To the editor:

Your “Our View” (April 12) espoused the virtues of “Medicare For All” as an alternative to cutting Minnesota taxes. Minnesota Democrats have overtaxed us to the tune of over $9 billion. Who do you suppose paid the $9 billion? Who do you think pays our federal taxes? Not the poor. Half our countries’ people pay no federal income tax at all. No. The state of Minnesota should refund the surplus to those that paid the money in the first place. Minnesotans who actually work, take chances, and pay through the nose when we succeed and make a dollar.

Medicare is a huge underfunded program that will see its darkest days yet to come. The baby boomers are coming. A foreshadowing of things to come is our current employment woes. Has anybody noticed the shrinking available workforce lately? As people my age reach retirement in droves, there simply aren’t enough workers to fill the gap. More and more retirees will strain the system to the point of collapse as less and less workers carry a larger and larger load.

Funny you should mention the great success of socialist health care in Europe. My wife and I hosted exchange students from Denmark, Germany and Austria. Our Austrian student’s parents are both doctors. We asked them about European style healthcare. All three countries have some form of socialist-run, public (Medicare-like) health care. Two systems have emerged. The public system is adequate at best. When you need health care, you don’t make an appointment. You go and stand in line at the doctor’s office, sometimes all day. If you don’t make it in today, maybe you will tomorrow. Ultimately, the government decides if your case qualifies for treatment. You may or may not get the knee replacement you need. The second system of health care running right along side the public system, is of course, the private system. The private system is excellent. The private system is fast, efficient, high quality and, of course, expensive.

Denmark also has “free” college, and the highest tax rates of the three counties. We sat at an outdoor restaurant in Denmark with our student and ordered three burgers, fries and drinks. Because of all the taxes, we were billed $82 (before tip) in 2013! The point is, there is no free lunch, college, or health care. As US citizens, we’re already $30 trillion in debt, with unfunded federal pensions, underfunded Medicare (for seniors), and the Social Security Trust Fund has been borrowed by our bankrupt federal government. The last thing we can afford is “Medicare for all.” Just say no to more of the same.

Paul Platz

Lafayette