Let’s fix health care system
The U.S. health care system is beyond repair and cannot be fixed with gimmicks anymore. This “Titanic” has hit its iceberg and it is sinking fast. There are no “rearrangements of the deck chair options” that will make a difference. Powerful monied interests will continue to block meaningful changes that will make the system less convoluted, expensive, and inadequate for the population as a whole, and more equitable. It is up to U.S. citizens to vigorously and frequently state alternatives to the current system and to debunk the fusillade of lies that will predictably follow.
I invite the readers of the Southwest Florida news media to join me in a dialogue about what is no longer tolerable in our system and to make suggestions as to what will work in the fairest manner for the American people. Other wealthy nations have done this. Now it is our turn.
Here are the basic issues with which we can all begin our dialogue: The defining feature of the U.S. health care system is not medical excellence but institutional complexity. It is a system constructed through political compromise rather than rational design. Any durable reform must address the underlying architecture of financing, pricing, and access. The United States does not suffer from a lack of medical capability. It suffers from the design of its financing system. The central challenge is not medical innovation but institutional architecture — whether health care should function primarily as a market commodity or as public infrastructure. The United States has built one of the most technologically advanced medical systems in the world. Yet its financing structure creates fragmentation, inefficiency, and unequal access. Understanding this institutional architecture is the first step toward designing a system that prioritizes health rather than billing complexity.
So what are your assessments and recommendations, Southwest Florida readers? Join me in continuing the conversation with hopes that by numbers of dissatisfied voters we can overcome the numbers of dollars that are prepared to maintain the status quo.
Michael F. Finkel, MD, Naples
Airport TSA funding alternative
I understand there is a passenger fee that is collected by airlines and remitted to TSA. That tells me there is a process in place that could fairly spread the costs of TSA staffing across the airlines using an airport. So why does a federal budget shutdown have to have an effect? Can’t airports have an emergency process to pay the salary of TSA employees? We can solve ongoing problems funding the TSA if we have the will. We just have to be open to change.
Doug Sorenson, Fort Myers
Engage your mind and body
For many years I have run the Writing Workshop at Fleischmann Park on Wednesdays 10:30 until noon. It is a joy to help new and aspiring writers to connect with others by doing writing prompts. Students may attend as often as they wish. No prior registration is needed. When I go to the gym, I have often told some members that they also need to exercise the mind. The body thrives on movement, while the mind thrives on engagement. When you combine the two, each one strengthens the other. The body gets stronger, and the mind stays active and alert. The mind and body are partners. When one moves, the other benefits. Together they keep you feeling engaged, capable, and alive. To learn more contact Prof. Nancy Shuster, workshop director, or send an e-mail to Nshu4@aol.com. Do join us, you won’t go wrong.
I agree with the article by Angie Ferguson in the Naples Daily News on Tuesday, March 17. Mental Fitness. She confirms the idea mental fitness and physical fitness go together. That is why I run The Writing Workshop. We weekly train the mind.
Prof. Nancy Shuster, Naples
Trump’s harm to our country
“I don’t like him, I think he’s a terrible person, but I like his policies so I voted for him.”Have you heard that somewhere this past year?How are you liking these policies?1. I can tear down a large portion of the White House to make a ballroom.2. I can release advanced computer technology to any country that buys my cryptocurrency.3. I can direct our armed forces to kidnap a head of state and his wife and bring them to this country.4. I can attack a sovereign nation, killing its head of state, without congressional approval.5. I can disrupt the economies of this country and most of the world, driving prices of essential goods and services higher than ever.6. I can have the Department of Justice try to hide my close association and participation with a known sex offender.7. I can so alienate former allies that they refuse my requests for help.8. I can train ICE officers to violate our laws and Constitution resulting in deaths of American citizens.9. I can take a beloved institution named for an assassinated president and impose my name on it while eviscerating its leadership.10. I can pardon insurrectionists and pretty much anyone who will enrich me or my family.These are the policies of the evil, corrupt man millions voted for in hopes for what, I do not know. I am sure someone can write a letter pointing out the reduction in illegal immigrants, but I cannot imagine any number of immigrants that could have caused so much harm to our country.
