Re: 'Affordable Care Act – revisit ad absurdum' [Village News Miller letter, 5/16/19]

The author of the letter I’m rebutting calls Medicare for All “socialized medicine;” it’s not. Conservatives tend to describe anything liberal as “socialist” in the Marxian sense. Actually, socialism refers to an economy where “the means of production, distribution and exchange are owned or regulated by the community as a whole.” I fail to see how that applies to a single-payer health system operated by the government, which is what Medicare for All is all about.

As I stated previously, former President Barack Obama’s health care law was a flawed first step, but could have been improved upon. Instead, President Donald Trump has carried on a continuous program to sabotage it, as follows: “Shortly after President Trump’s inauguration, he issued an executive order directing federal agencies to use their administrative powers begin dismantling the Affordable Care Act ‘to the maximum extent permitted by law.’”

Visit http://www.cbpp.org/sabotage-watch-tracking-efforts-to-undermine-the-aca for more information.

Also, to reiterate, neither Trump nor the GOP has an alternative health plan – other than to distribute rolls of paper towels. It worked in Puerto Rico, didn’t it?

And Veterans Affairs is not a good example of our government at work; Social Security since 1935 and Medicare since 1965 are. As far as the VA is concerned, look to the military for consistently underfunding it, diverting funds to cover shortfalls for their expensive play toys.

John H. Terrell