Dear Editor,

If there is one common denominator in Congress this year, it is the substitution of the government for the individual.

With the stimulus, the multiple bailouts, climate change, financial reform, and now health care, instead of you making the choice, the government is making the choice for you.

As we’ve seen time after time, when you substitute a government-controlled and run program for individual choice, the cost goes up and the quality goes down.

When it comes to health care, there is nothing more important than quality and choice. Given the choice, I will always place my faith in the individual, not the government, and this time is no different.

The United States is the world’s largest economy. It is three times larger than Japan, our closest competitor, and it’s larger than the economies of Japan, China, Germany, and Great Britain combined.

We got there through innovation, choice, competition, and individual initiative and responsibility — not government control and management.

Let’s keep it that way.