Show 12A Standard-Examin- er Friday November 18 1988 Opinions I Standard-Examine- r Editorials j Bangerter’s first major task is to reorganize staff Second term Gov Norman Bangerter needs to define his political personality every bit as much as first-termust be to Gov Bangerter His first act as governor-elec-t heal the deep wounds from the splintered governor’s race When he became governor four years ago he surroundm ed himself with young party loyalists some who have been ineffective as administrators and harmful politically to Bangerter He must now demonstrate implicitly that he will not some his tolerate the incompetence of of appointees that threatened his presence in the governor’s office His immediate act as governor-elec-t should be to request the resignation of all political appointees everyone who answers directly to the governor With resignations in hand Bangerter can pick and choose from among the people who have served him well — demonstrating competence and loyalty — retaining It would also alappointees as hold-ovelow him political advantage to get rid of the who just about turned his bid into a political disaster This is not an original idea There have been hints from members of the Bangerter Administration that political winds are blowing changes in personnel and management ne rs glitch-make- rs style Bangerter’s Republican allies are speaking candidly over the scare that nearly wrested the governorship from the GOP The governor barely survived a three-wa- y gubernatorial race in which nearly of the voters cast ballots against him His political friends are telling Bangerter that his victory in which he garnered 40 percent of the vote to 38 percent for Democrat Ted Wilson and 21 percent for independent Merrill Cook does not amount to a political mandate Bangerter does not lack political wisdom to understand that the pummeling of his popularity can be traced to and unwise decisions the insenmany of the sitivities and ineptness of subordinates as well as their inability to understand that a key ingredient to any successful administration is good public relations If Bangerter were accepting of advice from his predecessor he would take seriously the espousal of former Democratic Gov Scott Matheson who recalled being told that “governors are no better than their staffs and often much worse” One of the prerequisites for Bangerter to restructure his faltering administration is to look beyond the boundaries of Salt Lake City and County People who have strong talents and expertise in many fields were disenfranchised by the first term of Bangerter As vacancies occurred on imboards individuals from portant governor-appointe- d counties outside of Salt Lake who had served with honor were summarily replaced Weber County for example lost seats on the Utah Board of Regents and the Utah Economic Development Council Bangerter lost and lost big in his home county It was the people in the hinterlands of rural Utah and outside of Salt Lake City that gave Norm Bangerter this grand opportunity to redeem his administration and serve for another four years two-thir- ds come-from-behi- The governor must understand that there is a strong sentiment against the way the state has been delivering services Taxpayers believe they are not getting value for their tax dollars Bangerter has renewed the lease on the governor's mansion He has keen political senses and skills He needs a fresh start with new faces to shore up his crumbling political empire He needs to let Utahns know that he is going to do business differently Their votes last week were in protest over the piesent tax base and more specifically the 1986 tax increase Bangerter wrongly has been characterized as the enemy of the taxpayers He has an opportunity at hand to make sweeping changes and thereby overcome the deficiencies that marred his first term We wish him well Democrats started low-roa- d WASHINGTON — Elections move like glaciers across a reporter’s desk leaving a ter- minal moraine of notes behind Let me tidy up a few notes on “negative campaigning” Before an inaccurate and unfair perception gets solidified into conventional wisdom something should be said of the notion that the Republicans waged a notably low and dirty campaign Neither party distinguished itself in this regard but it simply is not true that the GOP engaged wholesale in “lies and distortions” The record ought to show clearly where the mudslinging began It began in Atlanta on the evening of Monday July 18 at the Democratic National Convention Michael Dukakis has to bear full responsibility for what was said He was the assured nominee it was his convention he chose the speakers and set the tone This was the tone From Lynn Cutler cochair of the Democratic National Committee: “George Bush is so out of step with the issues we can't even say that he marches to a different drummer he doesn’t even hear the beat" (Applause) From Ann W Richards of Texas keynote speaker: “For eight straight years George Bush hasn’t displayed the slightest interest in anything we care about (Applause) And now that he's after a job that he can’t be appointed to (applause) — he’s like Columbus discovering America He’s found child Care He's found education Poor George He can’t help it He was bom with a silver foot in his mouth” (Applause) I rom Rep Les AuCoin of Oregon on July 18: “The real damage is yet to come George Bush just simply isn’t interested in stopping James J Kilpatrick the Soviet Union from making their ballistic missiles more accurate and more threaten- campaign right now They’re sitting about in the Guccis and their Puccis They’re sipping a delightfully fruity and frisky white wine and they’re saying 'Play it again George Play it again’ ing” From Rep Tony Coelho- of California: “Most of all we’re prepared to give George Bush the licking of his political life! (Applause) Well I know it’s not fair to criticize the vice president behind his back After all he's fishing in Wyoming — all alone except for Jim Baker — and he’s just there in case George is too squeamish to bait his own - hook” Coelho was followed to the rostrum by of Massachusetts who roused the crowd with cries of “Where was George?” A bit later in the evening came Jim Hightower agriculture commissioner of Texas This was Hightower’s contribution to a campaign: “Now along comes George Bush — in fact George Herbert Walker Bush to be precise — perpetually preppy He’s of the Bushes don’t you know? He’s a toothache of a man telling us to stay the course and he’s threatening to lead this country from Tweedledum to Tweedledummer And we cannot let that happen! (Applause) “Meanwhile the wealthiest among us the