Letters to the Editor: Medicare, the AI debate and cheers to the LWV

EDITOR'S NOTE: The views and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not of Ottawa News Network.

Medicare for all

This is a hot topic in this election cycle. Sixty-six percent of Americans want Medicare for all or some sort of single-payer system. Eighty-four percent of Democrats want Medicare for all — 72% of independents and 34% of Republicans also want Medicare for all.

So why don't we have Medicare for all? Follow the money. Politicians are paid off by the medical industry's lobbies. The millions made each year by the CEOs in the industry are an incentive for these men and women to fight against Medicare for all.

I do not know one person on Medicare who does not love it. 

If we had Medicare for all, this would lift a heavy burden on employers who now pay huge amounts of money to the insurance companies to insure  their employees. Small businesses and churches would be especially relieved of very high insurance premiums — which make up a significant percentage of their budgets — that many of these organizations can not afford to pay. Medicare for all would especially benefit our farmers.

How to pay for Medicare for all? We would need to increase taxes and rewrite our tax code to make this possible. Those covered by Medicare for all would also have to pay something into the system for their coverage.

We used to embrace the concept of the common good. You rarely hear about that idea anymore. So many  Americans go bankrupt each year due to medical expenses. That should not happen in a country as rich as ours. Medicare for all would be for the common good. I would add dental and vision to Medicare, too.

Henry Idema
Grand Haven

West Michigan's AI reskilling debate needs 6-week trial

Grand Valley State University's Oct. 1 account of Tech Week Grand Rapids describes a timely regional conversation: Should employers hire AI specialists or reskill existing workers? Ottawa County businesses face versions of the same decision. Neither approach deserves automatic priority.

Start with a six-week comparison. Pick one documented workplace process, define quality and customer outcomes, then give existing employees supervised AI training and time to practice. Compare results with a separately staffed or differently trained team where practical, while accounting for task differences.

The Oct. 13 Wharton-GBK survey found that leaders and junior workers often see AI readiness differently. Ask both groups to evaluate the experiment, including stress, rework and opportunities to learn.

The objective is to discover where retained experience adds value and where specialized hiring is justified. West Michigan employers can strengthen their workforce by making those decisions on measured performance rather than on a vendor's productivity forecast.

Gleb Tsipursky, Ph.D
Columbus, Ohio

With applause for the League of Women Voters!

I attended, and was pleased to have done so, the League of Women Voters meet-and-greet session on Oct. 14.

The league is a nonpartisan organization that has worked faithfully to inform voters about candidates for public office and ballot proposals. We are inundated with sound bites for and against candidates. It was so helpful to meet and hear from them directly.

I was particularly impressed by Joseph McClusky with his impassioned speech about rising costs, political dysfunction and a government for ordinary people. His opponent, for state Rep. Nancy DeBoer (R-Holland), did not attend, so I cannot comment on her reaction.

What I know is that I am grateful to the League of Women Voters for their consistent efforts to provide voter information.

Norma Killilea
Holland

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