Dear Editor:

Many have noticed the recent repetitive use of the word “truly needy” and have come away not understanding exactly what it means. David Rosner’s paper “Health Care for the ‘Truly Needy’: 19th Century Origins of the Concept” sheds a great deal of light on the word “truly needy.” When these two words are combined in use they become what Douglas Walton calls argumentative definitions.

Taken separately, Merriam-Webster defines “needy” is an adjective that describes a person who is lacking in money, health access, confidence or emotional support. “Truly” is an adverb meant to intensify the meaning of an action word. Combining an adjective with an adverb is counter to grammatical structure, but is often done to confuse and hide what is really happening. It also changes the meaning, but leaves the emotional meaning intact. The first politician who used “truly needy” was Ronald Reagan.

Philosopher Charles T. Stevenson describes this as a persuasive combination used by politicians to protect themselves and to convince others that cutting the funds will bring no harm to the “truly needy” — inferring there is still a “safety net.”

However, when action has been taken with numbers like 70,000 on Medicaid, 10,000 welfare recipients, under the guise the truly needy still have a safety net, skepticism is appropriate. It is highly unlikely that the large numbers being denied what they previously were qualified to receive were reviewed on a case by case basis making sure they are not in the “truly needy” category. Too many in the cut means there is no safety net and using “truly needy” is meant to hide that fact.

The negative impact on the economy under Ronald Reagan was massive and recovery did not happen under his watch. The impact on your neighbors has been massive — those who did not die were saved by hospitals who now sit with unpaid debt. The needy now include small rural hospitals and those needy people whose safety net was cut. As long as we accept draconian measures that cause death or massive surgery to our neighbors, and place rural hospitals in jeopardy of closing, the holes in the safety net will get larger and healthy available workers will decline.

Jarryl Larson

Edgecomb