Letters to the editor on health reform, Goldman Sachs claims, rich men, theater etiquette, benefits warning

Reform bill a step in right direction

It is a positive event that the members of Congress finally got together to pass a health reform act. Though it may not meet all the needs of the American public, this is at least a step in the right direction. It is shocking and disappointing that good health care choices have been available for the politicians who serve us in Washington, D.C., yet it has been a great struggle to provide the average American with similar coverage. High health care costs have lowered my family's standard of living.

To those representatives standing up against the insurance industry lobbyists and others who have fought this reform, I say: Yahoo! Unfortunately, I cannot claim Kansas pride in Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, for choosing not to support this act.

BETH PIPER

North Newton

Lost sight?

With so many unemployed in the Wichita area, how could our representatives, such as Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, not vote to provide secure and stable health insurance coverage for all Americans? Has he taken so much campaign money from insurance companies that he has lost sight of the welfare of the voters?

I think we should not take this voting record to the U.S. Senate. Vote for a new representative and a new senator at the next election, someone who has our best interest at heart.

JOHN WILLIAMS

Andover

Claims untrue

The recent McClatchy Newspapers series of articles (Nov. 1-3 Eagle) on Goldman Sachs was filled with unsubstantiated claims, innuendo and outright falsehoods. This is not investigative journalism but, rather, poorly researched and sensationalist fabrications presented as facts.

As the McClatchy reporter knows, there is no factual basis for the theories put forward in the articles, and the claim that we misled investors is untrue.

McClatchy has done its readers a disservice.

LUCAS VAN PRAAG

Managing director

Goldman, Sachs & Co.

New York City

EDITOR'S NOTE: McClatchy stands by its reporting, and rejects as untrue the allegation that the reporter knows "there is no factual basis" for the articles.

Don't bash rich

I am pretty tired of hearing complaints about rich white men ("We can't take back what we don't own," Nov. 7 Letters to the Editor). I am not rich nor do I know anyone who is, but I am proud of what I have. All of it, in some way, was the result of "rich men" providing the means for my family to attain it.

"Rich men" have paid for the roads I drive on and the schools my children attended. They pay for higher education, provide the funds for welfare checks, Medicaid and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. They provide the funds for the military so this country can be free and safe, provide the jobs my family members have had, and contribute to charities that help the poor, disabled and, yes, even the lazy.

If it weren't for "rich men," this country would not even exist.

Stop being envious and be thankful for "rich men" and the opportunities they provide for the rest of us.

By the way — President Obama is a "rich black man," along with a long list of others. Being rich is not a color but is based on determination and hard work.

If people do not like the direction this country is taking, they have the right, provided by the Constitution, to protest. These protests have nothing at all to do with rich men nor race. The protests I have seen have had a representation of all economic levels, races and genders.

BOBBIE COGSWELL

Wichita

Theater etiquette

Nowadays when we go to movie theaters, we are bombarded with messages about turning off our cell phones. But what happens when you attend live theater?

Recently I attended my first and much-anticipated live theater production — of the Broadway show "Wicked." Unfortunately, I had the unique experience of sitting next to a woman who decided to do her own verbal commentary during the production.

Everything from "uh-huh" to "you go, girl" was yelled out during the performance, not to mention her sing-along and hand gestures with the music. I was fortunate enough to have an understanding daughter (who had seen the production in Tulsa) to change seats with at intermission, so I could enjoy the rest of the production.

Let's remind patrons of the proper etiquette of attending a live production.

CHERYL GOODELL

Wichita

Benefits warning

Before you retire from a company, watch out for what it might do to you and your benefits.

I went to work for a large local company in 1961 and retired in 1990. This year, after paying for supplemental life insurance through this employer for 38 years, I was notified that my monthly premium would increase from $17.18 a month to $109.27 a month for $34,800 worth of life insurance coverage.

Out of 1,200 employees at one time, perhaps 150 retirees are now left to pay into the plan, because the company stopped offering this plan to new employees in the 1970s. Now, there aren't enough retirees to keep their life insurance benefits covered.

If company officials can raise retirees' premiums anytime they want, what's to stop them from raising premiums to $500 or $1,000 a month?

A large company ought to be able to pay out a few thousand dollars for its employees who did their best to keep the company running efficiently for so many years.

DALE E. FERRELL

Wichita