VIEWPOINTS
Kerry-Bush
Re Howard J. Klein’s Aug. 30 letter:
Yes, Sen. Kerry has proposed keeping the same level of troops in Germany, to attempt to get our troops support from additional countries,ones that President Bush insulted and thought he could do without,so we don’t have to do it all ourselves.
President Bush, on the other hand, has proposed withdrawing a portion of the troops protecting our ally, South Korea, from a country he branded as part of the “axis of evil.” He also is withdrawing troops from Camp Pendleton, other U.S. military bases and hometowns across the country, in the form of Reservists and National Guard units, to pursue his war against the country next to the country that harbors and assists terrorists, actually has nuclear weapons and he himself likewise branded as part of the “axis of evil.”
I am a Vietnam vet and do understand Kerry’s position.
Ed St. Amour
Mesa Verde
Prop 72
On Nov. 2, California voters will approve or reject the Health Insurance Act of 2003 (SB 2), signed into law by Gov. Gray Davis during his final days in office.
SB 2 mandates healthcare coverage for California employees, beginning in 2006 for firms with 200 or more California employees, and 2007 for firms with 50 to 199 employees. Firms with 20 to 49 employees will be phased into the program when a partial state tax credit is enacted.
Costs to California businesses are estimated between $1.3 billion to $11.3 billion.
A “no” vote on Proposition 72 rejects this government-run system. A “yes” vote approves it. If approved, California will become one of only two states in the nation with employer-mandated healthcare coverage.
The goal of SB 2 is to reduce the number of uninsured Californians. Yet, according to research, the legislation will only affect about 1.1 million of California’s 4.5 million uninsured population: Nearly 3 million people are not part of the workforce, and two-thirds of the employees who lack healthcare coverage work for the smallest businesses not covered by SB 2.
Because of the costs imposed by SB 2, it is believed many workers will lose their jobs,and their existing healthcare coverage. Public education and nonprofit organizations will be impacted. And some workers will be moved from their employer-sponsored healthcare plan to a state-run plan with fewer options.
Bill Goodrich
CEO and president
United Agribusiness League
Irvine
Trouble Ahead
The Great Depression of the 1930s is one of the most documented economic stress periods in history. The root causes of the Depression were a high national debt-to-GDP ratio and the Federal Reserve’s massive increase in the money supply, creating asset inflation. Fast forward to the present and we see history is repeating itself.
It is fascinating that an obscure Russian economist Nikolai Kondratieff published a treatise in 1926 documenting that nations experienced a long-wave economic cycle of 50 to 70 years in duration ending in a period of involuntary debt liquidation, known as the Kondratieff winter. The mystery of the origin of the economic cycle was solved in Leviticus 25:10-16 where Moses wrote the law describing a 50-year economic cycle that consists of seven seven-year periods followed by the year of the Jubilee. The year of the Jubilee was to be a year of celebration as a result of voluntary debt liquidation.
During the past 10 years, the increase in the money supply by the Federal Reserve to counteract economic shocks has gone into financial markets to create bubbles just as it did in the 1920s. While the economic elephants from the Fed are repeating their mistakes, all we have to do is study Leviticus to understand the best economic plan.
Robert A. Dahlquist
Orange
