To the Editor:

I would like to thank Republicans Renee Ellmers, Phil Gingrey and Diane Black for their candid remarks about what is going on with health care and for fighting for the American people (as seen on C-SPAN). Thank you all for caring.

I noticed, however, the benches behind and in front of the speakers were mostly empty. The empty seats reflect the hearts of those who could not care less. As I pondered today’s government shutdown, my mind wandered to our Constitution. “We the People” own the government; or at least we are supposed to. We pay the congress, senate and president their salaries! I asked myself, “When did the government think they own us?” When did this travesty begin?

I do not know as much about the government and how it is run as I would like to, but it scares me when listening to comments made by phone to C-Span. So many of the American people have no idea what is really going on with the shutdown and less about “Obama Care.”

Yes, everyone wants affordable health care; no one on either side, be it Democratic or Republican, can argue this fact. The problem is that the health care is going to cost money; it will not be free for anyone and will cost triple, if not more, than what it did before. Either the monthly payment will be high and or the deductible will be astronomical; those will be your choices. So if a person cannot afford either of these choices they will be fined and if they couldn’t afford the insurance, then how in the world can they afford a fine? What will happen to those people who cannot pay the fine? Who will enforce it? There are many more questions then answers.

I do have some ideas about where we can recoup millions to help our America and not take away salaries from honest working people: First, put Congress, the Senate and the President on furlough for two months without pay. Put an immediate law into effect to revoke retirement pay from those in government who received it after only working for four years; and stop paying for their children’s college educations; stop funding ridiculous things such as measuring gas emissions from the flatulence of cows to see its effects on global warming and last, but not least, ground Air Force 1. The president’s nose needs to be focused on the Congress and Senate and taking care of this country, not brown-nosing with everyone else in the world.

Maybe putting the government on furlough will help them realize they work for us! Maybe if they don’t get together and work this out, the American people will get together and subtract their pay from our taxes. Now that would be a Tea Party.