Limiting options

Interesting that opting out to move the public option through Congress is gaining momentum among some blue dog Democrats and those conservative Republicans whose constituencies lie mostly in the southern states, a few in the far west.

Opting out urges that states can refuse public option health care so that existing insurance industries have total access for health care.

Many of these states have the lowest per-capita funding for children in public schools, Medicaid and scores of other funded programs meant to help the most disadvantaged and those least able to help themselves.

There appears to be total disregard among some political circles for people subsisting and struggling in our economy in a boot-strap mentality that no matter who we are or what our circumstances, we can achieve monumental successes in the work place through persistent, dogged perseverance and competitive zeal. In America, they say, everybody has opportunities that can place them at the head of the company.

Tell that to the 43 million Americans without essential health care. Tell that to workers displaced as jobs go to the cheapest labor forces around the globe. Tell that to racial, ethnic and sectarian peoples struggling to find their way down paths paved with the legacies of old families in familiar surroundings. Tell that to single mothers begging to find their way in our society.

Separate the haves from the have-nots and just don't worry about anything.

Deron Mikal

Brooksville