U
nions help government recruit & retain top employees
Re: “Ban government employee unions,” editorial, Nov. 16
Apart from its obvious anti-union bias, your Nov. 16 editorial is based on a faulty assumption about the motivations of federal employee unions. Everything we do is intended to improve the ability of our members to serve the public effectively and efficiently. One of our principal goals is to improve the pay and working conditions of our members in order to create a level playing field. This is the way federal agencies can compete with the private sector for the highest quality employees. On that issue, your should know that data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics documents that federal employee pay lags some 26 percent behind the private sector. It is well worth noting that the federal work force is the most highly educated in our nation. Federal employees want a voice in their workplace and unions provide that voice. As a union, our goal is the same as the government: To attract and retain talented and skilled employees who provide effective and efficient service to taxpayers.
Colleen M. Kelley
President,
National Treasury Employees Union
More federal investigators needed to ferret out fraud
Re: “First, stop Medicare and Medicaid fraud,” editorial, Nov. 20
Once again,
The Examiner has badly misrepresented the facts in pursuit of its political agenda. Your editorial regarding Medicare and Medicaid fraud states that a “recent government report claimed Medicare lost ‘only’ $47 billion, but that still means the government admits that $12.4 percent of all Medicare payments are fraudulent.” Wrong. Read the report. It addresses “questionable payments” — which include payments when medical documentation was incomplete or a doctor’s signature was illegible. Yes, Medicare and Medicaid suffer unacceptable levels of outright fraud and much more could and should be done to reduce it. Why is
The Examiner not calling for the hiring of more investigators to uncover and prosecute those responsible? If
The Examiner’s editors hate Medicare and Medicaid on principle, just say so, but don’t blatantly misrepresent the facts to readers to try to make your case.
Philip Rizzi
Arlington
Cartoons lampooning Obama are not funny
I started reading
The Examiner in the last couple of months because of the informative news articles regarding the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. However, as soon as I turn the page, I usually see a political cartoon right under the editorial that is not humorous at all. I say this because almost every day, it contains a caricature making fun of President Obama that I believe is meant to demean him and the fact that he is in the highest office of this country. I am beginning to feel that this is racially motivated. I have seen this sort of thing regarding previous presidents, but not to this extent. Obama has not even been in office for a long period of time. There are other top officials who also play a large role in our country’s decision making.
Sarita Chapman
Temple Hills
