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Show Opinion FRIDAY, January5, 1996 The Salt Lake Cribane OUR VIEW PAGE A22 ©1795 SME POSTINTELUGENCER NORTH RECA SNDICTE The Salt Lake Tribune's Editorial Position Balance Budget Now Thepresident and Congress havebegunthe newyearwheretheyended the old one, lockedin a budget struggle that has closedparts of the federal government forthree weeks. It is past time for Congress and the White Houseto reach an interim settlement to temporarily fund essential services suchas veterans hospitals A stopgap measure should be enacted to provide government employees any back pay that maybe owed themfor work they already have performed. In addition, agencies not covered by appropriations bills already signed into law should be provided funds for two more weeks of operations. In the meantime, negotiators for the Republican Congress and Democratic White House must cometo terms over howto balance the budget within seven years using Congressional Budget Office scoring No interim agreement on temporary funding should cover a period longer than two weeks. becauseit is clear that duress is a necessary ingredient to seri- ous negotiations. Without a tangible threat. President Clinton will not sign off on the tough decisions needed to move the federal budget toward balance. Even now, the president's balanced-budget proposals remain murky Bill Clinton must be madetoface the prospect of another partial federal shutdown if a budget deal is not reachedwithin two weeks. The Republicans in Congress should attach a condition to any agreement on a two-week interim funding plan: There will be no extensions. After the twoweek period expires, only a balancedbudget plan will suffice to end any future government shutdown. The only emergency action the Republicans should entertain beyond that point would belegislation required to prevent default on federal debt. The timeto reach a balanced-budget deal is now. Furtherdelaywill only embitter voters and federal employees alike. If either political party thinks it will benefit from extending the stalemate, it is seriously misealculating. Current polls showthat voters are blaming Republicans more than Democrats now but in the end, Americanswill hold both the president and congressional Republicans accountable. Besides, Republicans obviously deserve credit for foreing the White Houseto concede that a balanced budget in times of economic growthis vital to the nation’s future That part of the debate essentiallyis over Now the concession must be implemented. If the twosides can’t agree ona plan within two weeks, then the government should close down until they do THE PUBLIC FORUM Letters from The Tribune's readers. Name Health Risks SomeSalt Lake County businesses object to the local health department's policy of publicly identifying restaurants employing food handlersinfected with hepatitis A and other food-borne diseases, but the policy serves an important public purpose: community health Hepatitis A, a liver infection frequently spread through food contaminated by unwashed hands. is a serious growing public health problem in Utah andits most populous county. Last year in Salt Lake County, cases of the disease were reported, more than four times the national average. The 1995 total included 75 morecases than the previous yearand involved 41 food handlers Restaurateurs questioning the fairness of publicizing places where food handlers are infected make the case that the identified businesses can be needlessly harmed. But the Salt Lake City-County Health Department policy is not unfairly punitive Restaurant owners ultimately are responsible for providing a safe product. The presence of a hepatitis A-infected employee does not necessarily prompt a public warning. Only six res- Closing Federal Lands taurants were identified last year as posing a significant public health risk In one case, a food handlerwas believed to be the source of a hepatitis A outbreak affecting morethan 80 people. City-county health officials have assured restaurants they will not be publicly identified unless their hygiene practices arelax, To avoid censure, restaurants must provide accessible toilet and handwashing facilities with hot and cold running water, soap and towels properly supervise employee hygiene avoid bare-handcontact with ready-toeat food. and keep food at safe tect public health, as is their dutyto do, they needthe kindof leveragethat will ensure that food providers comply with basic health standards. Weak requirements and enforcement breed complacency. Losing businessis hardly a harsh penalty for endangering people's health At the same time, consumers deserve lo know whatrisks theyaretaking with somethingas basicas their health andsafety. Alerting themtosignificant health threats is responsible public policy their arrangements are made through the State Department andits overseas missions closed by the partisan budget squabblein This is no mere courtesy extended by one branch of government to another Congress controls the department's bud- get These are not. though, usual