Reader fears privatizing mental health treatment will reduce access, not increase it

Familiar pattern disappoints

Gov. McMaster’s recent State of the State caught my attention.

Through an executive order, the governor has asked DHHS to “evaluate how mental health counseling services are delivered… and explore private sector alternatives.” Forgive me for being skeptical but as a S.C. public school educator, I can’t help but feel this is an inadequate response.

I agree the state of mental health for South Carolina youth should be of the highest priority, but is “privatizing” these services really the best course of action? Wouldn’t this shift make services costlier for the individual while making it virtually impossible for low-income families to access the resources they desperately need?

The state would be better served building upon the infrastructure already present within the Department of Mental Health, rather than creating a competition between it and private businesses.

This suggestion from the governor seems to fit a pattern that is far too familiar. McMaster would rather seek out privatized solutions than provide mental health professionals, already serving within education, the tools necessary to meet the reality of this moment.

This is a shameful attempt at showing concern for a real problem and would only create a larger gap between those in our state.

Saylor Fox, Greenville

Afghanistan and democracy

A recent letter entitled “What about Afghanistan?” used President Biden’s Jan. 6 speech remembering the attack on the U.S. Capitol as a springboard to bring up some favorite Republican talking points.

The writer seemed to lay the blame for the unfortunate withdrawal from Afghanistan with President Biden, so let’s review history.

Republican President George W. Bush initiated the action in Afghanistan in 2001. Our involvement extended through the presidencies of Obama and Trump. No one ended it.

A poll by the Associated Press before the final withdrawal revealed that most Americans thought the war wasn’t worth fighting.

Remember the February 2020 deal between the Trump administration and Taliban that set May 1, 2021, as the final withdrawal date?

Does he think that a withdrawal by Trump’s May 1 date would have gone better than the operation ending Aug. 30?

The writer brought up the 2012 attack on two U.S. government facilities in Benghazi, Libya. Ten investigations into this matter, six by Republican-led committees of Congress, found no improper actions by Obama administration officials.

We now have evidence of prior planning before the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, and many besides President Biden have called it “an attack on democracy.”

Andrew Gowan, West Columbia

Restore police budgets

South Carolina cities were forced to cut police budgets during the 2020-21 pandemic crisis: Columbia’s budget by nearly $2 million; Myrtle Beach by $3 million; Mt. Pleasant deferred a $1.5 million training facility, and Spartanburg cut $1 million.

In 2022, our objective should be to “re-fund” the police for safer communities. Otherwise, we might find ourselves in the position of Vermont or California.

Recently, the NBC Nightly News featured a story about Burlington, Vt.,, embracing the idea of defunding the police by 30 percent. As a result, the city of 44,000 soon found itself with just 64 officers, down from 93 in 2019.

The result of the cuts and resignations? Some routine patrols were reduced or stopped altogether. Police had to prioritize calls so that calls deemed less serious had much longer response times -- if they responded.

In San Diego, Mayor London Breed defunded her police force by $120 million. As a result, crime is now up 50 percent between 2019 and 2021.

We cannot allow what happened in those states to happen in South Carolina. So instead of defunding, we need to “re-fund” our police.

Michael A Letts, CEO In-VestUSA, Columbia

Who chooses?

State Legislators appear to fear the voters.

Once again, they draw district voting maps to protect legislators so that they do not have to run in competitive races.

I was brought up to think that in America, voters choose their representatives. I was wrong.

Here in South Carolina, legislators now choose their voters, so that they do not have to worry about their behavior. No wonder there is so much corruption here.

Warren Hix, Columbia