Dear Editor:
State government has discovered yet another "entitlement." The growth of the governments list of vote buying "entitlements" will never end as long as politicians can use other peoples money, or pile more debt on future generations, to fund the growth. "Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them." Frederick Douglass. How many more "entitlements" are we taxpayers going to allow to be found?
By the way, neither Social Security nor Medicare are "entitlements." For 50 years I made federally mandated "contributions" to my Social Security retirement account. For 49 years I made "contributions" to my federally mandated old age insurance plan, Medicare. The following are quotes from Social Security Board pamphlet I.S.C.9, dated 1936. "The checks will come to you as a right. You will get them regardless of the amount of property or income you may have." "What you get from the Government plan will always be more than you have paid in taxes and usually more than you can get for yourself by putting away the same amount of money each week in some other way." Only after I learn that the federal government has shut down all taxpayer funded, noncontributory entitlement programs started after 1936 will I entertain the notion that "cuts" should be made to Social Security or Medicare.
Numerous times during the past several months I have read the claim that "high-speed broadband" is unavailable to many in Missouri. The service I pay for at my home typically provides me with download speeds of 5-7Mbps and upload speeds of 0.50-0.70Mbps. It is more than adequate for my needs. I was a self-employed structural engineer in Indiana, prior to retiring in 2011. Broadband speeds at my office were typically about half of what I now have, they were adequate for my business needs. I can't understand why any family/individual would need 25/3Mbps speeds for personal use.
HughesNet, a satellite internet provider, claims they provide service anywhere in the continental U.S. They offer 25Mbps downloads and 3Mbps upload speeds. Are we to believe that they can't provide service to rural Missouri?