richest percent of Americans — that’s buddies — George Bush and his button-dow- n in their 50 a increase percent they’ve enjoyed incomes That amounts to an average bonus of $129000 a year for each and every member of the upper crust “But even as we are gathered in this hall you know what’s going on? George Bush and his buddies they’re out at the yacht club Sen Edward Kennedy high-lev- el Kenne-bunkpo- rt 1 “But then of course George Bush has al- ways been in another world — he was born there — an upper-clas- s world where wealth is given to you at birth George Bush is a man who was born on third base and thinks he’s hit a triple” (Applause) And so on During the October campaign Dukakis himself joined in the g Bush-bashin- with his recitation of the “failures” of the vice president One evening Dukakis appeared on the CBS Evening News to be interviewed by Dan Rather He complained of the GOP’s “negative campaigning” and implied that he was above that sort of thing His disavowal came precisely six minutes after a Dukakis commercial trashing Dan Quayle This wasn’t “the dirtiest campaign in recent history” as various observers have asserted The campaigns of 1928 and 1960 with their vicious overtones were far dirtier Every political observer who covered the 1964 campaign will remember to his dying days the smearing commercials Lyndon Johnson used against Barry Goldwa-te- r None of these recent campaigns can be compared in “negatives” to campaigns of the 19th century Thank goodness it’s over now and Bush can begin the healing task As he binds up wounds let us keep in mind who struck the first blow The Democrats started this unseemly donnybrook The Republicans finished it Universal Press Syndicate anti-Cathol- ic Health care act ‘catastrophic’ for elderly CHICAGO — It looks like a tax increase It hurts like a tax increase It angers like a tax increase It really is a tax increase And senior citizens who are just now realizing they alone must pay a hefty new “supplemental premium” tacked onto their federal income taxes to pay for a few minimal new Medicare benefits are starting to scream like hoodwinked taxpayers income tax goes into The new elderly-onl- y effect Jan although some new benefits in the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act passed by Congress last summer will be phased in over four years For many retirees who are living carefully on a fixed income the tax wallop will be painful indeed ready a lot of angry senior citizens arc demanding that the 101st Congress repeal the legislation as one of its first orders of business Several members of Congress who voted for the act are backpcdaling saying they weren't aware of its details Three dozen legislators are sponsoring bills introduced a few weeks ago in both the House and Senate to postpone implementation of the act for a year to allow for further study of its impact Much of the misunderstanding about the Catastrophic Health Care Act was created deliberately Legislators wanted to run for with a record of improving health benefits for the elderly The Reagan administration insisted on not adding to the deficit I venone was careful not to call attention to who would be stuck with the bill But "misunderstanding" is too kind a word for the scam pulled on the elderly “Lie" is more like it A new- brochure just mailed by the Department of Health and Human Services starts 1989 with the sentence “Beginning Jan Medicare will be expanded to cover catastrophic health care costs" 1 - I Joan Beck That simply is not true The problem is that the catastrophic health care costs most likely to mean financial ruin for the elderly are long-ternursing home bills And except for some narrowly defined “skilled nursing facilities” most nursing homes and patients aren’t covered m The new law does sweeten Medicare benefits in ways that sound good but that will really help only a small percentage of the elderly (3 percent to 17 percent) For example the new act provides extra unlimited hospitalization after a single payment (estimated to be $564 in 1989) But seniors rarely use up their Medicare hospital days now The DRG system and hospital uti- lization review committees make sure they are sent home or to nursing facilities as soon as they are no longer m need of acute care The bill will put a cap of $1370 a year on a patient's share of doctors’ bills and outpatient hospital services starting in 1990 Here the catch is that only the bills Medicare decides are “reasonable” will be covered Many physicians charge considerably more than approved rates and patients must pay the difference Medicaie cap or not Beginning in 1990 the new Medicare benefits will include a few prescription drugs and by 1991 most of them But there will be a big and changing deductible ($600 in 1991 with a 50 percent copayment) The new legislation has a few more minor benefits more catches and more complicated timetables and adjustable rates than this column has room to report The way the elderly will be taxed to pay for them is also phase-i- n complicated and subject to annual adjustment upwards First there’s an additional premium added to Medicare Part B charges it starts at $4 per month in 1989 and goes up to $1020 in 1993 But a kindly Congress also provides that a retiree's Part B premium won’t increase more than his annual Social Security adjustments That means the new Part B premium will probably eat up much of the raises the elderly get every year Then too the steep new “supplemental premium” hurts every senior citizen who pays $150 a year or more to the IRS For 1989 the elderly must pay an extra tax of $2250 for every $150 they owe in income taxes with a cap of $800 In subsequent years the new tax goes up by 1993 they must pay an extra $42 for every $150 in income taxes up to a cap of S 050 The charges are double for an elderly married couple There are two more potentially costly sleepers in the legislation The caps and premiums are to be adjusted yearly so they cover expenses for the new benefits And eventually the elderly will have to pay some bills for patients with AIDS People younger than 65 are eligible for Medicare after they have been disabled and unable to work for two years Enormously expensive drugs are keeping an increasing number of patients cost-of-livi- cost-of-livi- with AIDS alive long enough to get Medicare in the new income tax charged to the eldcrlv The moral is simple Increasing health benefits is disastrously expensive Someone has to pay for it Congress in a dubious plov has picked the non-poelderly But it mav cave in before gray-powwrath at the poor deal the elderly arc getting Then who? Their bills may then show up er Chicago Tribune |