Speak Out 4/3/05

Reduced premiums?

NOW THAT Missouri had tort reform, would the Southeast Missourian please inform the public the percentage of reduced premium the insurance companies will give to the doctors and other businesses?

No oil cartel

AMERICA DOESN'T own an oil cartel. No president or party in power would want higher fuel bills for its citizens, but a few politicians don't mind putting the blame on their opponents even though most of them know better.

Lots of eating

THE PERSON who asked how many beer joints and nightclubs downtown Cape Girardeau needs might be interested in knowing that the downtown area has almost 30 dining establishments including American, Cajun, Creole, French-American, Mediterranean, Eastern European, Mexican, Italian, pizza, sandwich, deli and fast food. If you look hard enough, you can find a couple of beer joints and nightclubs.

Worth an award

I'M CALLING to sing the praises of a model citizen that I witnessed today in Jackson. This afternoon as I was walking with my dog, I noticed a woman walking along briskly and stopping periodically to pick up trash along the way. By the time she was finished, she had picked up two bags of trash and said that she was doing her part to help clean up the litter. Wouldn't it be great if everyone did this every day? Her name is Verna Stovall, and I think she should win an award for her pride of living in Jackson.

Bring back spanking

I AGREE with the old-fashioned board of education. Since schools can't discipline your children, we've had this surge of disrespect. You didn't have this when schools could discipline children. Instead of thinking a spanking is child abuse, make it against the law not to give unruly students a spanking instead.

Praiseworthy piece

BLACKS MAY tour mansions built on the backs of slave laborers, but with a understandable sense of righteous indignation. Whites who tour them should feel a sense of shame. Sam Blackwell's piece on touring antebelluum homes was beautifully written and praiseworthy.

Economics 101

GARY RUST suggested that the voters needed greater economic understanding. However, I would guess that if all the voters in Missouri got doctorates in economics and reasoned that we should raise taxes and spending, Rust would assert that our economic understanding had regressed.

The old-fashioned way

A 25-YEAR-OLD single mother asked if Medicaid were cut, what would she and her child do? Here's the answer: Do what the rest of the working class does. Pay for it out of your pocket. Many working individuals cannot afford the insurance their employer offers, so they have to pay for medical expenses. I do not feel others should benefit from my working hard just because they have a child. There is such a thing as birth control or abstinence. I know, because my husband and I must use birth control because we are too busy paying for other people's children to have our own. As I went through college, I had three jobs and a 3.75 grade-point average. I am still paying back student loans.

Open-campus memories

I WENT to Central Junior High School, which later was Schultz School. I loved it. We got an hour off for lunch and had an open campus. For eighth graders, that was really cool. I and others would usually go to Vandeven's Grocery Store and scarf down a bologna sandwich, then make a trip to the Pla Mor for some pool. It was awesome. Maybe if they'd open up the campus for middle school students there wouldn't be all of this griping about the school in the newspaper.

Thankful for blessings

I'M APPALLED by all the complaining. If you see trash, pick it up. And don't brag on yourself to the next 10 or 15 people you see. Simply be thankful for all the blessings in your life. I'm quite certain you will be blessed for it.

Thanks for lights

I WOULD like to thank the city for installing street lights on Hopper Road between Mount Auburn Road and Kage Road. This will help make Hopper safer at night with the deer crossing and help bring a little light to the area. The residents out here really appreciate this. Thanks.

Through the cracks

I WENT to the Division of Family Services and spent five hours asking for help. I live on the very edge of Cape Girardeau County, I have kids but no car. I don't qualify for help because I can't complete a work search program. I can't walk 33 miles to town. There is no public transportation out here. I simply fall through the cracks. The woman was nice and told me I could move to Cape Girardeau so I could walk to work. Does anybody have a place I could rent since I have no job or money?

Destroying Medicaid

I JUST left the Medicaid forum. I don't understand people who claim this is not political. Both federal and state Republicans are dismantling Medicaid. At both the federal and state levels the Republicans are committed to bankrupting us and destroying the social programs that keep many of us alive.

Caring about kids

I WONDER why Gov. Matt Blunt didn't stop by the local child advocacy center when he was in Cape Girardeau? Would seeing how already underfunded it is have made it harder for him to propose cutting all of the funding for these centers in Missouri? If you care about Southeast Missouri's kids, let the governor know about it.

Litter and drugs

EVERYONE KEEPS griping about trash. Clean up your area, and it will help. Then band together and get the drugs out of Jackson High School. Everyone keeps turning a blind eye to the problem. They think if we don't speak about it, it will go away. It's not. It's getting worse.

Example of fraud

HOW HARD is it to figure out a fix for Medicaid? Send a caseworker out to verify that Jane and Joe are separated. That would be a whole lot cheaper than giving a family of four $497 in food stamps, a check for $348 and, of course, a medical card. All the while Jane and Joe are laughing, because they are smarter than the government. They are eating high on the hog, and the working class is buying the necessities. I would like to know any normal family that spends $497 a month on food. They take their relatives to the store and trade the food for cash.

Extra cigarette taxes

LET'S BE fair: Every article about Missouri having a lower cigarette tax than 47 other states never mentions that Missouri is one of only 10 states that also have city and county taxes added and, like most states, adds state sales taxes too. Missouri also has one of the lowest alcohol taxes.

Cashing in IOUs

IF ANYONE would like to know what is wrong with Social Security, here is a brief rundown. At one time, there was more money coming into Social Security than going out. What happened to that money? Greedy politicians. When you have all that money sitting there, who can resist sticking his hand in the cookie jar? But this did not bankrupt Social Security. All the money that was taken out was replaced with IOUs. When money is needed, they can be cashed in. This will work until around 2040 to 2050 when those IOUs will run out.

Clean your own house

ATTACK THE politicians now for their perks. Too many individuals are profiting or living on the backs of the working class. But that doesn't mean so many individuals can remain on Medicaid just because those sent to Jefferson City get perks allowed by our laws. Before you sweep out someone else's house, you have to clean your own.