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Show : j The Daily Herald m wmmmm mmm h . I . o Sunday, December 3, 1995 i Gap between ave, have not's widens - e-m- ail From THE MIAMI HERALD ; Some nations have lots of folks mired in poverty while a tiny elite enjoys wealth and power. In such societies, which tend to be authoritarian, the gap between haves and hav is often wide and hard to bridge. By contrast, in most democratic societies, a large middle class has a major stake in social stability and economic progress. A gap may persist between haves and have-notbut at least folks born into poverty may still harbor hopes of upward mobility to economic success.' Now comes a disquieting report from "think. tank. It Rand, a Washington-base- d suggests that in the United States long viewed as a quintessential middle-clas- s society of egalitarian ideals buttressed by free public education and a vigorous, free a growing gap now separates press haves from have-not- s. v Moreover, the gap that Rand cites may be dauntingly hard to bridge. It's not defined by income or net worth, as in the past, but by access to the information that su often translates into wealth and power. So instead of redistributing wealth, the egalitarian's concern must be broader access to information. Rand's report focuses on computers and the electronic system of communication known as The report notes, for instance, that 6.7 million users have addresses, a number growing rapidly. Yet the report also warns that access to ought to become universal. Otherwise, the United States may well face a future marked by "information apartheid" in which the s widens. gapbetween haves and That would exacerbate a trend already observed in other information media. Consider TV, for instance; much of the better informational programming nowadays is found on cable channels such as remedy-selectio- n Cleanups are right on. ,But they don't go far enough in seizing rjie success story right under our noses: the Superfund-t- ) pe programs of over 40 states. Certainly, Superfund will not be fixed the 'In announcing recently her "third round of Superfund reforms," the Environmental Protection Agency administrawith tor, Carol Browner, starts off OK a call for "rigorous attention to costs." - But she quickly reveals her old Democrat roots by proposing a national remedy review board that would analyze cleanup decisions to ensure their cost effectiveClinton-administratio- by ness. is simply another level of bureaucracy and exactly what not need. does Superfund ; Superfund has clearly been a big disappointment. About SI 5 billion has been ient by the EPA on hazardous w aste sites Siiice 1980; with only 250 of the current Jr3()0 Superfund sites cleaned up. " A recent estimate places ov erall Super-fun- d annual spending at about S4 billion, p with cleanup and (mostly fegal) costs about equal. The national program has emphasized "-- inside-the-beltw- ay cleanups, process over resulting in an average site cleanup cost of about $30 million. Compare this with the original Super-funestimate in 1980 that S .6 billion would be sufficient to remediate about 400 sites,, or about $4 million per site. The perception of "unfairness" also continues to haunt the Superfund program. Criticisms are aimed at such concepts as retroactive and "joint and several" liability, as well as enforcement against contributors of very small amounts of waste and even innocent landowners. In his 1994 State of the Union message. President Clinton claimed thai most Superfund money goes to law vers. Time magazine has called Superfund failure." Others an have been less charitable. So why is even one so hesitant to grasp a clear. low risk alternative: a takeover of Superfund by the states.' First, the Democrats simply can't let go federal program. And the h of a Republicans are under pressure by small businesses, cities and the insurance industry to let them out of Superfund liability. Thus, EPA Administrator Browner calls for yet another Washington "review board," and Republicans Smith and Oxley try to fix Supcrfund's retroactive liability problem by a complicated system of federal cost-effecti- d "across-the-boar- d -- job-ric- rebates to certain parties at Superfund sites. Also, while Congress would allow states to run much of Superfund. they would be required to follow federal rules rather than their own. mote successful ones. So. we have all of this meandering around when the evidence is overwhelming that states are cleaning up sites much of violator's name dddre& and Council testimony Tape measure w3id brother 50lyertrn 01 Lena (ensures modesty) jmmmmmmmmA' i I Ecclesiastical endorsement A&E, and Nickelodeon. Yet cable's pricing puts it beyond the means of many families living in poverty. This makes all the more essential a vigorous role for public schools, libraries, colleges, museums, and other institutions. In South Florida, fortunately, they're already doing a lot to improve public information. access to on-liMeanwhile, Rand's goal of "universal access" may be no more practical than piping orange juice into every home because "it's good for you." Moreover, "wiring" the uninitiated without also offering guidance is like funadmitting neophytes to a field without first them gi offering help in between edible mushrooms differentiating and poisonous toadstools. With no substitutes yet in sight for raw information's traditional "gate keepers" teachers, clergy, editors, philosophers, even TV programming executives an aimless foraging among the factoids may yield as much bogus information