President Barack Obama seems intent on bankrupting the country. His stimulus bill was of such gargantuan proportions that the average taxpayer is unable to grasp it, or the consequences of paying back such a staggering amount of money.

Now he wants to fund a universal health insurance system, which, by the way, would not include our elected officials, who will continue to be covered by their existing coverage. The public's health care will suffer if this is passed.

Government officials will decide if a person needs a pacemaker, and they will be the ones deciding how much medical intervention the new plan will cover. But the government has a poor record as a manager — look at Social Security, FEMA and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Those are just a few of the mismanaged disasters run by the government. Does anyone think it will do any better with a universal health insurance program?

The Medicare system is going broke due to fraud, nonpayment and lack of oversight. Now Obama wants to implement a similar program to cover more people. The U.S. has one of the best health care systems in the world, and that's because it is not run by the government.

I would hope Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins are smart enough to vote against the health care proposal.

Mary Jane Newell, South Paris