Daniel Graziano, Naples
Trump fails his responsibility
Traditionally U.S. presidents had Sun Tzu’s book “The Art of War” on their nightstands for nighttime reading, but not Donald Trump. Trump’s failure to read and to know history has gotten America into the most dangerous costly quagmire possible in his Iran War. Because of his failure to “know thy enemy” according to the famous Chinese General Sun Tzu he has no planned exit; he and America’s war machine are trapped in failure.
No U.S. president has ever failed their responsibility so severely as Donald Trump. His toady Mike Johnson just continues as a lap dog, failing in his responsibility to exercise the 25th Amendment by removing Trump from the presidency for his incompetence, graft, corruption and the January 6th treasonous insurrection. Florida’s Congress members in the U.S. House and Senate and even Governor DeSantis stay mum.
Those who remain silent in adversity are complicit in the outcome and the outcome, especially for our children and grandchildren, is very bleak indeed. And it is due to Trump’s fear of release of the Epstein files and his failure to read Sun Tzu’s “Art of War” — to know history. Step one for Trump now is to prove his innocence by releasing ALL of the Epstein Files with no redactions thereby eliminating urgent need for war.
William A. Pettinger, M.D., Bonita Springs
Downward slide
When I was a student at Edison Junior College in the 1960s the mere thought of my professors carrying concealed weapons for whatever reason was never even dreamed of. So is America a better country today than yesterday when the Florida Legislature has voted to allow such? America has been on a downward slide for quite some time now to anyone honest enough to admit it. But be major reason is we’ve let just about anybody and everybody enter the country and only the most vilified U.S. president in its history has had the gumption and courage to do something about it.
I once talked to a man who became a U.S. citizen legally and he told me he studied very long and hard for his test as part of his becoming a U.S. citizen. He said when he took the test he was asked just one question, “Who is the current president of the United States?” He answered correctly and was granted U.S. citizenship. I’ll never forget his reply concerning the test. He said only, “It was crazy.” Kenneth L. Carson, Lenoir, NC
Road map to fascism
The voters were warned about Project 2025 which was a white paper or call it a road map to fascism that we are witnessing today. During the campaign the president disavowed any knowledge of what it contained or the people who created it. And just as easy as what Hitler did in 1933 turning a German democracy into a dictatorship it happened here because there was a plan. Is there a way out? I don’t think so as freedoms and norms are crushed. The illusion that the people can take it back in the midterms has to understand that a dictatorship will survive by all means necessary violence, sabotage, cheating and as Lord Acton said “power tends to corrupt, and absolutely power corrupts absolutely.“ Sigh.
Laurence Jacks, Estero
Vietnam War Veterans Day
National Vietnam War Veterans Day is March 29th. The Recognition Act was signed in 2017 by the president of the U.S. There were many marches with the Voices of the People who assisted in stopping the war in 1973. There were negotiations for many years between North Vietnam and the U.S. which produced the Paris Peace Accords (1973).
The Vietnam War had 58,000 plus American military and allies who died, and many more after the war, at home from injuries: physical, toxic, mental health causes. The South Vietnamese military estimates are 200-300 thousand deaths, North Vietnam and southern sympathizers are over one million, which included many from diseases and accidents. There are an estimated 2 million civilians who were killed from 1955-1975 in the Vietnam War, with as many in Cambodia and Laos by bombing, crossfire, targeting civilians, economics, displacements sickness.
Wars have similarities. We hear about the Iran War which is ongoing and how it is reaching many countries in the Middle East. There are regional concerns of economic instability, emotions, mental health, physical behaviors (terrorism) fear, and safety.
Interesting the U.S. had a draft up to 1973 and now a voluntary military. Israel and Iran have mandatory military service from 18 years of age. As a Vietnam War veteran I learned that peace is the only alternative, I asked why war, and with reading The Pentagon Papers (Daniel Ellsberg), and watching Ken Burns documentary on the Vietnam War, and with personal research I had a better understanding. My hope is that the American government is being faithful to the values and principles of the U.S. Constitution and the American people.
My motto: “Imagine peace, create peace through communication.” We must let the mediators continuously work toward the solutions to resolution/agreement. My prayers for those who are all associated (military and civilians) with the Vietnam War. We now have travel and trade with Vietnam. A big change after all the harms?