as truth. Sadly, that into a have. won't turn a single have-n- Honor Code Standard work. Discovery, the Learning Channel, Bravo, fpon't leave home without h f , ft referral cards ifc) Midden f-V- camera . exposes short shorts label the Honor Code to fil Herurth Converts skirt oK slacks ("for Church) Knee line (Petcrmines V 99S THE who's naught 2nd who'5 nice) $YU Honor Code Approved Shorts DAIIY HERALD (ewe size Firs all) Letters ot Superfund monies best handled by states By J. WINSTON PORTER Subcommittees in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have proposed bills to fix the troubled Superfund waste-sit- e cleanup program. .The two committee chairmen. Sen. Robert Smith of New Hampshire and Rep. Michael Oxley of Ohio, should be comoverhaul mended for their of Superfund. -Their changes to the process and their promotion of voluntary The Enforcer- -. have-not- s, beeper 24-ho- alerts faster and at less cost than the federal program is. For example, Minnesota's cleanups routinely take two to three years and cost less than $5 million. Contrast that with the EPA average of $30 million and 10 years per site. New York, California and Wisconsin have all remediated more than 200 sites each comparable to the entire federal total of sites completed. The states do well because waste sites are local problems usually affecting a few dozen to a few hundred acres. This is very different from air or surface-watpollution problems that often impact huge regions of the country. The federal program has been built on the concept of "natinal consistency" in er AARP attacked We understand the emotion of anger and frustration, but we cannot tolerate verbal attacks and lies. In a Nov. 20 letter to The Daily Herald, the American Association of Retired Persons was inaccurately attacked. We are AARP volunteers and very much proud of the work we do in this community. While we make it a point not to engage in verbal assaults, we think it's essential your readers hear the truth. First, AARP is a nonpartisan organization. We know many volunteers who are both Democrats and Republicans. We are working together to protect and preserve Medicare and Medicaid for both seniors and our grandchildren. Yes, we are very concerned about the proposed budget cuts, but we do not engage in scare tactics. We realize that something must be done, but right now it's too much, too fast. Millions of American families depend on Medicare and Medicaid for their basic health cov erage, for protection against the care and for finanhigh cost of long-tercial security. That's now at risk. Second AARP does not ... we repeat ... does not use taxpayer money to lobby Congress. It would be illegal. Sixteen percent of our revenue is in the form of federal grants, but these funds do not benefit AARP financially. They can be used only to cover the costs of the government programs we administer, such as the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP). SCSEP trains persons over 55 and. following training, helps them find jobs. We hope we've cleared things up. Our country thrives on a healthy debate ... but inaccurate attacks only confuse the issues and bury the truth. Dr. Kenneth Creer Utah State AARP Director m Continental site remedies. That ignores the fact that site is a unique each hazardous-wast- e problem. Some examples: In Florida, local ground waters were contaminated by septic tanks serving numerous small industries. At New York's Love Canal (where it all began) thousands of tons of chemicals were found in a residential area. At a rural Texas airport, pesticide washings from crop-dustplanes polluted some soil. These and hundreds of other sites present circumstances. Solutions must, therefore, be based on local environmental concerns, on local land use and on local economic and community concerns. Because they are less subject to congressional micromanagement. the states have been more innovative. Tw o of many examples: The state of Minnesota found that municipal landfills containing hazardous wastes were a particularly troublesome problem. Under Superfund. most of the action as hundreds of parties, was legal including small municipalities, began to sue one other. In response, the state decided to take over the remediation of 106 closed municipal-waste landfills in order to emphasize not litigation. cleanup, The California EPA introduced a streamlined, voluntary program to get contaminated properties back to productive use. Corporations, developers and local and state agencies are now able to restore properties quickly and efficiently, without w ailing for mandated cleanups. The Republican Congress is on the right track to fix Superfund but needs to watch its tendency to introduce new federal complexities in order to satisfy a different set of constituents. The states should be allowed to use their own laws for these local problems. Only then will Superfund's long nightmare be over. Winston Porter, w ho directed Super-fun- d from 1985 to 1989 when an EPA assistant administrator, is president of the Waste Policy Center in Leesburg, Va., and author of "Cleaning Up Superfund." Reason released by the Los Angeles-base- d er Foundation. . .important existing government responsibilities, they have avoided the public debate and chosen to sabotage the performance of those responsibilities by bankrupting the various government agencies. Just where in the Papers does it say they should hold the U.S. people hostage for partisan gain and power politics? The end does not justify the means. The '"Contract with America" as the manifesto of the