Letters to the editor: Issue with Haas criticism; reparations; lack of diabetes drug
Haas’ criticisms ignore reality
Re: your March 26 story, “Haas faces accusation its products helped Russia”:
I read with interest the article in the Ventura County Star. While (Economic Security Council of Ukraine senior analyst) Olena Yurchenko’s concerns are certainly valid, her criticisms of Haas ignore the realities of international trade. Suggesting that Haas or any company should anticipate a nation going rogue and thus insert that anticipation into its strategic planning is unfair to say the least. No one can do business that way, not even domestically.
Export controls are complex, and compliance involves everything from taking the (changing) temperature of our government to attempting to determine the largely opaque structure of a foreign company’s relationship with its government. These problems are exacerbated when dealing with Russia and China, where the governments take active steps to disguise or obfuscate these relationships.
David J. Habib Jr., Westlake Village
Reparations mustn't be monetary
Re: Lisa Holder’s March 22 guest column, “Reparations task force crafts plan”:
First off, all members of the California Reparations Task Force and those voting on it should be exempt from receiving any funds or benefits related to reparations to prevent self-serving aggrandizement.
Secondly, her examples of previous examples of reparations (i.e., Holocaust survivors, Japanese internment victims, indigenous victims in Canada) were all paid directly to the actual victims or their immediate ancestors, not multiple generations later. As for California’s guilt, more multimillionaire Black people have developed in California and the generous welfare benefits have helped many of the rest. Should we also pay reparations to indigenous Californians, Chinese poorly treated in the 1800s, Mexicans repatriated after World War II, etc.?
I, nor my predecessors, ever owned slaves, lived in a slave state, voted for slavery, and thus do not feel ownership for reparations. If reparations are to be given, do it in a form that will benefit ongoing generations of true slave descendants by not giving cash, but reparations in such forms as subsidized higher education, job training, subsidized housing, low-interest business loans and such that will build generational wealth. This is still the land of opportunity for hard work.
Cash reparations will have severely adverse effects in formerly slave states and will result in all groups (i.e., Italians, Irish, Indigenous, Asians) who feel poorly treated demanding reparations.
Jeffrey Richardson, Ventura
Too difficult to get diabetes drug
I am an insulin-dependent Type II diabetic. Along with my daily insulin, I also inject Ozempic once a week. My last refill of Ozempic (with Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage) rendered my co-payment at almost $300 for a one month supply.
I am angry. Ozempic is now difficult to get because non-diabetic people are using it for weight loss. Ozempic requires a physician's prescription.
I researched and found that the internet offers prescriptions and Ozempic. In fact, Weight Watchers recently purchased Sequence, which is a subscription service linking doctors who prescribe diabetes drugs with Ozempic. Weight Watchers customers can get Ozempic. None of my research showed prices these subscribers pay.
Where is the FDA in all of this? Aren’t they the watchdog over the drug business? Diabetics are being robbed of their proper medications. What do we do when there is no Ozempic available?
Linda Davis, Camarillo
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Letters: Issue with Haas criticism; reparations; lack of diabetes drug
