Friday, October 18, 2013

Open letter to President Obama regarding entitlements




Dear Mr. President,

I wish to thank you for standing strong against the extortion demands made by Tea-Party-led Republicans.   You will not believe how thankful we as Democrats, especially Progressives, are that you finally appear to have turned the corner from being a politician who compromises again and again to one who refuses to cave when it comes to defending the basic principles that our democracy is founded on.

With the main battle having been finished,  however, many of us have become greatly concerned that you may revert to your earlier stances where you seemed to be willing to bargain away some of our most basic rights.  I am speaking specifically of your past tendency of being "reasonable" in regard to "adjusting "  Social Security.  The general take on Social Security on the part of conservatives is that Social Security is an "entitlement" we are not really entitled to.  In the language of conservative Republicans and, unfortunately some Democrats strongly connected to the very wealthy, the e-word is simply a code for Medicare, Social Security and other programs benefitting the public.

Mr. President, it is simply wrong for you to be "flexible"  in regard to Social Security and Medicare, because such flexibility means nothing more than stealing more from funds that belong to us because they consist of money that we have paid plus interest.  Social Security is our insurance program, and insurance programs work on the basis of  premiums paid by members.  It is simply wrong, wrong, wrong for anyone to take the money from an insurance fund and use it for purposes other than what it has been contractually intended for. 

So please, Mr. President, stop using the word entitlements and call a spade a spade, and please realize the fact that using the e-word means stealing from Social Security and that it is wrong to do so.

With best wishes,

Howard Roth

Sunday, January 27, 2013

A Second Open Letter to President Obama

I know that the chance that the President will actually get to read this letter is less than minimal, but fractional odds are better than none at all.


Dear Mr. President,

I’m asking you as the head of the executive branch of the federal government to address a source of pervasive anxiety and despair among the people of our country. As a citizen, I feel obligated to alert you to the fact that we who follow the actions of our government cannot avoid recognizing that the constitutional principle of equal justice for all has vanished.

Frontline recently revealed wrongdoings by decision-makers in financial institutions that caused our recent economic crisis. But your administration's Department of Justice has chosen to ignore fraudulent behavior on the part of the leaders of the financial world. It appears that a line has been drawn so that persons whose total worth is in the millions or more are exempt from having to respect and obey laws that apply to every citizen. How can our government be a government of the people, by the people and for the people if laws that exist prohibiting financial deceit no longer apply once a certain level of income and assets has been reached?

I know that as an individual it is natural for you to consider human factors in your actions. As difficult as it may appear to you personally to call to task and ultimately bring to justice persons that you may have come to know in the course of your political career, I am asking you to rise above the ties of friendships and allegiances and to make sure that the Justice Department of your administration does not exempt persons above a certain level of income and assets from being called to account.

Sincerely yours,

Howard Roth

Saturday, January 26, 2013

A New Year's Post to Barack Obama

Fot those of you who didn't catch this very short letter to Obama on Facebook, here it is again: 

Dear Mr. President,


I listened to your speech today regarding the fiscal cliff in which you talked about creating balances between the sacrifices made by medicare and social security recipients on the one hand and millionaires and billionaires on the other.  Does it make sense to compare  people sacrificing food, shelter and health care to a  multimillionaire feeling a hardship when he can only afford a 17 million dollar home rather than the 25 million dollar one of his dreams?   Is it right to compare low income families' sacrifices of daily necessities to the "sacrifices" of the wealthy who have to forego some grandiose luxuries?

Sincerely, 

Howard Roth

P.S. I do wish you and your family a Happy New Year1