Letters 11-17-2014

Nov. 15, 2014

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Don’t Count On Climate Help

I would like to respond to the letter written by Dr. Buono in the November 10 Northern Express. While I applaud your enthusiasm embracing a market solution for global climate change and believe that this is a vital piece of the overall approach, it is almost laughable and at least naive to believe that your Representative Mr. Benishek is going to play any role as a “champion” toward this cause.

Here he is quoted: “Well, I am a scientist,” Benishek responded. “You know, I believe in peer-reviewed science. But, I don’t see any peer-reviewed science that proves there is man-made catastrophic climate change.” And from whence does Mr. Benishek receive his support? Data from the website OpenSecrets shows the oil and gas industry has been Benishek’s third biggest supporter in the 2013-2014 election cycle. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I believe we can count on Mr. Benishek not taking any stand against global warming. Northern Michigan got just what it deserved on November 4th and we’ll just have to live with it for now.

Tom Speers, Fife Lake

Our Future Is No Game

I have been listening to media pundits and politicians talking about 2016 and who will be running. We just had an election, with serious problems facing our economy and the very nature of the world we will be living in. But the coverage has made it all into a game - winners and losers. Who gets elected is not important.

What those we elect do is important. The future of healthcare for the majority of Americans is important, not whether the Affordable Care Act wins. Efforts to bring jobs with living wages is important, not who wins the battle of minimum wage. Whether Congress supports the cost in money and lives to combat ISIL matters, not who wins the war of words over what should have been done. The welfare of millions of illegal aliens, many who have lived here more than a generation, is important, not whether the President or Congress wins the battle on how to do it. It has all become a game. That two-thirds of our country failed to vote says too many have given up caring who wins. I would ask that those we elect make serious effort to find solutions so that more Americans win.

Robert McQuilkin, Frankfort

Need A Healthcare Solution

Voters know the Doctor Dan, Doctor Benishek, story all too well. He ran on a reputation of being a physician and only one ad was different. And that is not ok. I hope he will transcend his physician career and become the Honorable Congressman from Michigan. As such, he can answer the CQ Roll Call Guide, which states of him, “business is first.”

How unfortunate he has governed with those who decided to stonewall the ACA with, “repeal and replace.” Democrats haven’t managed the problems, but neither has the GOP. House Republicans voted six times to repeal the act in its entirety, but they haven’t once brought a bill to the floor with a more attractive set of reforms.

Mr. Avik Roy, senior fellow at The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, reports that Republicans should break out of the “repeal” box and focus on lasting health reform. The high price of U.S. health care is the fundamental reason tens of millions of Americans are uninsured. It’s the principal suppressor of middle-class wage growth. It’s a constant threat to businesses’ operating margins, and it’s the primary driver of the federal debt.

Congressman Benishek won the election and now the “heavy lifting” begins.

Thomas E. Hagan, Empire

Push For Climate Action

With the elections over, we need to raise our voices loud and clear about an issue that affects everyone in this world. The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has concluded with 95 percent certainty that human activity is causing global warming. Key findings (from www.CitizensClimateLobby.org) are:

1. Sea levels are likely to rise 3 feet by the end of the century if greenhouse gas emissions continue at current rates.

2. The past 3 decades are the hottest since the start of the Industrial Revolution in 1850.

3. In the past two decades, the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have steadily lost mass, and glaciers are shrinking across the world.

4. The concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has increased to levels unprecedented in the last 800,000 years.

It’s time to get serious with policy that will help reduce emissions and set a leadership example for other countries to follow. One solution that has appeal for liberals and conservatives alike is a revenue neutral carbon tax. This market-based approach makes polluters pay for the carbon they emit in the same way other industries have to pay for their waste. Revenues collected are returned to American households as a dividend check. Economic studies indicate that this solution would reduce emissions, save lives, boost the economy and increase job growth. Another opportunity for the U.S. is a border tax on goods from nations that do not price carbon. While the solution seems straightforward, implementation will take respect, negotiation, and compromise not often seen. Tell the Honorables Benishek, Peters, and Stabenow they need to push for legislation.

Linda Sommerville, Traverse City