{"id":4636,"date":"2011-08-21T06:51:47","date_gmt":"2011-08-21T10:51:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/?p=4636"},"modified":"2011-08-22T09:36:36","modified_gmt":"2011-08-22T13:36:36","slug":"sunday-opinion-questions-about-casinos-insurance-companies-and-gas-taxes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/2011\/08\/21\/sunday-opinion-questions-about-casinos-insurance-companies-and-gas-taxes\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday Opinion: Questions about casinos, insurance companies and gas taxes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Morning, folks.\u00a0 This marks the official return of Sunday Opinion.\u00a0 A bit of a hodge-podge today.\u00a0 The Adirondack Daily Enterprise<\/a> argues this weekend that there is real need for more tax revenue to maintain the North Country’s crumbling roads and bridges.<\/p>\n

Gov. Cuomo and congressional Republicans are adamantly opposed to any tax increase right now, but think about this: Gas taxes, when used to pay for road infrastructure, are just about the fairest taxes there are.<\/p>\n

The people who use the service pay for it, and proportionally. Tractor-trailers wear out interstates faster than sedans and also have to pay more in fuel taxes.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Watertown Daily Times<\/a> opines that consumer anxiety might just contribute to the second dip of this painful recession.<\/p>\n

Unemployment remains persistently high. Job prospects are bleak. Despite what the Fed might do, Americans will be hesitant to buy that new flat-screen television or computer or take out a mortgage if they\u2019re worried about having a job tomorrow.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Glens Falls Post Star<\/a> ponders what a casino might actually mean for the North Country, if Governor Cuomo’s plan to legalize gambling goes through.<\/p>\n

And wouldn’t our region be absolutely perfect for it? The mayor of Lake George envisions putting a big casino at the top of Prospect Mountain, complete with a revolving restaurant with 360-degree views of Lake George and the Adirondacks. At night, its pulsating glow would be visible for miles, drawing gamblers and their money like moths to a flame.<\/p>\n

But putting aside, for a second, the sickening thought of this neon catastrophe ruining one of the best views in four states, it would be foolish not to at least consider how a casino would help the region’s economy … and how it could hurt it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Post Star concludes that there are still too many unanswered questions about casino gambling.<\/div>\n
Also in the Post Star<\/a>, Dr. John Rugge — head of the Hudson Headwaters network of rural clinics — talks about his experience wrangling with the Aetna insurance company.\u00a0 He points out that Aetna was pushing HH to accept lower payments at the same time the company was posting a 30% increase in profits.<\/div>\n
\n

Clearly, private health insurers can play an important role in making our health care more effective. Health insurers that are working to improve health care through programs such as patient-centered medical homes deserve to be part of our health care system.<\/p>\n

Insurers that use their power to force primary care providers to accept lower payments and skinny down their service are not holding down costs, nor are they improving care.<\/p>\n

They’re simply lining their pockets.<\/p>\n

Last week, one of my patients told me that he felt like his world is coming apart because he is an Aetna subscriber and we are dropping him. It turns out that he is paying $1,000 per month for coverage. We are now helping him find another option.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There is the opinion that caught my eye this weekend around the region.\u00a0 Comments welcome below, but be sure to read the full essay before chiming in.\u00a0 If you think I missed anything good out there, please make other suggestions in the comment box.<\/div>\n
Happy Sunday!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Morning, folks.\u00a0 This marks the official return of Sunday Opinion.\u00a0 A bit of a hodge-podge […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[5687],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4636"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4636\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}