With all due respect to Whitehall-Coplay Press Editor Johanna Billings and her concerns regarding Acadia National Park ("Government shutdown hurts in many ways," Oct. 10 edition), the government shutdown began much earlier for families in the Lehigh Valley who have lost their homes to foreclosure over the past four or five years.

The government shutdown will last a lot longer for workers who have been notified by their employers their work hours or even jobs will be cut due to President Barack Obama's not-so-affordable health care.

The "government" has been on the golf course or on the campaign trail when it comes to the needs of the middle class in this country.

Due to health care cost concerns, companies are not hiring full-time workers.

If they are adding new workers, businesses are hiring part-timers who are limited to working between 24 and 29 hours a week.

Try to support a family on that.

The cost of health care plans listed on the web page exchanges for Lehigh County for a family of four, before tax credits, ranges from just under $500 to just over $1,000 each month.

These premiums are out of reach for many families trying to pay mortgages and taxes, not to mention college loans, car payments and putting food on the table.

Speaking of food, the price of milk, bread, eggs, cereal, coffee, bacon and beef has skyrocketed.

I do not know how parents with two or three young children can afford to provide three healthy, balanced meals each day.

Unemployment has actually increased, although numbers released by the government show a decrease, they do not include former workers no longer looking for jobs, and more and more families are relying on food stamps, all while the Federal Reserve continues to artificially support the stock market by pumping in some $85 billion each month.

Just wait until the injection of phony money stops and the bubble bursts.

Anyone want to guess what will happen to 401k retirement plans and this nation's senior citizens when that happens?

Far from being babies and spoiled brats, the Republican side of the House has finally developed a spine.

ObamaCare is the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.

Government shutdowns are not new. We have already survived 17.

The pain of a partial shutdown will be temporary. The damage to this country from fully implemented ObamaCare will be disastrous.

Furloughed government workers are eligible for unemployment benefits and they probably will receive retroactive pay.

Weddings in state parks and walks in the woods can be moved elsewhere.

Or, taking a page from the World War II veterans who defied Obama's administration and moved the barricades blocking their memorial in Washington, D.C., American citizens can take back the keys to their country.

The members of the country's Greatest Generation did not quake in fear of repercussions when they wanted to visit their memorial, our memorial.

They simply marched in or were wheeled in to visit what rightfully belongs to the American people.

As The Whitehall-Coplay editor states in her Editor's View, "If you and a bunch of your colleagues could not work out your differences and your actions harmed your employer or the customers, you'd probably be fired – and rightfully so."

The president was elected to do a job. We, the American citizens, are his employer.

His actions or rather his refusal to see what his actions are doing to harm the families and the future of this country are inexcusable.

He, along with members of Congress who support ObamaCare, are the ones who should be fired.

Deb Palmieri

editor

Parkland Press

Northwestern Press