Louis Cohen. (Koltun), Naples
Democrat hypocrisy
The Democrats did all they could to try to subvert any efforts by DOGE to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in government spending. The Democrats have been mostly silent on the billions of dollars of fraud in Minnesota, California and probably every other state. However, they are yelling from the rooftops about our military spending money for steak and lobster. This just continues the apparent Democrat position that they have no interest in our citizens, our law enforcement officers and our military. As far as the steak and lobster, the facts indicate that the Biden administration spent about the same amount on steak and lobster and the Democrats certainly did not care then. TDS and hypocrisy are the Democrat calling cards.
Ron Wobbeking, Naples
‘Excursion’ into war
The old saying that “words matter” doesn’t seem to have much meaning with President Trump and his administration. This week he referred to the situation in Iran as an “excursion,” while in the same breath, calling it a “war.”
“Excursion” is defined by the dictionary as a “short pleasurable trip.” That’s how he and his administration seem to view the matter, especially Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who repeatedly glorifies the excursion’s killings and casualties on a scale not seen since President Lyndon Johnson exhilarated in daily “body counts” from the field in Vietnam.
But, wait, there’s more.
Addressing his Republican colleagues at a pre-campaign pep talk, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who isn’t speaking if the president is drinking water, stated that the administration’s heavy-handed domestic immigration enforcement policy has been a “hiccup” for his party’s standing in the eyes of the electorate. Defined as a slang term for a “minor setback,” the phrase minimizes the vast improprieties, not to mention that tragic civilian deaths, accompanying the ICE practices.
While “words matter,” it seems that for the president and his allies the deaths and destruction wrought by their policies don’t.
Marshall H. Tanick, Naples
The most generous
Instead of the Forbes Richest People, wouldn’t it be wonderful to know who gives away the largest percentage of their income to worthy causes. Not who gives the most money, but who gives the largest percentage of their wealth. What a great concept. In fact, it could be the woman next door who has a limited income but give away almost 75% of it to causes that “do good” for others! It’s something to think about.
Benita Staadecker, Naples
Modern slavery
Modern slavery is not a relic of the past. It is a global system of exploitation that traps about 50 million people in forced labor, sexual exploitation and forced marriage today, including roughly 1.1 million in the United States. Survivors are coerced, threatened, or made so economically and socially dependent that they cannot meaningfully refuse or leave. That is slavery by another name, and it thrives wherever wealth and power are allowed to eclipse accountability.
The United States likes to present itself as a leader against human trafficking, yet the reality is more uncomfortable. Modern slavery here ranges from farmworkers whose visas tie them to abusive employers, to domestic workers held in private homes, to children groomed and sold for sex. These abuses are disproportionately inflicted on migrants, poor and homeless youth, kids in foster care, LGBTQ+ youth, and communities of color. Our laws are harsh on street‑level traffickers but far more forgiving when the perpetrators move in elite circles, fly private, and cut checks to politicians.
Jeffrey Epstein’s network is not an outlier — it is a textbook example of modern sexual slavery operating at the top of our social pyramid. Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell recruited and groomed vulnerable girls, many underage, transported them to properties he controlled, and coerced them into sex acts for the benefit of Epstein and his “friends.” Gifts, payments, threats, and social leverage kept victims compliant. Staff, recruiters, fixers and institutions handled logistics, money, and reputation management. Strip away the private jets and famous names and what remains is a familiar trafficking pattern: powerful men exploiting vulnerable girls with near‑total impunity.
That impunity did not happen by accident. As U.S. attorney, Alexander Acosta negotiated the infamous 2008 non‑prosecution deal that spared Epstein federal charges and delivered a lenient state sentence with work release, despite dozens of identified victims. Acosta later became Donald Trump’s Labor Secretary and resigned only when the deal drew national outrage again. Even if there is no paper trail of a direct order from Trump, the fact that a future Trump Cabinet official engineered the “deal of a lifetime” for a serial abuser closely tied to Trump’s social world should trouble anyone who cares about justice for trafficking survivors.
In Florida, Attorneys General Pam Bondi and Ashley Moody have wrapped themselves in anti‑trafficking rhetoric while making choices that undercut serious accountability. Bondi had the authority and ample public evidence to revisit Epstein’s crimes but did not aggressively do so. More recently, she backed shutting down further releases of Epstein‑related documents, slamming the door on public scrutiny of his client network and enablers. Moody has attacked the national human trafficking hotline and promoted a politicized state alternative, risking confusion and chilling survivors’ willingness to seek help.
