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Show Carter's getting slow start on welfare reform promise President Carter is taking some ealculated risks in deciding to delay his suggestions on weliure reform originally scheduled for this week unti' fall. During the campaign, the President complained long and bitterly about the "welfare mess and promise to relorm it once fie was in office. By temporizing with that issue, Mr. Carter can undermine his credibility in an area that arouses strong public reaction when examples of fraud and cheating are uncovered. Could it be that problems which seemed so simple during the election campaign look considerably more complex now' that Mr. Colter has settled into the Oval Office? 1 That fraud is rampant is so thoroughly documented it cannot be denied. In 10 years, for example, the food stamp program originally intended as a nutrition supplement program has grown from fewer than 500.000 receiving food stamps to nearly 22 million today. The increase in dollar cost has increased from some $3u million in 1005 to $5.4 billion. And it has undergone a subtle transformation from a nutrition program to a welfare giveaway that now finds not only the poor but students from families and other cheats taking advantage of l educed pi lees for well-to-d- o food stamps. Perhaps one of the reasons President Carter is delaying additional welfare proposals is the reception his food stamps proposal has received in Congress Authorization for the existing program expires Sept. ?(). and President Cat ter lust monih sent Congress lii ideas on relorm. The most controversial wu a proposal to make food stamps tree lor all eligible families. Part of that program is badly needed. The administration's aims are laudable: To cut off any household with a net income above the official poverty line, o impose strict assets tests, and to require recipients to seek and accept jobs that pay at least the minimum wage. In addition, prosecution of cheaters would he stepped up. But eliminating the purchase requirement also would erase the last subtle if there remains one distinction between a nutrition program and a wellare dole. It also undermines further the family obligation to be as much as possible, and raises grav e questions about additional soaring costs if participation increases self-sustaini- dramatically. Obviously, it will take time to sort out effective programs that can bring order into the welfare business and to cut down on abuses. The President so far has addressed only one small part of welfare, and needs to look closely at medical programs, income supplements. aid to dependent children, housing aid. and the whole welfare spectrum that has increased U.S. spending so dramatically in the last decade. If itfuiai5 are forthcoming. U.S. citizens can be persuaded to be patient a while longer. But President Carger's image will be seriously damaged if his ultimate reform package doesn't include some strong cures for ailing programs. And those cures must bo more sensible and imaginative than the usual ploy of letting the federal government take more responsibility aw ay Irom the stales. Secy. Vance: a la Kissinger? Saying and doing are quite different things, as U. S. Secretary oi' Slate Cyrus R. Vance is linding out When he was appointed he announced that he would travel instead of delegate trying to imitate his peripatetic predecessor, Henry Kissinger. But' Vance already is acting hke a trouble shooter. lies been to Moscow, lie'll soon attend NATO and economic summit meetings in London. Hell then proceed to Madrid on May !1 and 12 for a meeting of the U.S. Spanish policy-makin- g globe-trottin- g -- Give us tapes we can hear editorial from the Hartford Courant An Radio, the medium aimed directly at the ear, is frustrating listeners with unintelligible tape recorded statements and interviews. The usual format goes like this: The announcer introduces the topic and identifies the source of information. Then Die engineer dubs in the taped voice of the expert Trouble is. too often the tape sounds us if the person was questioned in a train tunnel, or that the Concorde was passing overhead, or batteries badly needed changing. Listeners have good reason to wonder if anyone concerned ever listened ahead of time to the incomprehensible material they send out. Council. Its then to Tehran May 5 for a talk with the Shah of Iran and a ministerial meeting of the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO). liell return to Washington briefly and then go to Geneva for a May 18 meeting with Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko on the stalled SALT talks, the Middle East 12-1- and southern Africa. Although Vances travel much in the Kissinger mode, his talks with Spanish and Iranian officials are likely to differ. Kissinger saw the diplomatic world as turning on relations. He tended to speak publicly in generalities while negotiating in secret to preserve a balance between the two superpowers. To hedge Russian influence, he strongly opposed legalization of the Communist Party and allegedly linked U. S. economic support to Spanish cooperation on this issue. By contrast, the Carter administration has said it does not object to Communist cooperation in western European governments and refrained lrom criticizing Spain's legalization of the party last month. When Kissinger talked to the CENTO Council of Ministers a year ago he argued that peace rests fundamentally He on "an equilibrium of strength. made no mention of two issues the Carter administration apparently has human wedded for better or worse rights and arms sales. Whether Vance raises the two issues, and how CENTO members react if he does, may be more reliable indications than the spoken word on the future direction of IJ. S. foreign policy. schedule is U.S.