty trial lawyers, even though the proposed bill is really an insurance-subsidy bill which will not do anything to help the problem.

You pander to big business, wailing about a "crisis" in workers' compensation, which is untrue. On July 2, the State Division of Insurance released a report showing that companies which cover their employees through the state pool will have a 0.4 percent reduction in their rates. A little over 10 years ago, when there was a real crisis in workers' comp, the pool was created because insurance companies stopped writing that insurance in Missouri. At its peak, 32,000 companies were in the pool. The Division of Insurance estimates that by the end of the year about 6,700 companies will be in the pool. Companies that left the pool are being covered by private insurance companies. Those private companies are writing insurance again because they can make money. The "crisis" is in Kinder's and his backers' minds, a naked attempt to strip workers of basic and essential benefits.

So the next time Kinder puts up his straw man of Gov. Bob Holden, remember he is looking for donations and looking to keep his backers happy.

MICHAEL H. MAGUIRE

Cape Girardeau