To the editor:

I commend your recent editorial on the "poor example" of members of the State House of Representatives in rejecting a plan that would have required legislators to contribute 10 percent of the cost of the state-provided health insurance they are eligible to receive. However, I do not believe that you went far enough. The real problem is the sense of entitlement of these legislators. They now seem to believe that they have a right to health insurance from the state and that we, the citizens of Rhode Island, actually owe it to them!

Let us keep in mind that these are part-time legislators, and no one force them to run for office. There is absolutely no rational relationship between holding office as a state legislator and the right to health care benefits. They should not be receiving a penny.

In fact, our lawmakers are not the ones to "set a good example." They are the ones who voted the salaries, benefits, pensions and other perks that put this state in its current financial mess. Instead, we should be demanding a better example from the voters of this state who, after all, keep these people in office.

Jay J. Lambert

Tiverton