Letter: Follow the money trail in Congress

Congress, with so many members on both sides of the aisle riddled with the corrupting money of our campaign finance system, is not going to change. Out of all the industrialized nations in the world, the United States is the only one without a health care system that covers all of its citizens. Germany, believe it or not, has had one since the late 1800s. Most decided it as a moral issue and not a partisan one.

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr's health care plan, in my opinion, is slanted deeply in favor of the insurance companies, with deductibles and caps, just like the policies in place now.

He proposes to pay for it by taking huge sums out of the budget of the National Institutes of Health, among other things. Robbing Peter to pay Paul. With more than $1.6 million in campaign money from health-related companies, I can't help but be a little wary of who he is exactly looking after: me as a voter or a money trail.

As for U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, we will not know about her campaign contributions until she has a reporting period. But her absence on this issue is, to me, a wake-up call. U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield's position is clear. U.S. Rep. Walter Jones is trying to get taxes reduced on the beer industry, which will help raise the taxes on us.

And on the state level, the N.C. Board of Elections is trying to catch a greased pig. I don't need to mention his name. I never have seen a greased pig caught yet, much less barbecued.

To see who is responsible for all this requires you to get up and go look in the bathroom mirror. You can't just vote every four years. You have to stay on top on these people with your phone or your e-mail. Their phone numbers are in the telephone book.

HARVEY R. TYER

Fountaine_SPgB