OCR Text |
Show Albs mBSfpOtt by Senator Orrin YUdx Elderly express commitment During a town meeting I held Feb. 13 with a number of senior citizens in Midvale, I asked how those who attended at-tended thought the President was doing. They applauded. I then asked for anyone who had been threatened or hurt by President Reagan's cuts or policies to stand up and tell me about it. No one stood up. After the meeting, a newsman from one of the national TV networks who was there asked one of my staff how we managed to plant so many Reagan supporters among a group that has been typically portrayed as being against the President's economic policies. The answer, of course, is that we didn't plant anybody. Most Utahns. including Utah's senior citizens, believe in being responsible for themselves, and not shifting that responsibility to the government. 80 percent of those who responded to a survey taken at the meeting said they approved of the way President Reagan was handling the economy; only 12 percent said they disapproved. "I think he's doing fine for the length of time he's had to do it in," said Otto Tennyson of Midvale. "We can all tighten our belts and conserve so we can save our country," said 75-year-old Eva Leyland. I don't mean to imply that the meeting was some sort of pep rally for Reaeanomics: it wasn't. Most of our time was spent discussing the problems ' that face us. particularly those that face the elderly, including Social Security, health costs, utility costs, and home health care. Llewellyn Jenkins, for example. no's been paying Social Security since 1939. said even.' time he goes into the Social Security office, he sees more and more young people there. "We've tied social programs to Social Security." he said, which is not what the program was created for. Ruth Miner of Midvale made another point. "When most of us went to school and our parents were not in a position lo pay for the education, w e had jobs after school to help pay the way." she told me. "The young people now are taught they are to be handed everything with no work on their part." Those are good points. So-called free government hand-outs are not free at all they are paid for by American taxpayers. I responded. And when something is "free." the demand always outstrips the supply. Other people voiced other concerns and spoke of other issues that threaten America. We solved none of those concerns there in our meeting in Midvale, and no one left with fewer problems than he or she entered with. Those who attended left with the feeling that they'd shared, first-hand, their concerns about our government. I was left with more valuable insight into the problems faced by Utah's elderly, and into how some of those people think those problems should be solved. That insight will help focus my commitment and direct my energies as Congress resumes its work. |