To the editor:
Why did Third Congressional District Rep. Erik Paulsen use a big money super PAC mouthpiece to mock DFL nominee Dean Phillips, instead of directly addressing affordable health care issues facing his constituents?
An advertisement claims that Phillips did not provide health care to his employees at Penny’s Coffee. Paulsen’s campaign then echoed the claim in an ad with a similar tone. These are misleading and false, as numerous local media outlets have reported.
First off, Paulsen does not know of the pressures of maintaining a small business, especially during the tumultuous first year of a company. If anyone is qualified to speak on such issues, it is Phillips.
During the start-up phase of Penny’s, which took about a year of careful planning, Phillips hired part-time employees. Once Penny’s started to grow as a viable business, Phillips hired full-time employees and converted part-timers, according to a press release on his website and a KARE-11 report.
As small business owners ourselves, we struggle year after year with the high costs and challenges of obtaining accessible and affordable health care options. Medicare should be expanded to help these small business owners. Innovative companies should be assisted and celebrated, not coldly left alone to fend for themselves.
We are painfully aware that the Affordable Care Act is far from perfect, but we also know that it has helped many more people than it has hurt. Far and away, the protection of guaranteed coverage, despite pre-existing conditions, is perhaps one of the best features of this law.
Paulsen has voted to undermine or repeal the ACA many times, according to healthreformvotes.org, but we have never heard him ambitiously outline his plan, in his voice, for a better solution. Instead, he mocks his opponent, who does want to discuss and address health care challenges for small business owners like us.
Dean Phillips is both accessible and earnest about working together to solve these difficult health care issues for all Third Congressional District constituents.
Jeff and Bev Edelstein, Bloomington
Bloomington Sun-Current, September 30, 2018