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Show D2 TheSalt Lake Tribune COMMENTARY Sunday, S TEESpene Telling Truth About Medicare Might Even Help Politicians COKiE ROBERTS ~ STEVEN ROBERTS eae UNITED FEATURES SOUTHAVEN, Miss. — Minnie Bing, a retired bookkeeper, offered a radical suggestion the othernight at a town meeting on Medicare: Quit the partisan bickering. “It's going to take a lot of work, Republicans and Democrats,”she told Rep. Roger Wicker, the freshman Republican who represents this town just south of Memphis.“We have to be onefamily, not a split family.” As Congress returned to work last week, there wasnosign that either party is listening to voters like Minnie Bing.instead, they are both running advertising campaigns — the Democrais on TV, the Republicans on radio — that blame the other side for abandoning Medicare. Whatshould be a constructive search for the “commen ground” Bill Clinton likes to talk about has turned into a verbalfood fight of name-calling and scare-mongering. No wonder public disgust with politics continues to soar. The Medicare debate helps explain whythat confidenceis erodingso rapidly. To their credit, the Republicans are at least admitting that costs are out of control and mustbe reined in. Their budget assumes a reduction of $270billion below projected spending rates over the next seven years. But their courage quickly curdles when it comes to specifics. Over and over, Rep. Wicker insisted that these massive reductions could be madepainlessly: no benefits cuts, no fee increases, nothing but a more efficient system created by the magic of greater competition and freer markets. “The only way that Medicarewill be cut,” he shouted, “is over my dead body.” His assurances were greeted, to putit gently, with considerable skepticism. It turns out the people of Southaven can add. “I don’t see where you can balance the books,” said one voter. “If fees are not raised, where is the money going to come from?” eS Thatis a question that Wicker and his fellow Republicans can't answer. Instead, they fall back on word games. Medicare spendingwill actually increase over currentlevels, they say, so nothing is being “cut.” But if costs go up 10 percent a year, and available funds go up 5 percent, something has to give somewhere. This refusal to confront fiscal reality sounds very much like 1980, when Ron- ald Reagan insisted he could increase defense spending,cut taxes, andstill reduce the deficit. The result of that self-delusion wastrillions of dollars in additional debt. But in 1995, the Democrats are behaving as badly as the Republicans. Maybe worse. Many of them won't even acknowl- edgethe crisis in Medicare and got furious with Bill Clinton when he tried to be responsible anddiscuss the issue frankly. Rep. Sam Gibbons, ranking Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee, recently announced that the system is “fiscal und.” This in the face of a report, signed by three Clinton Cabinet mem- bers, that Medicare will go bankrupt in seven yearsif current trends continue. If the Republicans are re-running 1980, the Democrats are re-running 1982, the year they defeated 26 GOP House members by aceusing the Republicansofbeing soft on Social Security. Ina recent newsletter Rep. Martin Frost, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, described Medicare as “a great opportunity for Democratic candidates in 1996.” All politics. Not a word aboutthe substance of the problem. Privately, Democratic leaders say they'll come up with a “minimal” propesalto save the system, but it won't be serious. Their real aim is to let the Republicans take the heat. Alone. Thetactic might work. Senicrs are the last voters left who remember the Depression and the New Deal, and perhaps they can be frightened — onelast time — by the old Democratic rhetoric of us vs. them, rich vs. poor.Frost cites a USA Todaypoll in which seniors now favor Democrats by 59 to 31; last year they were pro-Republican by 51 to 48. But evenif this approach succeeds politically, it is a sterile and short-sighted argument. Both parties are treating the voters like children. Both are saying: Thereis a free lunch, and the other party is trying to steal it from you. Here’s a novel idea: Whydon’t thepoliticians try telling the truth about Medicare. They might even regain some ofthe trust they have squandered. In Historic Korean War Battle, MarinesPaid Bill for Freedom JIM WRIGHT 10, 1995 their own soldiers to get the big, black headlines that would panic Americans at home. As it turned out, when the battle was over, the Marines marched out, in step, some of the outfits singing the Marine Hymn. They had won;the cutoff fingers THE PUBLIC FORUM Letters from The Tribune's readers Fighting Back I am so impressed (and