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Show OUR VIEW The Salt Lake Tribune’s Editorial Position Class Warriors Treason. Since when has need equaled merit? And when did the most productive become the least worthy? By that convoluted calculus, the low- and middleincome earners whom Baucus hopes to woo with his envy-driven redistribution ofwealth should be taxed more, not less, as long as there is someone, somewhere worse offthan they are. ‘The projected surplus is based on a simple mathematical reality: Those who earn the most pay the mostin taxes, and the top 10 percentof salary earners gen, erate about 90 percent of whatenanae the government takes in. Why shouldn't “: tums out to be, will be generated by thosewho pay the highest axes. ButSen. Max Baucus of Montana, the senior. Democrat on the Finance Committee,is fallen ‘» tence that those whopaythe most should : eee oe oe bed to the peencerats have a logical case for never materialize. They fitondl point that a tax cut should be dependenton a surplus actually materializing. Those points argue effectively against any tax reduction. But when it comes to who should * benefit most from a tax cut, their arguments fly apart in a heated mist of emotion. Baucus’ assertion that “working families” should get the most “because they are hurting in many parts of the : country” is long onfeelings but short on they get someof it back? If the top tax rate were cut from 39 percent to 33 per- cent, as President Bush proposes,’a person with an adjusted gross income of $3 million still would pay about $1 million to the IRS. But Baucus andother Democrats argue that those who contribute the least deserve the most, and they shroud this self-serving appeal to class envy in a threadbare cloak of compassion. The workers who shoulder the bulk of this country’s financial load are portrayed as “greedy” for not wanting to carry more, while those whopay little or no taxare in a “noble” struggle to get by. But there is nothing noble aboutcoveting whatisn’t yours; many would call that greed. All taxpayers deserve a piece of the surplus that is proportionate to their contribution, and you should make a mental note of those who argue otherwise. When the pizza comes, don’t let them handle the change. Sharon as Peacemaker In his victory speech, Ariel Sharon, the prime minister-elect of Israel, sounded a themeofconciliation, calling But Ehud Barak, the prime minister whom Sharon crushed in the election this week, failed in his effort to find a on Palestinians to join him in solving permanent peace settlement with the Palestinians, and in the process he * porters argued that only a tough nationdashed the hopes of Israelis. Now, an Isalist government dealing from strength rael weary of bloodshed and worried for its own security has turned to the hardcan make the compromises thatwill lead topeace. fisted old infantry commander,Sharon. If Barak could not find a permanent > Sharon the peacemaker is a new in> carnation for an old warrior. Heis better peace through negotiation, at least, known among the Arabs as a tenacious manyIsraelis believe, Sharon will proand implacable enemy, the man held in- , tect them by force. directly responsible by an Israeli invesThe trouble with this is thata lasting tigation for the massacre of Palestinian peace is not possible unless the Israelis refugees in two camps byIsrael's Chriscan bring themselvesto cede sovereignty tian allies in Lebanon in 1982, the archiofthe Muslim holysites in old Jerusalem tect ofthe Jewish settlements in the West to the Palestinians. Further, no genuine Bank and Gaza thatfrustrate efforts to Palestinian state, and hence no peace,is create a contiguous Palestinian state, the possible unless Israel gives up the Jewprovocateur whose visit to the area near ish settlements in the West Bank and the Al Aksa mosque in Jerusalem last Gaza thatstandas fortified islands of IsSeptember touched off the bloody Palesraeli occupation. Reasonable Israelis ao uprising that continues to this concedethis; Ariel Sharondoes not. y. Yet other old warriors whohave led These are strange credentials for a Israel — Menachem Begin, Yitzhak peacemaker, and that is what worries Rabin — became peacemakers. The many people inside Israel and around world can only hope that Sharon can bethe world. come one as well. 2 conflicts by peaceful means. His sup- ANOTHERVIEW From The Washington Post Choose Your Weapons It’s been but six weeks since a man with a gym bag full of firearms and amcompany,all in a matter ofminutes. Now a bloody sequel: Another man with a golf bag full of weapons went on a rampage at mn Eo, ‘Terrorized survivors, returning to the plant this week, were told by counselors that there is almost no way to avoid such tragedies. One worker said a counselor told him that “this is something that’s almost unpreventable, something hap- a glances peter ai what the AK-47 apologists and others who oppose effective controls on the supplies of firearms in the country like to hear. After all, they argue, violent people have all sorts of deadly weapons at the ready — knives,clubs and so on. ‘True, an attacker without a gun can terrorize an office. Only last week, a former teacher walked into an elementary school west of Philadelphia with a machete and attacked the principal. But the principal and twoteachers struggled with the man and subdued him. The principal suffered severe cuts to her hands;three other teachers and six kindergartners suffered injuries. Butno one died, Would the outcome have been different had this attacker used an AK-47? Would the string of multiple slayings over recent years in U.S. workplaces, schools oe a have been as as they were if handguns and assault-style weapons were not sold in this country? Must Americans accept such quick and deadly violence as “almost unpreventable”? TheSaltLakeTribune UTAH'S INDEPENDENT YOICE SINCE 1871" PUBLISHERS John F. Fitzpatrick (1924-1960) John W.Gallivan(1960-1983) Jerry O'Brien (1983-1994) PUBLISHER Dominic Welch EDITOR James E. Shelledy KANG.TRINUNECOMMORA 14. MAINS SALT LAKE CTY,tL _THE PUBLIC FORUM Letters from The Tribune’s readers Well-Rounded Education Thanks for your editorial of Jan. 25 on “Tlliberal Education.”It seems timely for you to pointout: that Gov. Mike Leavitt’s budget proposals for supporting mathematics and science seem to follow a vocational paradigm, to the neglect of a general or liberal education. Probably over the centuries we have shifted our focus away from Thomas Jefferson’s educated gentleman to an educated job-seeker. I don’t know muchaboutthe curricular priorities of secondary education, other than the fate of “Mr. Holland’s Opus” under two different high school principals. However I believe Utah higher education has for decades offered thefull span of options from specific to wellrounded with institutions for vocation, college and university curricula. And the universities, of which I know the University of Utah best, are already properly vocation-centered if you open the definition ofvocation to include how one lives. While working with general eee, * atthe U.30 years ago I was impressed wit howeachof its colleges, whether producing scientists or philosophers orartists, madesure its students took a full range of courses from across the campus curriculum before they graduated into their work of living. And today’s general education program requires courses forall students from such an impressive span as intellectual explorations, American institutions, writing and quantitative reasoning. Will Leavitt's budget change that? True, the schools are already shifting some oftheir internal budgets in order to better match his budget proposals, but I don’t believe they will sacrifice their present liberal education. While it is fun to watch our high-tech specialists building robots, whether to perform detailed skills or create “artificially” intelligent answers, westill have our own brains already wired to be so edueated. May our education continue to keep us ahead ofthe machines. Where to Write Commuter Relief ® When submitting letters to the Public Forum, please include your full name,signature, address and daytime telephone numbers. Information other than your name and thecity in which “youlive are kept confidential. @ Keep it short. Concise letters developing a single theme are more likely to be published. i Please type and double space., @ Letters are condensed and edited. @ Because of the volume of mail © received, not all submissions are published, ® Mail to Public Forum, The Salt Lake Tribune, P.O. Box 867, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110 1 Our fax number is (801) 257-8950. Big Spender The headlines read, “ShurtleffAsksfor $1 Million to Cover Deficits” (Tribune, Jan. 25). Apparently the newly-elected attorney general has wasted hundreds of thousands ofdollars oftaxpayer money in his first month in office by hiring his friends to top positions before he figured out that he didn’t have enough money in his budget. Already he has gone to the Legislature to make up the shortfall for his ignorance. “I am putting my money where my mouth is. . .,” he said. But thatisn't true either. Unless he is willing to make up the difference out ofhis own Donkey Ee eating one the eee How do you spell relief? Relief is not * spelled Legacy! Relief is still spelled Rolaids! ROLAIDS in this sense: Route Over Lake And Inter-urban Diesel System. Imagine what a 70 mile-an-hour auto expresswayy and an intercommuter system would do to bring relief to © the highly congested highway systems in Weber, Davis and Salt Lake counties! Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson others are asking for alternatives to the controversial Legacy Highway proposal. Here are two alternatives worth consideration. Probably the quickest and most practical solution is to develop the inter-urban diesel rail system first. The right of wayis already established using the old Denver & Rio Grande route. For years Don Johnson, architectural engineer of Bountiful, has promoted the West Davis Highway asa feasible solution to the ever-increasing transportation needs through Weber, Davis’ and Salt Lake counties. The proposed West Davis Highwayis principally an over-the-lake route beginning at a point near Syracuse and ending west of the Salt Lake City International Airport. North and south overland extensions ofthis route are also proposed by architect Johnson. This 70 mph expressway would divert much of ‘he truck, bus, and auto traffic out of the 145 corridor and into the west Salt Lake mout general, pass basic Accounting 101. bucks maynot be much to Mr. Shurtleff, butit’s a ton ofmoney to the poor taxpayers who have to cover his stupidity. some relief instead of continuing the legacy ofthe Legacy. HERM OLSEN Logan RICHARD H. LEDOSQUET. Layton Qa OAKLEYJ. GORDON Salt Lake City Power Games The Fox in Mufti Rep. James Hansen has been our congressman for 11 terms. Now we have a new guardian for our environment. The 29), Riding a horse on a dude ranch would be more realistic. After readinghis article on how Republicans have a jae" proud pt eg ee Meee ede whom he is kidding. President Bush, a true oilman, suggested that drilling in the Arctic reserve other protected areas can solve the current United States oil problem. Somehow someone is forgetting why we only have a finite amouut of oil. Now ConHansen, 1 tad ¢ goeiiy2x Bal Lanes (“West Energy Crisis: Opportunity to Craft Policies for Reliable Electricity,” Tribune, op-ed, Feb. 4) to think that consumers are ignorant to what has recently occurred in the struggle for electrical power. Landels’ com- increases at the expense of the consumer who's workingtwojobsto keeparoofover and heaton in Ikeood guys and cn guys the bad guys? Im sure that ScottishPow. Vice, a Sate ee Power, now before the Public |