Letter: U.S. overspending is good; just ask economist

Bob Barr recently wrote to the Public Forum regarding an inoculation that his 92-year-old father received at St. Mark's Hospital ("Medicare paid far too much for a shot," Forum, Dec. 3). Bob explained that the nice people at St. Mark's billed Medicare roughly six times the amount that his uninsured wife paid for an identical vaccination.

Bob seems to suggest that this much higher amount paid by Medicare is a bad thing. This exemplifies the ignorance of so many Americans. Bob is apparently not paying attention to the wisdom provided daily by the Salt Lake Tribune Editorial Board, by editorials from other newspapers' equally enlightened editorial boards and by the Tribune's featured economist, Paul Krugman.

If Bob had been paying attention to any of the aforementioned wisdom, he would understand that when the U.S. government, roughly translated as American taxpayers, spends much more money than it needs to, that is a good thing. People with the audacity to suggest that it is a bad thing are ignorant and very likely Republican. Need you to get up to speed, Bob.

David Draper

Riverton