Patricia Pudik – 10/20/04

This page was last updated on October 20, 2004.

Think about the issues; Patricia Pudik; Beaver County Times; October 20, 2004.

Ms. Pudik is either a purveyor or victim of Democrat talking points. All of her allegations are provably wrong.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“To me, some of the main issues that people should consider when they go to vote on Nov. 2 are the economy, health care and our future income. These are issues which will affect all of us - young and old, men and women, all nationalities, religions and races.

“With so many people losing their jobs, mainly by outsourcing, how are they supposed to survive?”

[RWC] The unemployment rate is 5.4%, lower than it was when we re-elected Bill Clinton and lower than the averages of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. We added nearly two million jobs over the last year and more Americans are working now than at any time in history. If you don’t believe me, check the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics web site. Of the jobs “lost” during the first quarter of 2004, only 2.5% was attributed to “outsourcing;” that’s a long way from “mainly.”

“A great majority of the people who do find other jobs are making minimum or low wages. Many are working two or three jobs, with little or no benefits.”

[RWC] The “lower-paying jobs” allegation doesn’t hold water either. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan doesn’t buy the claim that new jobs are of lesser quality than lost jobs. Testifying before Congress, Greenspan said, “We’ve not been able to find a significantly meaningful change in the quality of the jobs being produced relative to the quality of jobs being lost for the nation as a whole over the last year.” Is that true for Pennsylvania? I don’t know.

“Yes, there have been some jobs created, but there have been more lost than gained. There are people who aren’t even counted as being unemployed because they have exhausted all of their benefits.”

[RWC] As noted above, Ms. Pudik is wrong. The BLS survey counts all unemployed people whether receiving an unemployment handout or not.

“Too many people have lost their homes. Health care should be affordable to all people, from the cradle to the grave. The cost of Medicare is going up 17 percent in January. How much will it rise for us and the future recipients? The cost of health insurance for those lucky enough to afford it, medicines and doctor visits have also risen.”

[RWC] More Americans own their own home than at any time in history. Healthcare will become more affordable only when we get government out of the mix. The third-party payer system is the primary reason for the high price of healthcare. Further intrusion into healthcare will only make the problem worse.

“Do we eat or make other decisions of what to do?

“There’s talk about privatizing Social Security, which this year is being increased by only 2.1 percent. With the raise in Medicare, I figured that we’ll get less Social Security next year. I, for one, don’t want mine managed by the stock market. It can be too unstable.”

[RWC] Here is “privatization” as defined by President Bush. Younger workers would have the option of putting up to two percent of their Socialist Security taxes placed in an individual account that would be managed by the worker. The plan would have no effect on older workers or people currently receiving Socialist Security benefits. That’s it, and I don’t call that privatization of Socialist Security.

“Please think of the issues that affect you when you go to the polls. Do go vote. Every vote does count.”