Letters
Missoulian (Mont.)
May 13, 2009
Upton Sinclair once wrote: “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.â€
I am reminded of this quote every time Sen. Max Baucus speaks about health care or banking issues. Baucus is a wholly owned subsidiary of the insurance and banking industries, having received more than $6 million from these industries in the last five years. Minding his masters, Baucus joined every Republican senator in voting against a bill to allow bankruptcy judges to amend mortgages to keep unsophisticated consumers from losing their homes. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Richard Durbin, was so disgusted by the bill’s defeat he said, “At some point, the senators in this chamber will decide the bankers shouldn’t set the agenda for the United States Senate.â€
Baucus is resolute in his opposition to publicly financed health care, insisting he wants a “uniquely American solution†to the health care crisis. His “unique†solution is to continue to rely upon health insurance corporations.
Baucus just can’t seem to understand that banks and health insurance companies haven’t exactly been working for the public good the last several years. Senators make $162,000 per year to supposedly represent the people of their state. Obviously, that salary isn’t enough for Baucus.
We, the little people of Montana, have been outbid for Baucus’ services. The only way Baucus will vote for Montanans is if enough voters call him and insist that he work for them instead of the highest bidder. Until then, he will continue to not understand the problems of the people he only nominally represents.
Richard Buley
Missoula