Letters to the Editor: April 20, 2023

Volunteers make Girl Scout programs possible

To the Editor:

April is Volunteer Appreciation Month, and Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains wants every person who volunteers for us to know that we appreciate them.

We have more than 4,000 volunteers across New Hampshire and Vermont who give generously of their time and talent to ensure that Girl Scouts are encouraged to become young women of courage, confidence and character who work to make the world a better place.

They are troop leaders, troop helpers, drivers and Girl Scout Cookie program coordinators and accountants. We are grateful to the new troop leaders who stepped up in the last year to form new troops and create amazing opportunities for their Girl Scouts to make new friends, try new things and explore a world of possibilities.

We could not provide the world’s best leadership program for girls without the many people who run our activities, take Girl Scouts new places and share their skills in fields like engineering, computers, the outdoors, entrepreneurship and more.

We know that volunteers wear many hats when they give of themselves to Girl Scouts. No matter which hat you’re rocking, volunteers, we thank you for stepping in and stepping up for Girl Scouts everywhere!

Patricia K. Mellor
Bedford, N.H.
(Patricia K. Mellor is CEO of the Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains.)

Who pays for that? We do!

To the Editor:

Hospital executives make big, big salaries. Who pays them? We do.

Insurance executives make big, big salaries. Who pays them? We do.

Drug company executives make big, big salaries. Who pays them? We do.

Drug companies and insurance companies and private equity owners of healthcare facilities make big profits. Where does that money come from? Us.

The health care industry pays huge amounts of money to lobbyists. Where does that money come from? Us.

The health care industry contributes huge amounts of money to political candidates. Where does that money come from? Us.

Who benefits from all that money that comes from us? Them.

Whether it’s premiums, taxes or the prices we pay directly, every dime these people spend on themselves and their interests comes from us.

When they say universal health care “costs too much,” what they mean is that it costs them too much. And the reason it costs them more is because it costs us less. Please remember that when the opponents of universal health care claim “we” can’t afford it.

Lee Russ
Bennington
(Lee Russ is a retired legal editor who has written about insurance and health care, both in his work and since retiring.)