Town hall meeting exceptional success
Where were our three network affiliates, having been informed of and committed to coverage of the Indivisible Town Hall meeting on Monday at the downtown Public Library? Wow, “shoulda” been there!
What an excellent showing of Chattanoogans at their best participating in the democratic process (and not just during elections). Viewers can always use a step up from TV’s typical “man/woman on the street interviews,” usually featuring unprepared, uninformed and unengaged folks whose comments often embarrass themselves and our community.
This town hall was exceptional in volunteer citizen preparation, organization, attendance, program, visuals, analysis, moderator and enthusiastic, diverse audience participation, which carried it beyond closing time. As usual, our employees – Lamar, Bob, and Chuck- were absent along with the cameras, represented on stage only by their empty chairs. Their statement, however, was clear: The active Tennessee electorate is not important – yet.
R.J. Rolston-Raymond
Hixson
We need to pass the Improve Act
The Tennessee General Assembly is considering a bill critical to the prosperity of our state. The IMPROVE Act will modernize Tennessee’s road funding structure to compensate for rising fuel efficiency and highway construction costs and ensure our state’s transportation infrastructure keeps pace with our growth.
This bill is supported by the Transportation Coalition of Tennessee, which includes nearly 40 organizations like AARP, the Association of County Mayors and AAA. These groups are on board because the bill makes good sense for everyone.
All one has to do is drive down primary and secondary roads to see the need for this legislation. Countless citizens are being subjected to road damage to their vehicles, causing increased driving costs
The proposed transportation infrastructure measure is funded largely by user fees – paid by motorists – on gasoline and diesel fuel. The Senate version of the bill enables the reduction of other taxes, like sales tax on food and tax relief measures for the most vulnerable residents; low-income elderly, low-income disabled and 100 percent disabled veterans.
The lack of transportation infrastructure is a crisis in our state.
I hope our lawmakers put politics aside and do the right thing for Tennessee.
Robert J Radel
Trumpcare out; time to fix ACA
The attempt to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act was a failure, extreme in its measures to rip coverage from 1.265 million Tennesseans with preexisting conditions and cripple the state’s budget with a loss of $15.9 billion in federal Medicaid money. Recent attempts to replace have suggested amputating essential health benefits and capping lifetime coverage.
For now, the Affordable Care Act is the law of the land, and it has reduced the uninsured rate in Tennessee to 6.6 percent. The ACA has problems, but instead of leaving it gasping for breath, our elected officials need to come to its aid. If the Trump administration continues to undermine the ACA, and is not committed to taking our health care system forward, insurance companies will raise premiums and continue to pull out of rural areas in Tennessee. Going back means millions uninsured, inappropriate emergency room use, closure of rural hospitals due to uncompensated care, and skyrocketing premiums for people with preexisting and catastrophic illness.
It’s time for Republicans and Democrats to work together to find solutions to make the ACA stronger, keeping the law’s vital protections, providing consumers more choice and controlling costs.
Sandra Rice
Sewanee, Tenn.