Modern slavery survives in the shadows created by power. When presidents, attorneys general, and Cabinet officials protect their own image or their donors’ comfort instead of the most vulnerable, they are not bystanders; they are part of the system that keeps exploitation going.
If we are serious about ending modern slavery, we must demand full transparency on Epstein’s network and every political connection to it, strengthen victim‑centered services instead of undermining them, and apply the law with the same zeal to billionaires and politicians as to pimps and coyotes. Until we do, speeches about “fighting trafficking” are little more than cover for business as usual.
Paul Howard, Naples
Powerful words in Declaration
The United States of America came into existence from words. The most powerful and sincere words in 1776, declared to the entire world, are these: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
The Declaration of Independence is not an experiment. Nor does it separate church and state. The document is a defining response to human and spiritual injustices that set this country apart from any other. The several states still have, in their respective preambles, a reverence to a Supreme Being.
Robert Green, Fort Myers
More ridiculous every day
It just keeps getting better and better. Apparently Trump and his close associates just can’t help themselves. It’s as though they’re actually trying to make themselves more ridiculous with every passing day. And this week’s winners: Pete Hegseth and his macho bros at the War Department. You remember Pete, right? He’s our very own testosterone drenched Secretary of War, and this guy is one seriously bad dude. He dresses down generals who may have put on a few pounds and redefines their missions for them, too. They aren’t there to project strength and discourage potential aggressors. Oh no! They exist to “kill people and break things.” Pete and his crew make Conan the Barbarian look like a ballerina. Or do they …
Recently, Hegseth’s staff barred press photographers from Pentagon briefings for snapping “unflattering” pics of their boss. I guess his feelings were hurt. Why couldn’t he vent his blood lust and look cute at the same time? This guy is busy killing people, and he has the time and energy to worry about how he looks in the media? Can there be a bigger snowflake anywhere on God’s green earth? Pete, come back to us, now. You’ve sold yourself as a killer, not the Tooth Fairy. Well, then again, maybe I’m being too hard on the man. For all I know, a briefing was running long, and he thought he might not make it to his next appointment. And hey, who doesn’t lose it when he’s late for his mani-pedi?
Geremy Spampinato, Naples
Two dire afflictions
As we all know, Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) is a condition unique to left-wing advocate circles, causing severe and serious symptoms. These symptoms include headaches, nausea, flatulence, constipation, arrhythmia, dizziness, confusion, sleeplessness, sexual dysfunction, fatigue, frustration, depression, and even the heartbreak of psoriasis!
The mere sight of the revered right-wing messiah can trigger these symptoms. Sometimes, the symptoms are so severe that hospitalization is necessary. Even just the sound of the exalted one’s ramblings can trigger an attack. I understand that an immunization has been developed to effectively mitigate these symptoms. However, HHS Secretary, R.F.K. Jr., has determined that this vaccine causes autism in left-wing adults. Consequently, he has approved it for immediate and frequent use!
Recently, another debilitating condition has been identified among right-wing enthusiasts: Trump Denial Syndrome (TDS)! While both conditions share the same initials, their similarities end there! The symptoms of this condition include brain fog, hearing loss, diminished eyesight, gullibility, naivety, impaired memory, tunnel vision, reality impairment, unnatural obsession with rose-colored glasses, hypocrisy, binge-watching reruns of “The Twilight Zone,” and alienation from family and friends!
Interestingly, identical measures can be taken to mitigate the symptoms of both left-wing and right-wing TDS: blindfolds and earplugs!
Jay Custa, Estero
Alienating our allies
With no guardrails in place for this latest debacle, our unchecked president is now further alienating our once trusted allies. He’s now lashing out at them for not helping open the Hormuz Strait. They were already miffed by his tariffs and now he’s criticizing these once dependable allies for not joining him in his war of choice. Good for them − at least they have the backbone to stand up to his crazy whims who wrongfully assumed that they’d fall in line. It’s plain to see, it’s his war and his alone along with Israel who goaded him into getting involved. Now’s the time for the weak-kneed Congress to throttle this fiasco. I don’t understand what harm he could do now as unpopular he and his war are. Maybe finally, someone has had enough and are not bending a knee anymore. Here’s hoping.
