CLERK: Comment was illuminating

I found it interesting that our County Clerk Cliff Hayes said recently that assistance to the poor in Kootenai County to pay primarily medical expenses is a "burden to the taxpayers." You know those pesky poor people have always been such a burden.

I guess I just wonder how many who complain about helping the poor with medical expenses from local tax dollars also opposed President Obama's health care reforms, what conservatives like to call Obamacare. Obviously that legislation had many problems (politics is a very messy business), and it was not a perfect law. But it was at least a serious attempt to deal with the scandalous and in my opinion immoral health care situation in this country where if you do not have good insurance you don't get adequate medical care or you go bankrupt trying to pay those expenses. A decent national health care program would also keep the burden for paying these expenses off local governments and county hospitals and property taxes.

Some of my friends including those who are receiving government money such as social security, Medicare and veterans benefits that are government programs that provide a certain amount of financial security and are programs that I totally support, don't think it is the role of government to help others less fortunate than themselves by helping to insure health care for all citizens. I for one think it is. We have a moral obligation and if you are a Christian and have studied your theology that should be obvious. Caring for the poor and vulnerable is a religious issue, (Matthew 25:35-40, Isaiah 10:1-2).

I'm sure our Kootenai County employees who handle assistance programs for the poor are good people who are acting responsibly with public funds. I think helping to pay the medical expenses of the poor by county funds is a "burden" we will have to continue to pay until there are further necessary reforms on the state and national level to our national health care system and the reforms already legislated are fully implemented.

TOM HEARN

Coeur d'Alene