Oppressing the Little People

Saw this letter to the editor in today's Rapid City Journal:

Right-wing selfishness cloaked in flowery terms

Bob Ellis' column of Feb. 13 is typical of the right-wing, mean-spirited attitude so prevalent in South Dakota, especially West River.

Ellis claims the Legislature shouldn't 'monkey with our health care system.' Citing figures from the Heritage Foundation (that figures), Ellis says the 'free market' is the best form of health care. Furthermore, Mr. Ellis and his ilk will be the first to tell you how wonderful the 'free market' is for paying workers far less than a living wage, with no health coverage. The upshot of this philosophy is, if you can afford health care (or food), fine, if not, tough.

Can't these right-wing Republicans be honest (just once) about where they're really at? They believe it's a dog-eat-dog world and as long as they get theirs, to hell with everyone else. Instead, they cloak their selfishness in flowery phrases about the 'free market,' while attacking the poor and working poor as too stupid to take care of themselves.

The current health care system is a disaster for a lot of people, Mr. Ellis, and it's precisely because of your wonderful 'free market' that so many are without health care in this country.

MARILYN HANSON
Black Hawk

Curses, foiled again! And I would have gotten away with advocating the oppression of all the huddled masses if it hadn't been for this lady...and Scooby Doo, of course.

Actually, I had to chuckle at her accusation that I seemed to be trying to hide something. How much more up front could I have been about my advocacy of a free market system? And flowery? I thought only a died-in-the-wool economist could possibly consider "free market" a flowery term.

I do wonder, though, why socialists like this lady can't be honest (just once) about their adoration for Karl Marx and his philosophy. It's obvious in this piece, yet she just can't bring herself to profess her love for Marx.

Oh, and it's socialists who think people are too stupid to take care of themselves. People doing for themselves, rather than relying on government to do it for them, is exactly what I advocated in my column. This lady can't even manage to stay consistent in her hatred for the free market.