Republican party has no force of law whatsoever over the constitution of their oaths of office. The conservative wing is preventing legally required services, is artificially creating delays in serving the public needs and is squandering public funds. They have created crises for theatrical effect and have bypassed the spirit of both the Papers and the Constitution. The American system crosses party lines and elects people, not parties. No majority party is given any mandate to abuse power. Congress has put itself above public opinion. While classifying the congressional gym as "essential." Congressional members have classified as "nonessential" those of their own staff who process the calls and messages of the public. Since when is communication with the electorate a nonessential activity of government in a democratic republic? Democracies die when partisan dogma instead of the wishes of the electorate rule the minds and hearts of representatives. Congress is rapidly losing the public trust. Mike Rose Salt Lake City low-inco- Springville Clark Bigler Congressional District Coordinator Payson ignored Papers After the election. Mr. told the House majority to read our founders' writings in The Federalist Papers. This collection of essays countered public fears that the proposed constitutional government would become too powerful and too abusive. It argued that reasoned debate would moderate the "intolerant spirit which at all times has characterized political parties." Either Mr. Gingrich intended his assignment to target weaknesses to exploit in our democracy or his class didn't understand what they read. Failing to gain support for the repeal of Gingrich Leafblowing illegal I was appalled and angry when I saw the colored picture on the front page of The Daily Herald on Nov. 7 showing a BYU student employee (grounds department?) using a blowing machine to push leaves off the campus law n into a privately owned irrigation canal along Campus Drive. The note under the picture was praising the student for getting rid of the leaves (in such a disgustingly and illegal manner). As a member of the board of directors of the Provo River Distribution System and the w ater master of a privately owned Provo Canal. I am angry at the BYU grounds department for allowing this to happen and angry at the Herald for condoning such an illegal act. Just two days before this picture was published I was involved in clearing wet impacted leaves from a culvert under 3700 North at about 300 West in Provo that had caused flooding across a public road and a private drive way. This was caused in part by the illegal dumping of material in the canal that got caught under the culvert and backed up leaves. As well as increasing the threat of Hooding, trashing canals is illegal. Please help educate the citizens of Utah County to obey the state law and keep our waterways clean. Boyd C. Rollins Provo Enid honest person The best to make a correct judgway ment about the character of someone is to backtrack his or her history. This procedure is valid in assessing the character and her honesty of Enid Greene Waldholtz character and honesty needs no doctoring to make it shine. On Nov. 21, the Deseret News finally began to tone down its vicious attack on Enid as a wicked, plotting woman and pointed its finger at her husband, Joe, where the blame will no doubt lie. If the plot Joe Waldholtz fabricated stands the test of responsible, investigation, the public should have empathy and not make worse Enid's broken heart. Apparently she was taken in by a master scam artist with whom she had the misfortune of falling in love. Most wives never ask their husbands for an appraisal, monthly audit or an annual statement. These matters are taken for granted in a family where trust is the basis of a relationship. If the incredible story Joe Waldholtz told of his wealthy parentsmansionservants etc. proves to be a lie, he was indeed superb at his deceptions. It is truly a tragedy for Enid to now have to deal with the undeserved problems of a broken home and a new child sans the nurturing of an honorable father. Adding to that personal crisis is the hateful diatribe to defame her brought about by a presumptuous press who use innuendo, assumptions and unfounded accusations of guilt by "unnamed Washington sources." 1 Question: Why are all the local media circling like vultures over this story ? Answer: Perhaps the political ramifications of the Democrats thirsting for her Congressional seat in "96. We now know, with few exceptions, the Democratic Party is where the heart of Utah's media beats. Heidi Bailey Orem Doonesbury K tub urns 7. 9. BY GARRY TRUDEAU (UHAfS THIS AN ALL' NI6HTBR? Ml YOU'RE BECOM- INGON3 0F 3 US' 0N5 OF K, Letters Policy The Daily Herald welcomes letters to the editor. Please address them to: Editor, The Daily Herald. P.O. Box 717. Provo, UT 84603-071FAX (801) 373-548edit I itsnet.com. Utters must be signed and include the writer's full name, address and daytime telephone number for verification. Preference is given to letters that are typed, double-spaced and shorter than 4(M) w ords in length. Letters that are too long, unsigned, illegible, obscene or libelous will not be published. il4" iw mum uhwjb SOHOWSIT mmmmmiLiaM I ANYTHING COULD UCT THINK 5PECS, RE15A5B DATES. PFOMOCOPf. BASICALLY I going? whatv ISAIPHB a V.hJANTWTHE 1 SITE UP AND RUNNING W UPLOAD? "v r nm$A LONG 1'U. 1 A CHINESE, cam nup INCLUDING NIGHT. MENU! 1 5CANNEP IN EVERYTHING THAT WAS LYING AfWND TH OFFICE' 9 m i Hi I W. lilt I., I - I T, . veal ' f fix rrw''' 3A1 v'4 |