Letter to the Editor

Editor:

Most NC voters will go to the polls this year thinking that they will have an
opportunity to choose who will represent them in the NC legislature. However,
53% of the NC House districts and 43% of the NC Senate will be running
unopposed. The NC Board of Elections will throw away any attempt to cast a write
in vote against these privileged candidates.

Half of the NC legislature is chosen before the voters see their ballots. It may
come as no surprise to those who know or care that laws which prevent a third/
fourth party from being on the ballot is passed by - the NC legislature itself.
In 2006 the legislature voted to retain ballot access laws, even to making it
more burdensome, accepting the argument that if the requirements were loosened
it would lead to a “crowded” ballot.

The people of NC have been living with this no-newcomers-welcome system for
years. You should be disgusted; some of us are not surprised. As individuals,
the disenfranchised voters will be disappointed that they have no alternatives
for particular races and in some the same people.

Most citizens of this state do not and will not realize, half of the ballots
contain no choice or only two choices in the NC Senate and House. You might
think that this story would warrant some coverage by the mainstream media. But
that happens only rarely.

Again: half of the NC legislature will have no opponents; others will have the
usual two on the ballot because the NC legislature does not want the ballot to
become “crowded”.

For those “lucky” legislators, it is not an election, but merely a coronation.
We, the voters, need more choices on election day.

Richard C. Evey,
Havelock, NC

Health Care

It probably comes to no surprise to people across the country as to how messed up the health care system in this country is.
Health care should be afforded to all; but all can’t afford health care.
One reason, some say, medical costs are so high is because of our sue-happy society. Doctors have to carry so much malpractice insurance that it raises the cost of a simple visit; God forbid you get diagnosed with anything.
Another reason for rising costs are the technological advances that have been made. Medical machines are pretty pricey, so the overhead needs to be cleared.
Let’s go back to insurance. Can a person, working for less than $10 an hour, really afford to see a doctor? Not really. Not unless you have health insurance. If you don’t have insurance, you’re pretty much SOL. Sure you can get it (health insurance) on your own, but if you’re making less than $10 an hour and living by yourself, or trying to support a family, you can barely make ends meet...if you can even do that.
I’m not a communist, or a hippie, but I support the idea of socialized health care, similar to our northern neighbors in Canada. Having said (or rather written) that, I realize that there is about as much chance of that type of system in America as there is for Jerry Falwell to spend a weekend “hanging out” with Hugh Heffner.
If this country were to immediately switch to a socialized health care system, thousands of insurance agents would be out of work, adding to the unemployment rate. But, if they got sick, they could go to the doctor.
The Medicaid system is a good program that is in place to assist those who can’t afford health care. But just like any other government program, there are many who abuse the system and make it hard for the people that really need it. I truly think that I would be denied. I am a 25-year-old, white male with a job that pays more than minimum wage. If I wasn’t currently living with my parents, I would be barely scraping by. There is no probable way that I could afford to see a doctor with the price of services.
Switching subjects slightly: I have recently come to the conclusion that most doctors are nothing more than drug pushers. And that problem is creating a nation of pharmaceutical slaves. Can conditions be so much worse now than they were 20 years ago that we need a drug for everything? Of course, everything now is a disease, disorder or some other medical condition with a nice little “happy pill” to go along with it.
To quote Forrest Gump, “I’m not a smart man,” but I know there is a problem. So do many more Americans. At this time, I can’t offer any suggestions to fix the problem, but admitting it is the first step. Once this country admits the problem united, then maybe we can see a change.