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Troop 5 appreciates community generosity during their recent yard sale

Access to health care would help

‘ensure domestic tranquility’

To the Editor:

Mr. Nash’s June 2 argument in defense of laissez faire capitalism in the realm of health care is a heartless piece of clinical reasoning which misses the whole point of free markets in the context of a framework of government designed to ‘promote the general welfare,’ and ‘ensure domestic tranquility.’

Fundamental to the discussion of how to enfranchise Americans with access to affordable health care is the question of what our system of laws is really supposed to foster that is so uniquely enviable. The author’s libertarian logic which leads him consistently to the conclusion that ‘to the winners, go the spoils,’ fails to address the threat to our society posed by a tilted playing field on which fewer and fewer can successfully compete.

Democracy itself is challenged to thrive where the middle class is increasingly under economic duress. Our rate of participation in national elections is lower than that in any of our G-7 partners, while rates of poverty, incarceration and death by preventable causes are significantly higher.

In ‘socialist’ Canada, a baby born into the lower middle class is now twice as likely to climb the ladder of prosperity as its counterpart in the United States. Liberties that leave the majority of the population in perpetual economic insecurity are deeply tarnished assets.

We have an absurdly inefficient system of health care distribution, where services are delivered at an average cost of twice that paid by our westernized, democratic partners. Meanwhile, since the early 90s, the percentage of national wealth held by the employed middle and lower middle classes has declined precipitously.

Piously principled utterances invoking God, the founding fathers and capitalist economics are of little comfort to those who work their butts off, only to see the fruits of a lifetime’s labors devoured by the costs of a single major illness encountered while uninsured, or under-insured. Our markets and laws must work for us – not we for them!

Paul Loefstedt

Bedford

Troop 5 appreciates community generosity during their recent yard sale

To the Editor:

To all of you extremely generous members of our community, Troop 5 thanks you for yet another record setting Yard Sale success. You continue to amaze us with your generosity of time, donations, discounts and purchases. You make it possible for our Scouts to have the best possible experience in scouting and reach their highest goals and aspirations.

This year you went above and beyond dealing with a two week delay due to a surprise snowstorm. You didn’t miss a beat and were so enthusiastic with donations that we had to ask Marc Fortin for an additional storage container to accept all of your treasures. Thank you so much Marc.

Thank you to Joe Gauci and his fabulous team of Landscapers by Day and Treasure Haulers by night for the Friday Frenzy. We couldn’t do it without your help year after year.

Thank you to all of the incredible support from the Bedford School District: to Chip McGee and Anne Wiggin for allowing us again to accept donations in the SAU parking lot and to principal Mike Fournier, Denise Roy and the fabulous custodial staff at our McKelvie School for the yard sale venue as well as set up and cleanup support.

Thank you to 911 Pizza and U-Haul of Manchester for supporting us with generous discounts. We appreciate it.

I would also personally like to thank the Troop 5 parents, siblings and friends of Troop 5 who put in untold hours of time sweating, sorting, boxing, stacking, storing, moving, planning, calling, meeting and untold other “ings” for our scouts. It is an enormous labor of love for a really good cause, but I want you to know how much your gift is valued.

And if you dropped a treasure off or picked one up at the sale – a big thank you too. And if you missed the chance: please look for us again next year!

Michael Trilling

Scoutmaster, Troop 5

Bedford

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