To the editor:

Regarding health care reform: I give up. I really do. Keep the system we have now. It’s fine.

This is why. As I near the completion of my Ph.D. in chemistry, I should be excitedly combing over my opportunities. Despite the economy, they still exist for me, but there is one problem: the health care problem. Industry positions that are available to me will cost me one-fourth of my salary. (Insurance, co-pays, medicine not covered by the plan that my job offer provides, can really add up).

In academia, the post-doctoral positions have such awful health care plans that I might as well be Dr. Fries With That. It’s better for my children that we stay poor enough to remain on public assistance until they are grown. No matter which way I do the math, the only method of ensuring that my children receive what little health care they need is to be Dr. Unemployed. I guess I’ve solved my health care problem. Now I just need to get food, clothing, shelter.