To the editor
My fury knows no bounds whenever I think about [Gov.] Nikki Haley choosing the false economy of refusing to expand Medicaid. My anger is rooted in the knowledge that not only small hospitals in South Carolina may disappear, but in this state’s failure to train our young people in medical technology that would catch fire and create jobs, jobs, jobs — both now and in the future.
This state government’s failure to expand our economy with the money given to us on silver platters by the federal government is caused by the state government’s lack of knowledge about and care for its citizens. The worry that our state would have to repay this money to the federal government is a feckless one because the tax revenue from so many good, good, good jobs would repay the federal government if it demands these repayments for Medicaid expansion (which I find doubtful).
There is the additional advantage in ensuring that citizens throughout our state will reap the rewards of good health and healthful lifestyles. The thought that a state like Kentucky is now positioned to reap the rewards of its Medicaid expansion and is now serving its citizens admirably causes me to think that South Carolina political leaders are short-sighted and are leading our state into … well, nothing.
No industry exists now to create jobs 100 years from now that science, such as medical science, will engender. Kentucky is a leader in mining fossil fuels from its ground, an activity that cannot continue because of the negativity of carbon proliferation in our atmosphere which must end as soon as possible and will vanish within 100 years, if we humans are to survive.
The question is whether or not South Carolinians will survive along with any prosperity. Such poor decisions now on the part of our government leaders puts that survival and certainly our prosperity in dire peril.
I hope there is some way that state government can change course to utilize these opportunities that we have to create for alternate and prosperous futures for citizens. I suspect that the most important change would be an awakening of citizens to demand that political leaders stop their bickering and their living in the past and begin working diligently to ensure a prosperous future for all Sand Lappers.
— B.K. Haskell, Clover, S.C.
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