Letters: Socialized medicine is just the tip of the iceberg

I am a very proud naturalized American Citizen who was born and raised in Canada. My elderly parents still live there.

Very recently my 87-year-old father suffered a stroke (it ended up being not terribly serious, thank God) and he spent four days on a gurney in the hall of the hospital with a number of others mostly elderly men and women as there are not enough beds in the hospitals. As costs go up, Canada closes hospitals and lays off medical staff including doctors. It's not the first time this has happened; my 90-year-old mother has spent two previous stays in the hospital in the hallways. I have seen doctors go on strike in the province of British Columbia for better wages. This meant no doctors to treat your medical needs.

That, my friends, is socialized medicine and that is bordering on criminal.

When I was visiting in Canada, we were talking about medical care and the wait for "elective surgery" and a person indicated to me that there was no wait! You can go to the states (USA) if you can afford to pay for the surgery.

Mr. Obama can call his health care plan a universal health care plan, but government controlled and government paid for health care is socialized medicine. Look to Medicare (government controlled and paid for) and to state programs. Cost continues to rise dramatically, care goes down and premiums and co-payments rise as well, and all are full of waste and fraud.

If Obama and the Democrats get control of this country, socialized medicine is just the tip of the iceberg. Look at socialized home buying with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and see what happened with them and you can see what will happen to our country.

Gay McWhirter

Crescent City