EDITOR:
The public health service of this county, the public health service of the State of Missouri and the public health service of the federal government are the only ones at fault for COVID-19 by enacting pandemic strategies to prevent mass fatalities. BOO the public health service, strangle adequate funding, and vomit political attitudes. Right?
The public health service is charged with ensuring the health and welfare of all of us. Things like Ebola, tuberculosis, smallpox, polio, chickenpox, mumps, measles, scurvy, rickets, E. coli and some of the all-time favorites: syphilis, gonorrhea, herpes, AIDS, HIV and the list goes on.
Many of the diseases, polio, smallpox, chickenpox, measles and mumps have been critically reduced in our country.
Who, in their right mind, would ever think the paltry politics of this county are more important than the proper distribution of the CARES funds to the populace of two counties? The inability of the current commission to perform the duties they were elected for is appalling.
Vic McCance’s tirade (in last week Letters to the Editor) about supporting the commission’s decision not giving the funding to the health department is the crux of the problem in Platte County. The presiding commissioner has the deciding vote and final say on all finances. The only requirement to be elected as a presiding commissioner is to live in the county.
County leadership appears deficient of any real governmental experience. Lack of the skill set necessary to protect the county’s assets, law enforcement, and quality of life are proving detrimental to all taxpayers in Platte County. It’s becoming more evident daily.
Failure by the commissioners to support the Platte County Health Department and, as directed, provide the $6 million to Kansas City will haunt taxpayers for decades. Will Mr. McCance be glad to pony up repayment of the $12 million provided and inappropriately spent? Will he like his real estate taxes tripled or quadrupled? Will he be happy losing his property because of the misappropriations of a recalcitrant commissioner? Al Capone’s demise was caused by a U.S. Treasury audit. It’s been the favorite tool of the federal government since then.
If Mr. McCance is truly upset about lost business, mortality rate and the damage done to the education system, then maybe, just maybe, he can start contributing real effort to understand governmental functions that must work together to make our county the best it should be.
Shades of Sen. Joseph McCarthy, known for alleging that numerous communists and Soviet spies and sympathizers had infiltrated the United States federal government, universities, film industry, and elsewhere. Ultimately, the smear tactics that he used led him to be censured by the U.S. Senate.
Eventually McCarthy’s name calling, accusations, tirades and unfair practices led to his downfall. Interesting how history will repeat itself. It seems to me we have again achieved the same or a higher level of disgust, disbelief, and embarrassment by elected local and national officials.
To every thing there is a season, and no matter how hard we try to defeat it, progress will ensue.
–Carol Clopton
Kansas City in
Platte County