times. In making plans to travel hither and yonin furtherance of their duties. members of Congress are demanding services from a State Department that has still not been funded for this fiscal year, which began last October. One consequence of the ly count, like members of Congress, life budget mess ticipants in a campaign of misinformation have succeeded in drawing attention from the impacts of wilderness upon recreational diversity on the public lands You know, thelands they say belong to all Americans. For more than 30 years, the groups these folks support have conductedarelentless political and media campaignto force federal agencies tocatalog all natu- ral areas so they can be systematically andcontinually removed fromall recre- is that overseas missions It appearsthat thereis some misunderstanding about myreferenceto “Mormon Public Forum, please includeyourfull name, signature, address and daytime heritage” in myletter calling fora bit of tolerancein judging Rep. Enid Waldholtz (Forum, Dec. 16) I fully agree with some of mycritics that this is not a religious issue, Myreference was to a universally admired and respected aspect of Mormon culture which places great emphasis on family values andloyalty. It’s unfortunate that what was meant to bean appealforfairbeendistorted to where the main telephone numbers, Information oth- er than your name and the city in which you live are kept confidenti @ Keep it short. Conciseletters developing a single theme are morelike- ly to be published. @ 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, message was lost Onceagain for those who might behon- estly confused by m; previous letter Waldholtz does not owe Karen Shepherd or Merrill Cook any apology. She didn’t “steal the election” bythe infusion of ex- @ Our fax number is (801) 237- 2022, ational use except hiking. Through the clever rewriting of history and reframing tra money into her campaign because money does not guarantee a win. Any ofissues, they havepresentedan increasingly hysterical, apocalyptic visionof the landif they don't get what they want Thegripeis the same: Resourceindustries will “strip” mine, log. grazeit all and “I might hearavehicle.” It doesn't matter that the vehicle is using public land access that has existed for decades the road mustbe closed. If these people Fantastic Enid Rep. Enid Greene Waldholtz is one fantastic lady She recently underwent a ic than the death of a loved one. There seems to want to makeherappear guilty no matter how innocent she is: rude, sar- castic peopletelling her to stay down and give up: old enemies trying toget in their shareof the barnyard pecking Sherises aboveit all. She shows the strength of a Statueof Liberty. the cour- PAST PUBLISHERS ohn F. Fitzpatrick (1924-1960 is obvious that the preservationists seek to deny access andrecreational use of your landto you. For those of you who use public lands for hunting, fishing family camping and such, think about those back roads being closed, because that’s the plan Rather thanfall for their bogus polls. and so-called million acres, “people's proposal” for 5.7 remember that these are special-interest groups who have become masters of the marketing of illusion. The illusion is that they want to save your land for you. The reality is that they want to save your land from you John W 30-1 Jerry O'Brien(1983-1994 RICHARD LASSEN Reno, Nev Where's the Barbarism? | ames Shelled EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR E. Fuller, KEARNS-TRIBUNE CORPORATION. 143 S, MAIN ST. SALT LAKE CITY. § 1 hearing and reading 1 of the prison inmate who wants to die by ntention is that it unfavorable light upon the due to the barb: method ofus- ing a firing squad First and foremost, the real barbarism act committed by the accused the way the man wants to | how d ie, Third. I Let's not judge her for her shattered job for only $ us $2.5 million, quite a savings to the Olympic Committee. L.P. CREBS Sandy ALLEN R. BURGESS Salt LakeCity ous serum inte tok they rum, Dec. 14 I, too, am deeply dismayed and sad. dened by the support of most veterans groups for Sen. Orrin Hatch’s flag-protection amendment. Lisa is correct when she says they should knowbetter. Unfor- tunately, our schools do a poor job of graduating young adults with an underand totalitarian sys- to go to sleepin class after hearing ‘“‘majority rules,” and they think that is that matters (witness the West High debacle). If someone does something youdon't like, rally the majority andforcetheper- son intoline. i admit that I was angry thefirst time I saw the flag burning, but then I realized howprivileged we are to live in a country where people have the freedomto pro test and, in fact, the flag-burner did nothing to anyoneexcept offend sensibil- hadsilently saluted or put a hand over give them achoice of where does thela J M.H. MEYERS Cottonwood Heights 00,000 per year and no dditional benefits. That is Anger About Flag-Burning Hasn't Blinded All Veterans sa military veteran, I would like to respond to Lisa Hendrickson’s letter(Fo- ities. So muchof lifeis in the perception Imagine