Glenn Chenot, Cape Coral
Term limits for Congress
The day has come for Americans to realize that our government is broken. The people we elect to make critical decisions on our wellbeing on a daily basis are doing nothing. Their only concern from the time they are elected is to remain in office. They enjoy the life we are paying for and give us little in return. I am not looking for a revolution; I am merely looking for an alteration to the way things are done in Washington.
The job as congressional representative or senator was originally created to be a part-time job. But over the last 250 years it has become a feeding trough for fat cats to get even fatter. They do not answer to us, they dictate to us. They do not allow our voices to be heard very often and then only at election time. And once the election results are in, it is back to the same old same old.
I do not have an answer as how to accomplish this task, other than all of us have to remain vigilant and require the people on Capitol Hill to keep their campaign promises and if they don’t we must vote them out. Party lines and personalities should not play as big a part as exists today. Forget that Representative A or B is nice or friendly. They need to be strong and effective and stand up for us. Term limits would be a start.
Michael Zubrow, Naples
American unionism not to blame
There are some union members in Florida who have no clue how their union protects them from politicians who blame unions. These union workers are used by politicians based on ignorance which is consistent with the beliefs of many Americans who believe unions are responsible for government bureaucrats making it difficult for business and responsible for making bad automobiles or making bad products. Corporate America has been effectively minimizing the importance of American unionism since 1935 when Franklin Roosevelt created labor laws protecting the working class. It is the current corporate lobbyist and the unscrupulous politicians in Florida who claim their Florida workers are to blame for some stupid laws they created.
People who belong to unions are only interested in collective bargaining over wages, benefits, and working conditions. How bad could that be? Then again, I suspect anti-union Florida legislators are enamored with non-union people that mow our lawns and pick our crops. Then again, the Republican legislators are the same people who blame union workers for building bad automobiles. Then again, it was engineers in corporate capitalism who built terrible cars in the Fifties and Sixties, not union workers. Now think about all the stupid laws created under the leadership of Governor DeSantis and his Republican Party and think about all the government union workers that are told they are blamed when executing these laws.
American unionism is not to blame for what’s wrong with Florida, it’s corporate greed and poor governance. And just maybe voting for a different party?
Henry R. Przystup, Naples
Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive
To our seasonal and yearly residents, we want you to know letter carriers, postal workers and managers care about our local community. We have made it possible that any post office in Naples and Marco Island has a place to donate food at any time you visit the offices. Millions of Americans live from one day to the next uncertain where their next meal will come from, a sad statistic that helps to reinforce the importance of our annual national Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, to be held this year on Saturday, May 9. Letter carriers see many of these folks along our routes each day. Our food drive can make a positive difference in the lives of those who have been dealt difficult circumstances in their life. You can play a major role, if you’re leaving to go back home prior to that date please leave your food at the box for your letter carrier or you can drop it off at the Post Office. Those who wish to help in a bigger way with donations of any sort or local markets who would like to kick start the drive with a few thousands cans of food please contact Meals of Hope Community Outreach Managers and say I want to Stamp Out Hunger. Address 2221 Corporation Blvd. Naples FL 34109, phone number 239-596-8990 Ext.104 You can help now or on May 9, we as your postal family say thank you for any help you can give to those in need in our local communities.
Al Micieli, National Association of Letter Carriers, Naples
A sickening king
King Trump’s decision to undercut the Clean Air Act will harm millions of Americans, including red-state voters. With this move, the White House is preparing to send people back to smoggy skies and smelly smokestacks. The health costs will fall on all of us. Trump’s decision to end the EPA’s Endangerment Finding conflicts with both scientists and courts. The Supreme Court agreed that greenhouse gases were “unambiguous” pollutants in the Massachusetts v EPA (2007) and recognized various illnesses associated with the spread of pollutants into our air and water. The court took notice that air pollution from fossil fuels alone is responsible for more than $800 billion in health care costs.
Trump is forcing American citizens to bear the long-term costs as he rewards his billionaire friends. Trump, armed with a supportive Congress and a captive Supreme Court, will succeed in making people sick and then sticking them with the bill. It’s sickening, and even deadly.
Joe Haack, Naples
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: U.S. health care system is beyond repair | Opinion letters
Reporting by Letter writers / Fort Myers News-Press
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