I am a senior citizen and I have read about the situation with health care or lack of in this country. Your article mentioned many factors that the general public is ignorant of. I personally believe that a country's strength and greatness is reflected in how they treat the least of their people.

We have failed on an epic level as a people. No person wants to be on welfare, Medicaid, public assistance or food stamps. The prevailing ignorant opinion by the vastly uninformed public is that it is an easy ride and that the individuals on welfare want to live off the state.

The truth of the matter is that "catastrophic events" can happen to anyone and it only takes the loss of employment and devastating medical bills to suddenly be forced to be on state assistance. It is a true nightmare. It is a degrading humiliating process and I honestly cannot think of anyone who truly wanted to be on Medicaid or welfare. It puts a person in a negative life-altering position where the judgment by people is harsh and unsympathetic. People make assumptions that those on assistance are no good lazy bums getting a "free ride."

The truth is that President Johnson and his "great society" brought about the demise of social security. He opened the doors to the looting of the program for non-related financial projects.

I am an independent voter. I am a senior. I used to be an employee of United Airlines. I lost all my benefits and do not have any retirement. I also was a part time teacher. I have no teacher's pension. I have no savings and no retirement to fall back on and am living on S.S.I. of $735 a month and that is my sole income. It is impossible to live on this. I have no money by the middle of the month.

I injured myself in a freak accident at Dulles airport. I lost my job. it was a devastating loss for me. I could not find any work. I was forced out of desperation to apply for Medicaid. I do not like Medicaid because the types of clients I have to associate with and choice of doctors is very limited.

Having grown up in a family where my mother was a Democrat and my father a Republican I have had two viewpoints. My maternal grandfather was with the Burlington Northern Railroad 30-plus years and was vice president at one time of the railroad union so my mother was very workers rights oriented and my father's family were bankers. My paternal grandfather was vice president of National Boulevard Bank in Chicago. So I get an interesting perspective.

It does not make sense to me that they are going after this failsafe program for the most disadvantaged of our country. This is a safety net. There are so many other programs that need to be examined. But I cannot understand this assault on the human condition of our citizens. There are black ops programs that get unlimited funding. The waste is in these special interest programs. No one is investigating the $100 toothpicks. Somehow the health and welfare programs are the target for cutting when in actuality government waste in these other pet projects should be addressed. We have projects that have no accountability.

Valerie Benson

Burke