To the Editor:

Readers, ask yourselves if you are better off today than you were before 1980. Consider how much more your healthcare is costing than just 10 years ago.

Consider if your standard of living is better or worse.

Consider and ask yourself if Americans are more or less able to compete in world trade with other countries that have universal healthcare provided by their governments?

If you lost your job to out-sourcing, was the cost of healthcare an item that influenced this decision?

Perhaps real healthcare reform is long overdue.

Joan Patterson

Lehigh Acres