theeffect if. instead of arresting the flag-burning creep, everyone present cuted by tude. Salary, benefits and severancepay work out to over million for six good work shehas been doing for America tween democra 187 EDITOR Harry Nevada Outdoor Alliance State PUBLISHER understand complain about a salary of that magni- trust. May Godbless her to keep upthe ity of Americans are not backpackers, it ss do not. of course. Members of Con: depend on Al's Travel Agency to book UTAH’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE Olympic Organizing don't majority of Americans. Since the major- tems. All too many people were allowed The Salt Lake Tribune I someonein his position could publicly Just for the benefit of the Salt Lake Olympic Committee, I will be more than glad to take Welch's position and do the What an example of heroic woman- guides to take them and, in many cases their spouses and staffs shopping and sightseein, Not to worry, though. If worse comes to worst, we'll just keep the national pz closedalittle longer | Committee. years work That inconvenient fact apparently hasn't deterreda lot of the nation’s per ows Lake hood. Of being American. Mostof us have made mistakes and learned from them — 25 trips for the lawmakers and another Co $315,000 per year plus benefits and severance pay as president of the Salt of roads have been closed, resulting in fewer recreational opportunities for the standing of the crucial differences be- ~~ with the salary of Government agencies have statedthat motorizedrecreationwill increase on the ambulating legislators fromstill expecting the full treatment overseas. including business. There has been an awful lot written about Tom Welchand his dissatisfaction ageof a Queen Esther, the determination of a spawning salmon and the love and compassion of a Florence Nightingale ating short-handed “official Underbid is (for the most part) a hostile media that on publie lands, fine; let them seek other legislation to ban them. But what they havehad to furlough staff andare oper- Since they are on JACK SHAPIRO Salt Lake City difficult don't want mining, logging and grazing really want is your recreation. and they are well ontheir wayto getting it. There questions of ethical, moral orlegal turpitude are nowbeing investigated andwill be judged underthe process of law pregnancyandbirth. Sheis beginning a divorce that must be even moretraumat- goes on bytheir staffs. with nearly ali exthe public | nothing Reference Misinterpreted Where to Write EB When submitting letters to the Thehighlife. in fact. Witness the overseas travel plans made by senators and representatives over the next few weeks | into public lands in thefuture, but thousands Congress Perseveres ordinary people. For the people who real- degenerated on recreation Never mindthat thousands of tourists have been turned vy from the great g national parks whosee gates have been niences produced by temporarily unfunded government departments and programs have mainly affected only, well have more than personal attacks that contain precious little factual information but plenty of propaganda. Thesewilling par- are now more than 100 million acres of wilderness, and another 171 million acres ofyourlandthat haverestrictions From The Los Angeles Times and other disappointments and inconve- Utah temperatures If government agencies are to pro- ANOTHER VIEW Washington. Never mindthat the Smithsonian museums have been shut down denying schoolchildren the chanceto see some of America’s cherished treasures Think in terms of thebig picture: These Recentletters by preservationists lusting for5.7 million acres of wilderness in the heart out of respect for Oid Glory. I'm thinking that would have been thelast time anyone would have abused the flag as a formof protest And isn't an end to flag desecration the goal of Hatch and the veterans’ groups Or do theyhave adifferent agend. Jem agoguery? Patriotic chest-beating? Or is it simply that they can’t stand to have someone do them? something that offends Flag-burning isn’t the only behavior that is offensive. What about the disrespect I’ve observed at sporting events when the colors are shownduring thenational anthem? If we arrest all those people who fail to respect the flag. we'll have to build many moreprisons, and we'll have a lotof vacant seats at theballgames, Every day. good peoplearekilled by drunken drivers who havemultiple convictions, and our society can’t seemto get them permanently off the road. Given that weare challenged by many problems of that magnitude, can we really afford to spendso muchenergy trying to criminalize an act that is victimless? Come to think of it. when was the last time anyone burned aflag? Protesters only burn the flag to get attention. Tc make it a special exception to the First Amendment will only makeit a more at tractive form of protest. The flag issue has been aninteresting topic of discus. sion, but it is time to move on I just wanted Lisa Hendrickson to knowthat notall veterans are emotior ly blindto thesignificance of our consti tutional freedoms GLADE E. SHEPHERD |
