GOP’s difficult choice
It looks to me like the Senate Republicans have a difficult decision to make on their tax reform bill. On the one hand, they can choose to grant massive tax cuts for the wealthiest taxpayers and continue to receive those taxpayers’ donations. Or they can choose to not pass the tax cuts and continue to receive the votes of the people who elected them. Hopefully the politicians will remember that the taxpayers who do not control the most money in this country do control the most votes.
Republican senators, which would you rather have: more donations or your jobs?
Dan Rosenthal, Ross
Rein in spending
I recently read “Massachusetts proposes new twist on Medicaid drug coverage” (Nov. 24). This is interesting because in October, California made a step toward transparency in the drug market when Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB17 making drug companies justify large price increases. This California law and program in Massachusetts both represent the states’ desires to work within our current health care system while still making progress to rein in spending. Negotiating prices and coverage using a government payer (Medicaid or Medicare) will have the most negotiating power in the market and will lead the way for similar changes for private insurers as well.
As a student, my perspective is that the health care industry needs to shift to value-based reimbursement in order to control spending. Yet, as a consumer, I understand the argument for personal freedom in choosing treatment and medications that individuals select.
Despite these challenges against it, this new Massachusetts program reflects the shift to value-based reimbursement in the health care industry as a whole. It will be interesting to see how the Department of Health and Human Services responds to the plan, and the steps that other states may take if it is approved.
Eileen Johnson, Walnut Creek
NIMBY county
Concerning “Marin belies reputation, looks down on pot shops” (Nov. 27): It’s not at all surprising that Marin County officials don’t want to grant licenses to marijuana sellers. This Bay Area region with the highest home prices has already rejected the construction of low-cost housing, and will turn away anything it perceives will impact homeowners’ property values. Frankly, we should rechristen this “exclusive” location as “MariNIMBY.”
Demetrius McDaniel, Oakland
Retail behemoth
Regarding “Automation is a job creator — check with Amazon.com” (Insight, Nov. 26): Steve Glazer, in a recent Chronicle opinion piece, writes glowingly of Amazon as one of the biggest job creators in California. He makes no mention, however, of the hundreds of thousands of jobs lost in small, often mom-and-pop, businesses that have folded, unable to compete with the retail behemoth. Jeff Bezos has recently been declared the richest man in the world while a neighbor has had to close his small retail business, laying off dozens of longtime employees, that had been in his family for generations. Glazer’s statement that Amazon’s story is a vivid example of how automation can benefit society is as false in its math as it is in its assumption that we prefer robots to real people. Automation might well be our future, but please don’t disregard the many who have already lost their livelihoods because of it.
John Neal, San Anselmo
Valued education
In response to “NAACP’s call to end learning gap in S.F.” (Nov. 26), I would first say that San Francisco needs to hire a superintendent who truly understands the root problem of poor black student performance in the schools. During my tenure teaching in both Alameda and San Mateo counties’ public schools (30 years), I always had a very diverse student body makeup. I had some very high-achieving black and other minority students, as well as many very low-achieving black students.
The common denominator for the poor-achieving minority
No benefits
Regarding the NIMBYism concerning cannabis shops: Perhaps the districts that don’t want them should not benefit from the taxes they generate.
Roberta Scott, San Francisco students (as well as the white ones) was family structure (or lack thereof ). It was not socioeconomic, it was not racial, it was purely whether the student came from a home that valued and demanded that the student obey school rules and follow through with assigned work at home.
A home that insisted on academics first, and sports and other extracurricular activities second. Superintendent Vincent Matthews thinks that the district needs to develop strategies to address the outcomes. Sadly, the strategies must be developed from inside the black community. Until this happens, nothing the school district does will turn these underachieving students around.
Martin Von, San Francisco
AF3IRM’s activism
Regarding “Their visions just keep expanding” (Insight, Nov. 26): In naming Priscilla Chan the 2017 Visionary of the Year, The Chronicle is continuing to recognize fine individuals with strong ties to the tech world and Silicon Valley. However, it might also be time to recognize an activist group doing important work here in the Bay Area as a possible future recipient of this award, namely AF3IRM.
This organization brings attention to vital issues like domestic violence, transgender and immigrant rights, and sex trafficking. While many techrelated ideas are benefiting people around the nation and across the globe, AF3IRM is bringing much-needed attention to problems that plague many populations by promoting social awareness and political activism.
Luisa Westbrook, San Francisco
Comparable ads
How offensive can an ad for medical marijuana on the side of a bus be after our families are regularly inundated with ads for erectile dysfunction everyday on our TV sets?
Barbara Gauger, Menlo Park