grateful!) that The Sait Lake Tribune would report ‘how it is” with breast cancer(Sept.3). Jt is probablytoo truethatit’s not spoken of enough,either because thevictim is dead or she(or he)lives in fear of recurrence and doesn’t want to talk aboutit. Hurray for people like Marilyn Morris whowill risk being knownas a “cancer victim” to get the word out that you can fight back, andthat thereis a real need to carefully pick an insurance carrier that will write a policy to cover the wide range of treatment options for breast cancer. I am well aware that aboutone outof nine womendealwith breast cancer, but I never thought of scrutinizing my insurance plan for coverage of treatment, even thoughI recently had a suspicious-looking mammogram. After reading your coverage of Morris’ response to being accosted by cancer, I feel strengthened by her courage and much more educated as to what I should be doing:self-exams,low-fatdiet, finding a better insuranceplan,etc.It just took away much of the helpless feeling of, “Well ... Pll just wait and see if I get breast cancer.” Thanks for the motivation to becomeproactive! EILEEN WHITE Salt Lake City back in those freezing mountains were Oo destroyed along that 75-mile road, disap- Womenas Objects Chinese. Four Chinesedivisions had been pearing from the orderofbattle. Four more were withdrawn to be rebuilt, out of the war for the next six months. The Chinese commandertried to DALLAS MORNING NEWS resign; another general threatened suicide. DALLAS — A few weeks ago, a couple Yet at the beginning, the Marines’ situof presidents did their photo ops number ation looked hopeless. Not only were they at the dedication of the new Washington outnumbered and surrounded, but also memorial to the veterans of the Korean orders from Gen. Douglas MacArthur's War, 19 steel statues of American rifle- headquarters had spread out the divimen on the march. sion’s regiments. To Mao, the task of cutit was a one-day media do, somewhat ting off these extended fingers, the sepaovershadowedby all the 50-year celebrarated regiments, appeared easier than tions of the end of World WarII. Korea doing the sameto a clenchedfist. vets say they find that situation familiar. Butthe regiments stopped the wavesof I attended another kind of July memo- assaulting Chinese dead. Marine Gen. rial to the Korean Waroutin Van Zandt O.P. Smith pulled regiments together,reCounty, Texas.It didn’t feature celebrity clenching the Marinefist at Koto-ri. politicians and media types, but it was After building an airstrip there, Mamore fun and had better barbecue. rines flew out their wounded, flew in amAlso, the sea stories were more fasci- munition and rations. Gen. Smith rejectnating, because nearly all of those pre- ed an offer to evacuate the division to sent had beenstars in the original cast, safety. the real war. Indeed, they had been the Instead, he threw the clenchedfist of victors in one of the Korean battles that his division at the Chinese divisions bewill be studied in the military academies tween Koto-ri and the sea. And smashed a thousand years from now — the break- them. His division brought out all its out from the Chosin Reservoir. wounded,mostof its dead, and 4,000 solAnd what a victory it was, a Chinese diers from Army, British and South Korearmy of 120,000 against an American di- an units caught in the Chinese tide vision, yet the division emerged triumThere is no other baitle in American phant. The triumph wasthat it emerged, history in which our side has been so outbecause the Red army had beengiven the numberedorin suchstraits andsiill won. mission of not only surrounding that speYet the gathering of the North Texas cifie division but also destroying and an- chapter of the Chosin Few this summer nihilatingit. was low-key, with no chest beating or For this was our first war against the vainglorious hype. Maostrategy, which was to wage war not 1 wasthereas a guest, not a Chosin Few only in the field but also in the enemy’s member. Only 5,000 nationwide have met homelandbypolitics and media spin. Mao the demanding requirements for memTse-tung’s maxim was that for devastat- bership: You haveto have been there and ing psychological effect in the enemy done that at Chosin. homeland,“it is better to cut off one of The North Texas Few, who were and the enemy's fingers than to break 10.” did, are having another get-together for a The finger that Mao had chosen to cut fish fry this weekend at Texoma. And the off at Chosin was a division sometimes next gathering is the chapter’s frostbite referred to by envious outsiders as “the seminar in November. cafe society of the Marine Corps” and by Yes, you read that right: Featured its own as “the Marine Corps’ Marine speakers will be medical specialists in Corps.” It was the First