-Sovi- Energy program : Bv and Howland Holx-r- f Kans Novak smaller cars without dislocating the automotive industry and the U.S. economy. "I would say our liest hope lies with the llAW," one cabinet member confided to us. That betrays secret support within the udministra-- l am for the politically influential United Auto Workers iUAW) to succeed in knocking out the small car rebate and Ihe punitive tax, permitting Detroit to gradually adjust to the federal government's present regulations without disrupting the sensitive industry. "gas-guzzler- - When dazed representatives of U.S. and foreign auto manufacturers left the While House April IX after a briefing on the WASHINGTON energy program, they came to this puzzled conclusion President Carters energy team had no idea of how his small car rebate program would work. The automakers were quite correct. At this writing, the President's men arc not an inch closer to figuring out how to hurry an energy-savinswitch from hig to g v y But the Carter proposals, even if never passed, could cause disruptions in Detroit not envisioned at the While House during three months of drafting the program. For Hus reason, economic pollster AllH'rt Sindlmger says the energy program could be "an a economic Pearl Harbor tragic outcome of the President's laudable effort tocotne ot Fuel plan raises ART BUCHUUALD Q complex problems Does all this belong to the past? Are the people of the United States going to have to give up the one thing so many of them seem to regard as the first necessity of modern fife the automobile' The more I think about President Carter's energy program the more awed I am by Ihe complexity of the problem and the difficulties of the solutions. I take some comfort from the fact that Mr. Carter himself is young, as presidents go, and is still in the first flush of enthusiasm of a new man in the job. At the very heart of his problem is the central fart that the American economy (upon which the welfare of the free world rests) is built around the automobile; the automobile bums gasoline made from petroleum and will have to go on burning gasoline made from petroleum until some new form of fuel is found, and that can be a long way in the future. The factories in Detroit which make automobiles are only a small part of the dependence of the American economy on this one product. There are the people who operate the service stations which sell the gasoline and oil which keep the automobiles running. And there are the garages which maintain them. And the shops which sell the gadgets which adorn them. And the factories which make the tires, and the factories which make the paint, and (he factories which make the carpets and the upholstery. Add then the companies which specialize in building the highways on which automobiles run. and the fac- tories which make the machinery which builds the highways, and the men who and operate the machinery build the highways. Add then all the people who own or operate or work in the shops and stores which surround the great shopping malls to which most Ameri-ran- s drive Iheir in au- tomobiles to buy all the things they consume in their lives. To say that they should give it up is to propose a revolution in lifestyle which would uproot millions of people from their homes, from their jobs, and from their accepted pattern of life. Such a revolution, if at- tempted suddenly, would do immense damage to the American economy and that damage would spread its the cost of solar heating, on its way down as industry goes into mass production of the units, will cross the rising curve of oil costs. At that point people will automatically go over from oil to solar heat. Mr. Carter could leave the transition to the interplay of the market. But if he did so he would find himself with a rising foreign policy problem. The longer he leaves the transition from oil alone the longer he will have to be considerate of the Arabs in shaping his Middle East ... "The day of reckoning is not far down the road. Oil is running out. Energy is infinite, but oil is not." secondary effects throughout all of (fie countries which trade with the United States. The changes would be so vast and complex and affect so many people that the results go almost beyond imagination. Mr. Carter understands this to the extent that what he has proposed is not a revolution. Rather, he is saying, let us make a beginning on the transition through which we must eventually pass on our way from an automobile-petroleueconomy to whatever must someday take its place. The controversy cannot be over whether there is to be a transition. That is foreordained by (he limits on the supply of petroleum. Regardless of whether more large fields are found to delay the that day day of reckoning does he ahead not too far down the road. Oil is in fart running out. Energy is infinite, but oil is not. The issue is over the extent to which the government in Washington should speed the transition. policies, and the longer the Soviet Union can acquire bargaining power against the United States by building the military capacity to shut off the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf to Western Europe and to the United States. Total independence from Middle East oil would wipe out much of the value to the Soviet Union of its bases on the Gulf of Aden and in the Indian Ocean. And total independence also would remove Arab influence on American policy in the Middle East. The speed of the transition will affect different interests in different ways. American industry wants the slowest possible transition. Israel wants the fastest possible to reduce Arab transition influence in Washington. Mr. Carters policy probably will hurry the process more than industry would like, but not by as much as Israel would prefer. It is a which was of compromise course inevitable. To he determined The transition would come eventually without government intervention. For example, at some point ahead of us is the extent to which Congress and public opinion will modify Carters present formula. Mr. an economic Pearl Harbor? were to grips with energy. Business-oriente- d ad- ministration officials more bware of the consequences of fiddling with the delicate automotive market were not consulted until the 11th hour. So. foreign and domestic automotive representatives on April IX. hours before Mr Carter's moving fireside chat on energy, came to the White House for a briefing. S. David Freeman, Schlesingers aide, confirmed that would new Ik heavily taxed and that purchases of new economy cars would receive rebates. Would the rebate go to buyers of foreign cars, which arc preferred by American motorists over their II S. competitors? Although this is now denied by the administration, Freeman's