Health Care: Taxing Some to Benefit All

Re “County to Seek Tax Hike for Hospitals,” July 30: I find it appalling that in arguing for the support of a tax increase to maintain L.A. County emergency room services, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky would make the statement that we all are “one drunk driver away, one gunshot away, one stabbing away from a trauma center.”

Something is terribly wrong in our city if daily gunshots, stabbings and drunk drivers are so acceptable as the status quo that a supervisor uses them to justify increasing our taxes. Perhaps, in addition to funding our much-needed health-care system, Yaroslavsky ought to turn his attention to determining a way to prevent these criminal acts (instead of speaking of them so flippantly) and making the county more livable.

Miles Crakow

Los Angeles

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The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to place on the November ballot a measure to increase property taxes to help pay for emergency health care. The bulk of the new taxes will be paid by the residential homeowners of Los Angeles County.

Emergency health care is to be used by everyone who is living, working, traveling or visiting in Los Angeles County. Placing the tax burden on homeowners is unfair. Since the supervisors do not have the courage to make the necessary budget cuts to establish the priorities of its citizens and visitors, voters should reject this sneaky tax increase.

A better way to equitably finance consistent emergency health care is through a state sales tax that would benefit everyone in California, regardless of where he or she lives.

Frank Bajinting

Whittier