LETTERS: Health care, corporate free speech ...

U.S. health care a 'primitive' system

My Canadian friends are astonished by our primitive health care system. If a government-based, not-for-profit medical care system for all doesn't "promote the general welfare," which the Constitution sets forth as the other major goal besides defending our security, what does?

Judith Remick

Huntington

Court's ruling ignored U.S. Constitution

It was truly a sad day for Americans when the Supreme Court gave corporations the same free speech rights as people . The effect on our democracy will be disastrous; the court no longer deserves our respect as a nonpolitical arm of our government.

At the root of the justices' ideological misinterpretation of our Constitution is the claim that corporations are entitled to all the rights granted people.

One does not have to be a constitutional expert to count. The word "corporation" does not appear even once in our Constitution, while the words "people," "citizen" and "person" appear dozens of times. The Founding Fathers never explicitly or implicitly granted corporations rights equal to people's rights.

Leo Montana

Northport

Private sector can't create enough jobs

President Barack Obama declared in the State of the Union: "Now, the true engine of job creation in this country will always be America's businesses." However the facts are that private level employment in America is at the same level it was 10 years ago, even though the adult population has grown over the same period.

America's leaders must come clean and admit that the private sector is no longer the driving force of growth of our economy, and that the government must be the engine of job growth in our nation.

Chet Gerstenbluth

Plainview

LIPA board guards customer interests

The headline for your recent editorial, "Who's at the switch at LIPA?" , was unfortunate. The Long Island Power Authority board of trustees has fiscal and regulatory oversight of LIPA operations, and its members serve without any compensation. They have diverse backgrounds and expertise. Every member is a residential customer of LIPA and some are also commercial customers.

The trustees ensure that LIPA is providing efficient and reliable electric service in the most cost-effective manner. Reconfiguring the board and requiring requested relevant experience for its members may be worth considering, but Long Islanders should feel confident that the existing board is looking out for their interests.

Kevin S. Law

Uniondale

Editor's note: The writer, president and chief executive of LIPA, is not a member of the board of trustees.