Letters to the editor:
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Not So Healthy...

In response to Stan Ivester's letter regarding the dysfunctional U.S. health system ["Paying a High Price," Vol. 10, No. 21], I would like to respond to his notion that the health systems of other industrialized nations are inherently better because of their universal coverage.

What Mr. Ivester failed to mention was the true price that is paid for this universal coverage. Sure, the notion of equal healthcare for all sounds appealing, but one must consider what these nations pay for this service.

Having lived in both the Netherlands and France, I know first-hand the difference in tax rates that citizens of these countries face relative to the United States. For example, the top tax rate in Holland can exceed 60 percent of your income. Think about it: if your salary is $50,000 per year, you could "bring home" less than $20,000. And for what service? In August 1998 I had a severe jaw problem while living in Holland. I was not "allowed" to see a maxillofacial specialist until October.

Further, if the Canadian system is so great, why do private hospitals in border towns like Detroit and Buffalo have Canadians flocking to them to have non-essential surgeries?

Don't get me wrong, changes need to occur to our health systems to protect all citizens. A universal health system that is solely funded by the government, however, is not the solution.

Kevin Mathews
Knoxville

...But Perhaps Needed

I suspect that young Miss Duckett ["Our Lobbyist on the Hill" in Citybeat, Vol. 10, No. 21] might have had better luck persuading our elected representatives of the necessity of universal health insurance if she had brought along what the insurance and AMA lobbyists bring when they visit Congress: large buckets of cash for political campaigns. (The grim details are easily available at the Federal Election Commission website, www. fec.gov.) No such gifts are necessary for Senator Frist, of course, since his family owns Columbia/ HCA, the country's largest chain of for-profit hospitals.

To expect universal health care from this bunch is like the sheep asking the wolves for a health plan. Our politicians—Republicans as well as Democrats—are owned by the insurance companies and the AMA, so health care is operated as a business for their profits, not for the rapidly growing population of uninsured Americans, now 45 million and rising.

Stan Ivester
Knoxville

Leave The Taxpayers Alone!

I'd like to make a couple suggestions, if I may.

1) That you consider changing the name from "Metro Pulse" to "Joe Sullivan's Plea For More Taxes."

2) That Joe insert a motto in his name, something to the effect of Joe "Tax To The Max" Sullivan, or Joe "I Know Better What To Do With Your Money" Sullivan.

Give it a rest, Joe. You're sounding like a broken record. If you have more money than you know what to do with, then by all means give it to your favorite charity or whatever, but leave the rest of us alone.

Eric Ohlgren
Knoxville

Tooting our Horn

In between margaritas, desert hikes, and George W. Bush sightings last week at the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies conference in Phoenix, Metro Pulse staffers managed to pick up tips on reporting, writing, and selling from some of the best in the business. They also picked up a big ol' award. Staff writer Joe Tarr's July 15, 1999 article on the worrisome condition of the Knoxville News-Sentinel won first place for Media Reporting in the small papers category (under 54,000 circulation). The judging panel, which included New York Times media reporter Felicity Barringer and Editor & Publisher writer Mark Fitzgerald, said: "Tarr's investigation of the dumbing down (and selling out) of the Knoxville News-Sentinel is well-reported, amusing and yet outraged. The best you would expect when an alt weekly takes on an ensconced daily." Hey, who are we to disagree? (If you missed the story, you can read it here.) Artist Charlie Powell also won an honorable mention for his illustration "Book 'Em" for the Oct. 14 cover story about Knoxville's sport's gambling scene. Way to go, Joe and Charlie! Not that we're counting, but this is Metro Pulse's third straight year of editorial awards in the national competition.