UTLA’s declining influence; the healthcare debate; another side of J. Paul Getty

Play somewhere else

Re “Looking for that common ground,� Feb. 21

Everyone has the right to visit our public lands, but no one has the right to abuse them. This includes Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who last weekend traveled to Algodones Dunes to try his hand at driving a dune buggy designed to roar over sand dunes at breakneck speeds.

The Algodones Dunes area used to be home to a variety of rare species. It is also considered to be one of the most dangerous off-road areas in the nation, with numerous deaths and injuries that result from out-of-control driving.

Far from being a gold standard of wholesome American recreation, racing around out of control on our public lands is unsafe and destroys America’s natural heritage for the sake of thrill rides for a small segment of the population.

Cynthia Tuell

Upland

The future of a union

Re “UTLA sees influence diminished,� Feb. 20

A partial quote from a member of the Board of Education reads, “Most of us roll our eyes when things come up with [United Teachers Los Angeles] because they are less and less influential in the conversations we’re having.�

By implication, so are teachers, who are vilified as the primary problem with education. It is as inane as blaming the failures of the U.S. military in Vietnam or Iraq on the troops.

When systems are generally failing to accomplish their mission, the problems are systemic. Yes, the union has made it challenging to remove incompetent teachers. It has also protected excellent teachers fighting unfair situations. A few “bad� teachers are not to blame for systemic failure.

UTLA supports teachers, the people who strive to leave no child behind. Support your troops!

Michael Goldstein

North Hills

I was the UTLA chapter chair for nine years at the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies before retiring in 2006. It is with sadness that I have watched the demise of a once significant force for change in Los Angeles.

UTLA can no longer support winning candidates for the Board of Education, and it has allowed itself to be viewed as anti-reform when

reform is desperately needed. The leadership of UTLA makes lots of noise but cannot put forth effective action.

When urging its members to cancel their subscriptions to your newspaper is its call to action, it is obvious how far this union has fallen.

Joel Hahn

San Gabriel

UTLA (teachers): bad. L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, philanthropist Eli Broad and their allies: good. Am I missing something here?

Gail Baskin

Tarzana

Fixing health insurance

Re “Health crises strike all of us, eventually,� Business, Feb. 22

I agree that risk has to be spread across the whole population for insurance to work. However, in practice even the insurance companies don’t do that.

They charge different rates for different ages and don’t have the same relative values for one age compared with another. This allows some insurance companies to set their rates so that they get a disproportionate share of the younger, healthier people. This forces the cost up for older people.

If the government would require all insurance companies to charge the same unit cost and the same rate for each age, it would increase the need for the companies to compete more on patient satisfaction and the quality of outcomes.

If they wanted to compete on price, they should only be allowed to do it by lowering the portion of the rate that doesn’t have to do with the cost of healthcare.

John A. Middleton

Coto de Caza, Calif.

Paula Homan’s sad case is extreme and should not be used as an example for mainstream healthcare discussion. That is especially relevant because the huge gaps in the current system stem from three major structural flaws.

First, consumers of healthcare pay providers by proxy, not directly, which eliminates direct influence by the individual. That suppresses competition among providers to win the consumer’s business, and it stupidly continues to tie healthcare to employment.

Second, health premiums are tax-deductible for employers but not for most individuals. This puts outside coverage at a huge cost disadvantage. Sane insurers wouldn’t touch such a market.

Third, bans on interstate sale of health coverage vastly reduce competition for consumers’ business, thereby restricting consumer choices and increasing prices.

The latter two can be changed easily; the first would then fade, and a real market that serves patients could flourish.

Andrew K. Gabriel

South Pasadena

Inhumane

Re “A long road home,� Feb. 20

The Chinese Communist Party makes the same mistake Western capitalists do: trying to run a human world by inhuman means.

I hope the example of Li Guangqiang’s family isn’t typical, but I fear it is. The regime takes one or more parents and relocates them to the urban centers for the great push forward, breaking up millions of families more effectively than divorce.

Li’s family shows a cold lack of affection more chilling than the rooms his family occupies. His son has all the characteristics of a lonely, failing boy desperately needing a father. His wife is cruelly expected to shoulder burdens no woman should bear alone, while enduring a village enforcer silencing her distress.

In the face of such vast social dissolution, one can almost feel the violence and horror waiting down the unpaved road.

Geri A. Mellgren-Kerwin

Burbank

‘Law’ order

Re “Man on trial for murder is freed,� Feb. 19

It was a surprise that Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Harvey Giss granted the request to dismiss the case against Edward Arch because of lack of evidence. The greater surprise is that it doesn’t happen more often.

With due respect to all police officers, once the detectives feel they have “their man,� there is a tendency to stop looking. Our adversarial system of justice is the best system, but wins are the key to advancement. Losses are just not tolerated.

Another surprise to me is that Arch did not invoke his right to an attorney at the interrogation. Didn’t he watch “Law and Order,� where the cops say the district attorney will be lenient if they confess? There are no free passes.

Chuck Rinaldi

Huntington Beach

On Getty

Re “Rich man, poor man,� Opinion, Feb. 20

Ralph Frammolino’s characterization of J. Paul Getty as miserly and dour does not match my personal recollection of him.

I occasionally stayed at Sutton Place, Getty’s residence south of London, to brief him on the activities of Getty Oil’s mining group, of which I was an executive. Yes, he watched his money, but he always treated me and other Getty Oil colleagues attentively and graciously, hardly like the man pictured by Frammolino.

Further, we all liked being members of the company he headed, and we were paid very well.

Siegfried Muessig

Claremont

A fisherman

Re “Angler regaled generations in Santa Barbara,� Obituary, Feb. 21

I was saddened to read about Neal Taylor’s death. We always looked for him when we camped at Lake Cachuma.

My sons enjoyed his nature hikes. One favorite memory is when he stopped at our camper with a fish for our cat Hoppy. Hats off to The Times for capturing the man behind the ranger uniform.

Sheila Moss

Northridge