Malpractice victims lost in the election
My husband died due to medical malpractice.
Those who voted against Proposition 46 voted against patient safety and rights. The American Medical Association and insurance companies spent millions to defeat Proposition 46; they did so by lying.
Doctors should be drug tested — they hold people’s lives in their hands.
The “database” their TV ads scared voters with has been in place for years. It tracks prescriptions for narcotics. Doctors aren’t required to use it but Proposition 46 would have made it mandatory, perhaps stopping doctors from overprescribing.
Also, the $250,000 cap on lawsuits has been in effect since 1975 and has never been adjusted for inflation. In 2000, when my husband died, that amount of money was worth $62,485 in real dollars.
This problem is about the cost of malpractice insurance. The AMA contributes to the high rates by not ridding themselves of incompetent doctors.
Stop blaming victims of malpractice for their misfortune and put the blame where it belongs — the AMA, incompetent doctors and insurance companies.
Before voting, citizens must research to find out the truth.
Cyndi Enzenauer
El Sobrante
We should be free to choose own course
In a recent letter, a writer said, “Government-approved suicide is a horribly inhuman course for a civilized society.”
But no one is asking the government to “approve” of suicide. Only to be allowed the choice. Same thing with abortion and contraception. No one is “pro-abortion” but rather in favor of having a “choice.”
Freedom of religion and of government are good. However, when it comes to birth and death, could we please also have freedom from religion and government.
Geoffrey LeGear
Martinez
Not all job creation helps create wealth
A recent Times front-page article celebrated the significant increase in local jobs since 2001.
Certainly, high employment is welcome but the Times failed to comment on the obvious economic downside of the categories of jobs created. Notably, the jobs added in health care, leisure and hospitality, and private educational services all draw money out of the base economy because nothing is created.
In contrast, large numbers of jobs were lost in manufacturing, technology and construction. These are the jobs in which wealth was created. This is the real story and the true dilemma for America.
During the recent recession, some of our progressive politicians suggested that, to attain full employment, the government should just hire anyone who needed a job. The stupidity of that suggestion doesn’t deserve a response.
I would like to see a follow-up piece by the Times analyzing the real income changes over the past few decades. Now, that would be a meaningful story.
Gerald Kosel
Clayton
Legislating from the White House wrong
I do not support President Barack Obama’s executive order on immigration. It follows the pattern of legislating from the White House.
For all of those who are looking for an emperor, this is a great change from the myth of gridlock. For those of us who have read the Constitution, it is a travesty.
Obama had six years to work with Congress, the first years with a Democratic majority in the House and Senate, not dictate to nor refuse to negotiate with Congress. Instead, he blames Congress, the only organization with the authority to make laws, and usurps that authority for himself.
The cheering crowds who support amnesty for Latino illegal immigrants will be in for a surprise. Millions of new work permits means millions of more low-skilled workers entering the saturated job market.
Despite Obama’s claim that cross-border infiltration is down, almost 500,000 arrests this year is still a very large number. With a perceived softening of American immigration policy, many more will come hoping to cash in on this trend.
David Pastor
Pleasanton
