Takes Issue with Publisher’s Column

To the Editor:
I was wondering, Mr. Hall, if you could invite me to that Ivory Tower that you reside in? Government did not make America! Are you kidding? Where did you study history?
Did you ever hear of the Louisiana or the Alaskan Purchase? How about the Homestead Act? The government has been making America since the beginning. It certainly was not the one percernters who abolished slavery, established child labor laws and stopped the robber barons and their company stores. And don’t forget the interstate highway system or the space program that created millions of jobs in the electronics and computer industries.
I have been a recipient of programs established by the government my whole adult life. I received food stamps while recuperating from work-related back surgery and again when I was going to college, full-time, under government sponsored vocational rehabilitation, to help feed my wife and three children. Because of this help, I was able to become a highly paid contributor to society. And believe me, I paid more than my fair share of taxes.
I must also mention the Affordable Health Care Act. When my daughter went to graduate school to become a speech pathologist to help children and stroke victims learn or relearn language and communications skills, it took every extra dollar I had to pay for her COBRA health insurance. Now at least a parent will not have to face bankruptcy trying to help their children get a college education.
You brag about the group you meet with every month to discuss Cape Issues. Maybe you should go to the Social Security Office or the Unemployment Office and talk to the people there and maybe you will see what government can and should do to help people, who (through no fault of their own) need a helping hand.
You always mention Christian values… maybe it’s time you practice what you preach.