Free health care helps pocketbooks

In Friday’s letter, “Canada shows how to recover,” the writer brings up some good and fairly accurate points, but fails to connect the dots.

First off, Obama is a centrist, not a leftist. When George W. courted the religious right to help his father win office, he moved the whole Republican Party three steps to the right.

And it’s been moving right every election cycle since. Most righties don’t seem to believe in science or math anymore (climate change, budget).

Yes, Canada is lowering corporate tax rates to 15 percent, but, I’m reasonably sure, they’ll actually pay that. Remember, a large percentage of American companies don’t pay taxes at all.

And some receive tax rebates, others stash money in Bermuda, etc.

But, the main reason Canada is doing better has to do with their banking, not their tax rates.

Ask yourself, are Canadian banks “too big to fail,” do they gamble instead of invest, are the judges of their highest court attending lobbyist retreats, or do they have wives working for lobbyist causes that their husband is about to rule on; do they have tariffs to protect the employed, etc.?

As far as health care — how many Canadians have you met who would abolish their system? Sure, my Canadian friends grumble a little when they have to wait for an expensive treatment, but the guy who instituted it is a national hero. The rest is all urban right-wing myths. I have never seen a Canadian license plate in the Everett Clinic parking lot, have you? We pay twice as much and receive half the service. I’d be happy to pay half as much, and if I want custom surgery, I’d be glad to pay the difference out of pocket, wouldn’t you? That would save me about $9,000 this year. You’d turn down nine grand?

Randy Nessinger
Marysville

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