Has this nation become so lost and degenerate that we have abandoned our often touted Judeo-Christian commitment to the common welfare of all of mankind? Does economics trump the right to basic health care, especially in a wealthy, even if economically stressed, nation? If we are the noble, free and resourceful people we usually claim to be, can’t we simply make a commitment to provide healthcare to all of our citizens and visitors (o.k. with some restrictions for those who came in through the back door)? Then we would have an easier time working out the details of how to go about achieving that goal.
Some of our fine citizens are so worried that the healthcare industry might suffer financially or that someone might get an aspirin to which they were not entitled that they would rather have no universal health care system at all.
We are our brothers keepers. It is morally, and actually financially, in our best interest to state it and to be guided by this fundamental principle of a civilized people. And the world is watching as we turn our backs on and seek to avoid providing for those who cannot care for themselves.
For shame.
People always ask: What can I do to make a difference?
UDB ruling wrong
I testified as an intervener on behalf of the state of Florida in the administrative hearing against Miami-Dade County regarding the Lowe's and Brown requests to build beyond the Urban Development Boundary. I disagree with administrative law Judge Bram D.E. Cantor's decision in favor of Brown. The law should be enforced as it is now, not as it might be in 2014.
What if the UDB is not moved; will he vacate his decision? This was not a zoning matter. The judge did not see the wider significance and implications of permitting any building beyond the UDB in relation to future building requests.
The county's Building and Zoning staff and the mayor recommended not approving Brown. Do their opinions count for nothing? How can you live hundreds of miles away, drop out of the sky for a few days, hear limited arguments and render a decision in a complex case with an informed understanding of the subtleties of the issues?
Administrative law judges should live close enough to the jurisdictions where they are rendering decisions so as to be familiar with the context of the matters before them.
BARRY J. WHITE, Miami
NEW YORK TIMES STORY
READERS' COMMENTS
Slump Creates Lack of Mobility for Americans
By SAM ROBERTS
Fewer Americans changed residence in 2008 than in any year since 1962, the Census Bureau said.
Barry's Comment:
April 23, 2009 8:44 am
This is a good thing. Staying put retains, strengthens and builds family and social ties. The social unrest and angst of the last fifty years has destroyed the fabric and nature of our nation. Using the litmus test of how does less mobility affect the economy? is the same as asking how does stopping global warming do so?; both results are bigger than the economy and will, in the long run, benefit it.
— Barry J, Miami
Recommended by 9 Readers (Highest Number of Recommendations
— Barry J, Miami