MarineDivision, dealing with pains and problems offrostwhich had launched the first U.S. land bite aftereffects. Marines marched out of offensive of World War Il at Guadalcanal Chosin, many of them on frozen feet and and which hadjust broken the backof the with frozen hands. Forty-five years later, North Korean army with the landing at they still are quietly dealing with that, Inchon. without whining or complaints. The famous division was chosen for exThe themeof the big do in Washington ecution in order to provoke the kind of this summer was ‘Freedom isn’t free.” catastrophic shock back in the United The Chosin Few don't haveto betoldthat. States that the 1968 Tet offensive would Forty-five years ago, on the road from the score in a later war. As in the Tet offen- reservoir, they paid not only their own sive, the Communist leaders were pre- part of the tab but a considerable share of ee mmeting es Sree yours and mine as well. I read in the newspaper about theSalt Lake County Commission’s willingness to stand up for womenby refusing to fund the Miss Salt Lake County Fair swimsuit competition. This competition is demean- ing for women and continues to define womenas sexualobjects judged by their curves and sexuality andnotfor their ae- ademicabilities. Two of my three daughters work with abused children. They see first-hand what happens whenthereis no respect in families. It is an importantstatementby the Salt Lake County Commissionto say that women deserve respect for who they are and what they have accomplished. Only then can womenbe treated as equals. My 12-year-old daughter asked me, “Why does it say that all men are created equal? Why doesn’t it say women too?” i stated emphatically that women are equal. It is time to walk the talk of equality. Congratulations to the commission for their courage to refuse to allow these abuses and inequality to women to continue. CHERYLJ. COX Sandy o Driving Adventure I live in the Salt Lake City area of 200 South and 1100 East and work in the Key Bank Building above the Crossroads mall. My short commute to work has become tedious over the last few years. However, over the course of this summer,the city has blocked off and torn up various portions of North Temple, South Temple, 100 South, 200 South, 300 South, 200 West, West Temple, Main, State, 800 East, 960 East, 1000 East and 1100 East. At this writing, the entire block live on is torn up. I would like to thank the city for making what was once a boring, 10-minute drive into a daily advonture. Every day I enjoy the challenge of hunting out a new route that has not been closed, blocked or torn up. Dull routine has become a trip through the labyrinth. It is pleasing to realize that our tax dollars are being spent to provide a ride more demanding than anything one could find in an amusement park M.M. HUBBEL 4 Salt Lake City Where to Write @ When submitting letters to the Public Forum,please include yourfull name, signature, address and daytime telephone numbers. Information other than your name and the city in which you live are kept confidential. @ Keepit short. Concise letters developing a single theme are morelikely to be published. 1 Please type and double space. @ Letters are condensed and edited. @ Becauseof the volume of mail received, vot all submissions are pubished. Mail to Public Forum, TheSait Lake Tribune,P.O. Box 867, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110. @ Our fax number is (801) 2372022. Simple Shelter The section advertising new homesin The Salt Lake Tribune Sept. 2 drew my attention. One sentence in an ad reads: “Every homehasbeen designedto match your needs for living space with your budget.” Since the average price for a homein this section is $177,000, I wonder how these homescould fit into the budget of the thousandsof householdsin Utah knownasthe working poor, surviving just aboveor below the povertylevel. The developers seem to be using up our choice land to serve the needs of the wealthy, buying up almost every vacant space left in this valley to build spacious housing, and advertising such amenities as four bedrooms, den, magnificent fam- ily room, curved archways, formaldining room, redwood deck, mastersuite, entertainment center and soaring ceilings. With skyrocketing rental rates and lack of available apartments, where are the low-income families to go? Utah’s average wage is 15 percent below the national average. There should be housing which poverty-level families can buy or rent, in dignity. The poor would be glad to read an ad like: “Living room, bedroom, kitchen, bath, two doors, some windows, at affordable price.” Whereis the architect or developer whowill dedicate his career to building shelier for the poor? There are enough dedicated to the rich. It doesn’t seem right