Serving themselves
I see that a majority of our city directors are looking out for themselves instead of the citizens of Little Rock. They have given themselves a 39 percent pay raise ($7,000).
To put this in perspective, Social Security recipients got a 3 percent raise.
Directors, this is not your main source of income, but a civic duty you chose and should not take advantage of. If your interest is in the pay, your heart is not in the right place. Please don't run again.
DAVID and TINA HARE
Little Rock
Physician shortage
I am writing to thank Sen. John Boozman for his support of the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act (S. 1302) in the Senate. The United States is facing a shortage of up to 124,000 physicians by 2034, and as a pathologist in Arkansas, I appreciate Senator Boozman's commitment to finding solutions.
There must be a larger investment in training physicians in order to address the projected shortage. Data from the College of American Pathologists suggests there is a nationwide demand for 1,000-1,200 pathologists to fill open positions in the United States in recent years; however, there have been only 620 pathology resident positions available each year. If the shortage goes unaddressed, the consequences will highly impact patients, including their ability to access laboratory services and receive timely diagnoses.
Pathology is not the only specialty experiencing such numbers. S. 1302 would help to alleviate the physician shortage by providing 14,000 new Medicare-supported graduate medical education slots over the next seven years. These residency positions are critical to bolstering the health-care workforce by providing the necessary training to aspiring physicians. By investing in these future physicians, we invest in the health care of our community, and I am grateful Senator Boozman agrees. This is one step toward ensuring Arkansans can access the care they need.
It is imperative for our community and the country that S. 1302 becomes law. This legislation has strong bipartisan support, so I hope the rest of Congress follows Senator Boozman's example.
JENNIFER LAUDADIO
Little Rock
On totalitarianism
There has been much talk by both sides of the political aisle that their opposition is threatening our constitutional republic. The left characterizes Donald Trump as the new Hitler while the right warns that Democratic leadership wants to establish communism here.
Political scientists Carl Friedrich and Zbigniew Brzezinski wrote in their book "Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy" that a totalitarian system has six mutually supportive and defining characteristics: (1) Elaborate guiding ideology; both sides have dogmatic positions on such issues as abortion, immigration, energy that they insist be adhered to. (2) Single mass party, typically led by a dictator. We are thankfully nowhere near that. Instead, our nation is almost equally divided. OK, Donald Trump probably would meet the definition of a charismatic leader. Joe Biden definitely is not. Most days he's hardly conscious. (3) Systemic terror, using such instruments as violence and secret police. It seems the current administration has repeatedly used the FBI, CIA, and courts to try to persecute its opposition including the former president. There also have been left-wing mobs ravishing cities for years. Yes, there was Jan. 6, 2021, but that was an anomaly. The right would usually much rather write letters to the editor. (4) Monopoly on weapons. Which side wants to take away our guns? (5) Monopoly on the means of communication; with the exception of Fox News, talk radio, and a few other places, all the major TV networks and most newspapers appear to be firmly on the left. (6) Central direction and control of the economy through state planning. The left is trying to control what we drive, eat, and what appliances we buy.
I would add a seventh characteristic: our educational institutions. The left is firmly in control of most of our educational institutions.
It seems clear that most of these characteristics pertain to the left rather than the right. The only mitigating factor to me is there does not seem to be any hierarchical structure to leftist groups, with no clear leaders calling the shots. We can only hope that the Democratic leadership more closely resembles corrupt Chicago politicians than totalitarians.
EDWARD TABLER
Fayetteville