answer is clearly indicated in the notes taken by those presort: the U.S. would lay the rebate on foreign ears only if im)orts limited "traditional U.S. market to bo to the share of the by each country, scllcd out in new agreements. The automakers present, foreign and domestic, considered this an obvious violation ot international trading rufes. When one asked whether the tax against would not sufficiently spur small car sales without rebates. Freeman replied that "econometric models indicated otherwise. Two days later, the administrations energy "fart " coni irnu-- Freeman s briefing. Without mentioning "traditional" shares of the market, it said the rebate would he paid for foreign cars on the basis of agreements trade negotiator Holier! S. Strauss would work out Just how Strauss, who was no party to this arrangement, is supposed to negotiate such agreements is a mystery to everybody connected with in slw-rt- ternational trade. Thus, hope Washington that UAW muscle will knock out the small car rebate to prevent building still higher the mountain of trade problems confronting Strauss. grows in But before such legislative can be per- euthanasia formed, small car sales are being hurt by consumer of future rebates. That will not hurt giant General Motors and second-- i .in ki-Foid, but threatens Chrysler, which is converting to smaller cars, and American Motors. d Nor is that the program's only unintended effect. The rebate combined with the tax is shown by gas-guzzl- Sindlingers nightly national telephone surveys as causing car owners to Hvstpone new auto purchases and keep their present untaxed gas guzzler a while longer. The final irony is that GM, hate object of Dr. Schlesmg-cr'- s young men, would show a net gain for 197S models e based on the proposal while the industrys second and third companies. Ford and Chrysler, would lose. Overall, the program figures to disrupt market forces by lxistponing a purchase vital to the economys health. "1 think it comes out of ignorance alxiut the industry by Washington, Douglas Fraser, the UAWs Those empty beds WASHINGTON The real problem of hospital prices, the experts tell us, is not the patients but they empty beds. A hospital can keep down costs it it is absolutely full. But it starts to lose money if it doesn't have enough sick people to care for A recent news item said that Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in Las Vegas is trying to solve the problem through a lottery. Sunrise seemed to be doing good business during the week, but it was suffering from a lack of patients on weekends. So the Las Vegas hospital came up with a unique plan. It you cheek in on Friday or Saturday your name goes in a hat for a lottery. Every Monday morning, a certified public accountant draws a name from the hat and the winner is given the choice of five different mediterranean cruises worth $4, IKK). The winner has a year to claim the prize, and if for some reason he or she never leaves the hospital the prize goes to the patient s estate. 1 did not make this up. The director of the hospital said the lottery tias been an overwhelming success and weekend admissions are up by 40 percent. While this is an innovative idea there are others that we can think of which would cut hospital costs and fill the empty rooms that are costing all ol us so much money. One idea would be for a hospital to hook up a hotline with all the doctors that are accredited to the hospital. Each doctor would have a quota to fill as to how many patients he must supply to the hospital. As soon as a bed became empty the doctor would be notified that a hospital patient was needed, and he would be obligated to find someone for the bed whether he needed it or not. Suppose, for example, a patient came m with an ingrown toenail. As the doctor was treating it the hotline would ring and the administrator on the other end would say. "We need an for Room 211." "Is it a private or semiprivate room?" the doctor would ask. "Somiprivate, but Dr. Combs is sending over a patient with a tennis elbow so we just need one person. "I've got a live one in my office now I can give for it i i t t i i t I i l i The doctor goes back to the patient. I don't know how to tell you this, but I dont like the look of this ingrown toenail. I could take it out, of course, but you might lose your toe. Whats the alternative?" "I'd like to put you in Our Lady of Deficits Hospital for observation. I think that with adequate hospital care and a nurse around the clock, we could observe which direction the nait is growing and possibly save the foot. Of course, the quota system is not the only alternative to keeping hospitals full. Taking a leaf from Holiday Inns, the hospital could offer rooms for patients and put in cots for their children at no extra charge. They could also offer "second honeymoon weekends" for couples wanting to get away for a lew sand Epsom salt baths throw n in days with free The main reason there are so many empty hospital beds has not been mentioned by anybody; and that is the poor quality of the food. After a meal or two in an average hospital most patients want to get dressed and leave. There is a solution for this. Most independent surveys show there is 50 percent more surgery done in this country than is necessary mainly because we have 50 percent more surgeons. To cut down on surgery and also improve the quality of hospital food, HEW should provide retraining programs for surgeons anil teach them Imw to conk. once they Hopefully, these surgeon-chefs- , teamed their trade, could make hospital cuisine the best in the land, and patients would extend their stays m their rooms as long as their Blue Cross would let them post-ixinah- told us. That includes not only ignorance of the individual companies but a cultural gap. Elitist Washington officials who ride in airplanes and take pride in driving a jalopy to work do not understand worker that the blue-collneeds a car adequate for txith long range commuting and family vacations. The consequences could bo a painful automotive decline without any sav mgs in energy to show f you. tax-rebat- president-designat- I "Carter's energy program shouldn't effect many people . . only those who drive cars and take hot showers. " . t i j i t i J I j J j ! |