to be advertising homes with three-car garages when some homeless people in this city are sieeping in their cars. MERRIDY C. AYER Salt Lake City o Wrong Emphasis Wereadthe article concerning the Samoan church dedication (Tribune, June 24) and we were pleased to see The Tribune cover this event. We were dismayed and confused, however, by a single sentence in an otherwise accuratearticle. The sentence, “After the dedication, all signs of Christianity disappeared,” seemed to insult the Samoans and many participants, who came from as far away as New Zealand,as they dedicated their new church building in Magna. The paragraphs after this sentence describe Samoan traditions such as gift-giving, dancing, singing and roasting pigs. We fail to see how any of these ceremonies can be termed un-Christian except in the narrowest of perspectives. In fact, many “Christian” ceremonies found in various churches can be traced te “pagan”ceremonies. What we wish had been emphasized is the extent of the culture and fellowship that was evidentat the dedication. It was a true extension of Christian life where many came together to help others. BARBARA CHERRINGTON ; Newsletter Editor MICHAEL G. JACKSON Senior Minister Holladay United Church of ae Limit Immigration The Aug. 29 Salt Lake Tribunearticie regarding record immigration levels continued the trend within the news media and governmentin failing to recognize the significant difference between the immigration booms of the 1990sand th early 1900s. i Immigrants are not the cause of all problems-in this country and, indeed, they bring economic and cultural dynamism that yields significant benefits. This argumentheld true through much of the nation’s history and wasparticularly evidentin the success of the membersof the huge immigration wave at the beginning of the 20th century. Suecess in America in 1900 required little more than a strong back and a heaithy work ethic. Language barriers and a lack of skills could be overcome due to an abundance of opportunity and room for growth in this country. There was no helping hand from the American taxpayerother than a free education systern and some medicalshots. However, manyjobs in the modern service economy require fluency in English, knowledge of computers and otherskills that most immigrants lack. These obsta-. cles can be overcome eventually, but the taxpayer must foot an ever-increasing bill for this endless stream of employees requiring job training, expensive medical coverage, English or bilingual classes. Meanwhile, the frustrations of citizens and immigrants trapped on the lowest rungs of the economicladdercan be directly linked to the growing problemsof crime and racism in congested urban areas. America is no longer benefiting from immigration due to these increased costs, andit is time to reduce immigrationleveis to a small fraction of currentlevels until the recent arrivais can be assimilated and achieve self-sufficiency. Growth for growth’s sake is no longer beneficial in this era of congested freeways, escalat- ing housing prices, disappearing wilderness andpollutedair. 1AIN HUETON Ogden o God’s Spokesman I find it both amusing and outrageous that columnist Cal Thomas can write the phrase, “the arroganceof so manyliberals who believe they hold the franchise on truth.” This comes from a man who graciously gives us, directly from God, all of the “true” views, self-assured in the confidence that he and Goddo not hold contradictory opinions on anything. Not content with merely being on God's side, Thomas’ constant need to reassure himself and others who think like him that they are mainstream and in the majority is particularly repugnant. Thomas attacks the U.N. World Conference on Womenwith a chargethatit seeks to make marriage not a“... cooperative partuership, but a competitive entanglement in which rivals battle for supremacy in the home.” I noted that ‘Thomas talks abouta “cooperative” rather than an equal partnership. I can't think of anything in Thomas’ or James Dobson's Family Research Couneil’s pontificating where marriageis referred to as a partnership based on equality. It is reminiscent of those who defended slavery as a mutually beneficial institution. The only real fruits of the dogma of subservient wives seem to range from lowered self-esteem in women to the contemptible evil of wife abuse, a far more prevaient problem than the head-in-the- sand crowd likes to think about. Wife abuse is a seriousissnein both industrialized nations and in the developing world and is an importanttopic for an international women’s conference. This conservative nonsense and clapirap about “family values”is 2 smokescreen and an immpedimeni to the real issues the women’s conference is trying to address. VAL MANSFIELD Sait Lake City i ‘ |
