Good intentions don’t make good solutions

The Jan. 21 article “Bill would benefit workers' children” is an example of good intentions gone haywire. It relates a desire to pass legislation so the children of public safety workers killed in the line of duty would have free health care (until 26 years old!) and free tuition at Iowa community colleges and universities.

It is unfortunate when people are killed while doing their job. It's a horrible thing for any child to experience the death of a parent for any reason. As I read the article, these were some of my thoughts:

l Do the situations used as examples expose a hole in the Hawk-i program? If so, fix that so all children who have lost a parent for any reason can have access to health care.

l Say after me: “Individual responsibility.” People who have dangerous jobs and their families need life insurance.

l Who's going to define “in the line of duty?”

l Many companies have accidental death and dismemberment policies for employees. The State of Iowa has no such policy for Iowa State troopers?

l The article mentioned some other tax incentives to help affected families. Hey, make it simple. Be sure the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is there for all families.

See how easy it is to help all children and not just a select few?

Paul Frederiksen

Tipton