Legacy costs are killing the U.S. auto industry

I have been reading the various articles in the Post-Gazette concerning General Motors and the U.S. auto industry with interest. It is amazing to me that the whole issue of legacy costs is not cited as a major problem for the U.S. auto industry. This is the real problem that the industry has been dealing with for years.

Health care and pension costs for both active and retired workers is a huge cost burden on the industry and a very substantial cause of the industry problems. The playing field for the U.S. industry is not level when these costs are covered by the governments of foreign imports. The health-care problem must be solved if the U.S. industry is to be competitive.

GM, Ford and Chrysler have all done a remarkable job of improving quality, and, yes, all three do offer fuel-efficient cars. All produced big SUVs because those were the vehicles we wanted to buy, which was providing the market with what it wanted.

The financial mess was not created by GM or the industry. I do not favor government intervention in the market either, but government help is now needed to address the long-festering problem of legacy costs.

MARV HARTMAN
Indiana Township

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All are ill-served

Does anyone care about patients anymore? Clearly West Penn doesn't. It threw out my doctor from his office in spite of a contract until the end of November ("West Penn Forces Out Group of 4 Doctors," Nov. 8). Does UPMC? Apparently it has acted the same way in a similar situation. A plague on both your houses.

When will medicine stop being treated like a business with patients and often doctors caught in a system that serves no one well and ignores many without insurance?

AMY KELLMAN
Oakland

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Does UPMC care?

Shame on UPMC! Yet again, it's kicking community-based services and treatment to the curb ("Lamenting the Loss of House of Hope," Nov. 14). UPMC is crying poverty in its decisions to close the community hospital on the South Side and the House of Hope treatment center in Braddock. But somehow it's found the money to rent some of the most expensive office space in town, overpay its executives and open a new hospital in Monroeville (which already has a hospital and plenty of medical offices).

Closing House of Hope is particularly appalling, since it's the only rehab facility in the area that accepts chemically dependent, pregnant women off the street and has a good track record for helping them overcome addiction. Apparently, funding this unique program isn't as important as putting an ugly, self-aggrandizing sign on top of the U.S. Steel building.

These twisted priorities are something we will all have to get used to because UPMC is well on the way to monopolizing health care in the Pittsburgh area. The poor, the pregnant, the elderly and other vulnerable people will just have to suck it up and do without; there's not enough money and prestige for UPMC to actually provide health services to the community.

NANCY OTT
Aspinwall

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Greedy focus

UPMC's actions definitely speak louder than its words. While I was incredibly disappointed to read of its decision to end financial support for House of Hope and close its doors in January ("Lamenting the Loss of House of Hope," Nov. 14), I can't say that I was at all surprised.

Whether it be the aggressive push to get its name in lights atop the city's skyline, the flippant manner in which more than 500 jobs were swiftly cut from its payroll this September or the fervor with which it pursues building a hospital in Monroeville where the financial gains rather than the clinical need for such a facility in the community justify its reasons for doing so, UPMC's focus is clearly on profits -- not patients.

It is one thing to close a service that is ineffective or duplicated by another provider in the community, but when you shut down a successful program such as House of Hope that is changing the lives of people who would otherwise not likely receive help, it is pure greed.

When you boast a 16 percent revenue increase in one quarter in the midst of the worst economic crisis in the United States since the Depression, how else could you explain such decision making?

HEATHER FRY
Penn Hills

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No guns for him

Regarding the story "Coyote Hunter Kills Dog, Dog Owner Shoots Hunter" (Nov. 13): Jonathan B. Harmon, who mistakenly thought the dog in an orange vest was a coyote, needs to get his eyes examined for colorblindness.

He should never again hold or own a weapon of any sort. The next thing you know, Mr. Harmon will be shooting at an innocent hunter, mistaking him for Big Foot.

My sympathies to George A. Bodnovich on the loss of his pet. He followed all the rules and beyond to protect his beloved dog.

PATRICIA RODZAY
McCandless

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Like it or not

This letter is in response to Joyce Faynor of South Park ("He's Earned Nada," Nov. 14 letters). She stated that President-Elect Obama has not earned the country's respect and she will never call him her president.

Ms. Faynor, patriotism and respect go hand in hand when you live in the United States of America. Our country was founded on many democratic principles and freedoms including voting and expressing different opinions and having different beliefs. It is perfectly acceptable in our contemporary society to disagree with the opinions of others, especially those who are members of different political parties.

However, to claim that President-elect Obama is not your president crosses the line. If you live in the United States of America, President Obama will be your 44th president. President Obama will represent the flag of the United States and indeed all of its symbols, values and traditions. Whether you agree or disagree with his policies, you must respect the office of the president of the United States, regardless of his beliefs.

The United States yearned for change in the past eight years. This change is coming and will arrive in many different forms. Our country needs to be united to get out of this economic recession.

Just remember: Regardless of your political beliefs, it is your patriotic duty to respect the office of president of the United States and your country. May God Bless Barack Obama and the United States of America.

DAVID J. DIVELBLISS
Houston

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