Published: July 19, 2008 12:17 am         

Political concerns voiced during roundtable

From the war in Iraq to the economy to immigration, local people reviewed the national issues that would likely affect the upcoming presidential election at a roundtable discussion Thursday evening.

“I’d like to see us get back to the middle (politically),” said Jim Combs, a soon-to-be retiree who works in the health care and pension field. “In the school yard, there’s always a bully, but a group of kids can take care of the bully. It worries me that right now, the U.S. is being viewed as a bully.”

The discussion was organized by the Western Maryland Central Labor Council of the AFL-CIO and held at the Plumbers and Steamfitters Union on Park Street.

Combs added that while he’d like to see the country go back to a middle ground, he feared that it wouldn’t happen as Republicans and Democrats grow more polarized.

The Rev. Sherill Dillon of the Second Baptist Church believes the country needs a leader capable of working with other countries to improve the way the U.S. is viewed internationally.

Norma Blacke Bordeau, president of the Allegany County chapter of the NAACP, mentioned not only the need for improved relations with other countries, but also doing more work within the U.S. to help with the state of the economy. She said if America can go to other countries to establish schools and police stations, it should be capable of doing the same at home.

Jim Ortiz of the South Cumberland Business and Civic Association agreed. He said if the war in Iraq was not costing billions of dollars a day, that same money could go into ensuring businesses hire Americans and maintain their factories here.

Lee Borror, a single working mother in the Cumberland area, said while she defends the reasons for going to Iraq and keeping troops in the country until things have stabilized, she agreed with the concerns over the national economy. She said for a single parent to manage to get by, it grows increasingly difficult as prices rise.

“You can’t escalate gas, electric, sewer and trash and expect people to continue to pay,” Borror said. “The price of insurance goes up every year, but they’re not matching with any increases in pay. It’s hard to cover the rising cost of health care when you don’t have the increase in pay.”

Combs said the question of universal heath care isn’t even a true issue. He said people not capable of paying for the care they receive because they are unemployed are not the ones who struggle the most in trying to ensure they receive treatment. He said a pregnant woman about to deliver will receive treatment and if she cannot pay the bills and does not work, those who can pay are the ones who will feel the costs of that.

He said hospitals increase the cost of care in order to recoup the cost of treating those who cannot pay. This, he said, causes problems for those who are employed but do not have health insurance because they are expected to pay their bills.

Dillon said he noticed the same issue with a woman who had gotten off welfare, but had to return to it after a serious illness made her incapable of paying for her hospital bills.

When the topic shifted to immigration, again, there was talk of trying to bring things to more of a middle ground. Dillon said at this point the two extremes are fighting one another with one side wanting to build a fence and throw all illegal aliens out of the country and another insisting the government incorporate them as U.S. citizens.

He believes bringing the National Guard home to patrol the borders and making immigrants in the country work toward earning their citizenship would help solve most of both sides’ concerns.

The panelists shared what they seek in a presidential candidate.



Contact Sarah Moses at smoses@times-news.com.