Some distort CBO findings and other letters to the editors

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Some distort CBO findings

Recent incorrect translations of the Congressional Budget Office "analysis" of the Affordable Care Act made a startling - and dubious - claim. The claim was that because some workers may quit jobs that they kept only so they could get health insurance. The CBO says those resignations "will translate into a loss of the equivalent of 2.5 million full-time positions by 2024." That's nonsense. Even if some workers decide to quit specific jobs, that will not make the actual jobs vanish. It's not likely that "job creators" have been paying 2.5 million full-time workers to perform useless tasks. Presumably, those tasks and jobs will still need to be performed, and the 2.5 million full-time positions will still exist. Whether workers will take mind-numbing, low-wage jobs that are not chained to health care is a different topic.

KATHERINE ZAMMIT, Sewanee, Tenn.


Student-teachers can help children

Christine Hicks, whom I admire, wrote an excellent article testifying to the need to undoing the harmful affects of the education of the young, particularly inner-city children. This need, now urgent, calls for another educational tool to undo the many years of permanent poor and under-served population that seemingly brings about crime, drugs and gangs. The time has come to try something different; something nontraditional. Why not try this: Take a sample population from Donaldson, East Lake and Clifton Hills elementary schools. Test each to determine skill sets and deficits. Put small groups with one student-teacher utilizing the learning modalities of sight, hearing, touch, and movement. Develop an eclectic curriculum encompassing physical movement, music, art and drama to bring forth the student's best. The cost would be minimal. Chattanooga has six colleges in the area that have some sort of teacher training. Why not utilize the full assets of the college and university programs to better the delivery using sound research. I am offering my services free of charge.

ROBERT J. BROOKS


Siskin wants to serve vets

In response to Annette Beck's recent letter regarding serving veterans in the Chattanooga area, Siskin Hospital wholeheartedly agrees with the need to provide care to our veterans closer to home. The hospital has worked for years, continually pursuing a relationship with the Tennessee Valley branch of the Veterans Administration to enable us to be included as a provider for local veterans. We have met with the administrator, chief of staff, and director of physical medicine and rehabilitation several times and have had them tour our facility, as well as meet members of our rehabilitation team. Although the Tennessee Valley group has stated their support of Siskin Hospital being included as a local provider, the holdup is within the Veterans Administration's central office in Washington, DC. If Mrs. Beck and others would like to make their voices heard, we encourage them to do so by contacting the: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 810 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20420 It is Siskin Hospital's sincere desire to provide rehabilitation care locally to those who have sacrificed for our country, and maybe by working together we can make this happen.

CAROL SIM, president and CEO Siskin Hospital