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Show vy, November 18. 1981, Opinions The Herald Comments Keep Stockman Flap in Focus Caring’s Important Editor, Herald As welook forward to the coming care about the schools now. I've had leewayelection, it is not important young couple with one child in Kindergarten says, “I don't care about the Provo schools. We will be moving in a couple of years.” As to review the reasons why our elected school board thinks the Provo School District needs more money, the facts and figures which led them to that decision, or how that money, if voted, will be used That information was well publicized before the Oct. 3 election It seemsto methatthecritical issue is caring. Our countryis built on a concern for our fellowman and a sense of responsibility for his welfare. Democracy works because we give all of our children a good education through the public schools. As soon as the owner of a duplex says, ‘‘I don't care about the schools. My property taxes are too high.” As soon as the older couple says, ‘I don't care about the schools because my children are grown and my propertytaxesare too high.” As soonasthe 18-year-old says, ‘“I don’t education.” As soon as the soon as the well-to-do couple says. “I don’t care about the public schools. I can afford to send my children to private schools.’ As soon as we quit caring we can expect to rear a generation of young people who don't care either — about loving others, about voting, about using their talents and creative abilities to improve society, about law and order. Now is the time for old to care about young, rich to care about poor, transient to care about permanent — because weall care about living in a peaceful, free, progressive city and country. Janelle Jarvis 1256 Locust Lane Provo ‘Property Owners Only’ Editor, Herald Is it moral or even legal for Provo residents who do not own property quietly and without any fanfare, but or pay property taxes to vote at the even postage stamps. Just how much with continuing inflation and generalfixed income, especially on homeproperties where there is no income, can taxpayers take? I admit I am mostly concerned with older people, with whom I have been working on a volunteer basis for the past 13 years, most of whom are property owners,and in addition have their own problems which are often costly. Nov. 24 leeway election? This is one of a number of questions Provo residents are asking as they face the second consecutive leewayelection in two month: I am not campaigning against schools, important as they are, but I am in sympathy with someof the complaints people are making as they face another election which they have already turned down Oct 3, and which many people believe will be more decisively defeated the second time Many people maintain thatit is easy for nonproperty-taxed people to vote for any condition they think has some merit, but which will not cost them anything. Since the Oct. 3 election the schools have gone over their books and found that the 6.6-mill tax was not needed and the Nov. 24 election callsfor only a 4.6-milllevy. If they wentoverthe booksagainis it possible that even the lower tax is not necessary? Another problem is raised. Have you looked at your recent regular 1981 tax notices? It seems that both county and city departments generously have upped their demands for more than 10 percent overthe 1980 figures. This was done it is an extra cost along with clothing, food, shelter, utilities and If you are interested dropin at the Eldred Center, 270 W. 500 N., and see a blind woman wandering across the floor; several people on wheel chairs or walking chairs, crutches or canes Many of them face prospects of Medicaid, food stamps and some supplementary benefits cut. Just howare they going to managewith increased taxes adding to their problems? At the Nov 24 election, which it seems is being forced through, voters should be required to sign a statement that they are property ownersand taxpayers, then vote as they please. That’s the only fair way of determiningif they are willing to Support a tax increase whichwill be with them therest of their lives. Wendell M. Rigby 490 N. 300 W. Provo Don’t Be Misled Editor, Herald: As a parentof children whoattend Provo SchoolDistrict, I have a great concern about someof the information that was published before the last leeway election. Many of the facts and figures quoted by the Utah Taxpayers Association were inaccurate and misleading. ProvoSchoolDistrict is the fiscal agent for a number of special regional and statewide programs such as the educational unit for the emotionally handicapped at the state hospital; the Timp Day School for emotionally disturbed teens; Oakridge School for the handicapped; a preschool for the severely handicapped; Central Utah Enterprises for retarded adults; and Youth in Custody, a three part program for youth in trouble with the law.All of the monies for these expensive programsflow thru the budgetof the Provo SchoolDistrict. The cost of these programs was added to the cost of the regular educational programs by the Utah Taxpayers Association andit put the cost per pupil way out of proportion. A chart was run the day before the leeway election which showed Provo District a little above the middle of school districts in Utah with 3,000 or morestudents. When the costs of these special schools are deducted from the regular educational costs, Provois actually sixth from the bottom of 20 schooldistricts. Anotherclaim that was made was that Provo District has an unusually large number of non-teaching personnel. The support personnelof the special programs was addedto the regular district personnel by the Utah Taxpayers Association and of course the number wasagain out of proportion. These special programs have high numbers of support personnel such as speech therapists, physical therapists, psychologists, social workers, ete. Our regular schools do not have more nonteaching personnel than is the average of other schooldistricts. I hope the voters will not be influenced by the misleading information published earlier. There is a genuine need for additionalfinancial support in the Provo SchoolDistrict. I urge you to vote for the coming leeway on Nov.24. Ann Baird 393 E. 4750 N Provo McDougall Aids Notion Editor, Herald: I'm with you, Robert McDougall. I want America’s defense strong — just as you. I’m especially grateful we Americans finally are getting our chanceto help pay for the ‘‘costly”” defense effort. We don’t want to be “niggardly.”” really helped out this year. The government cut 10 days work and pay from methis year. That's $600 of my moneythat can go to someone who really should have it — someone who is making an antiRussian bomb. How about what those schoolkids , are doing —- many of them aregiving up nutritious lunch to help pay for missile production. And tnose mothers and babiesin the WIC program — they're giving up wholesomefood supplies so that Utah—Page 35 The Herald, its readers, syndicated columnists and cartoonists discuss vital issues Feedback my THE HERALD. Provo, we can ‘‘breathe life into emasculated armed forces.”’ The Department of Education is disbanding so that we can afford to replace our“aging bomberfleet.’’ We now realize that the defense contractors have been the real patriots through the lean years of defense spending. GE, Boeing, Thiokol, General Dynamics, Hercules, etc., have been strengthening American defensefor yearswith little reward. You're right. We must give them all the moneythey ‘‘need”’ to ‘‘meet any threat.’” We all know that more money means better results (except in education, social welfare, arts and humanrights). Thanks for reinforeing that notion. Rob Koch 686 S. 950 W. Provo The furor over Budget Director David Stockman’s remarks as reported in Atlantic Monthly haskilled his credibility with Congress and undermined President Reagan's economic program. But nothing has changed howour economygottoits current state, who was responsible for it and what must be doneto straighten things out. Stockman got into hot water with the president with publication of an article in Atlantic Monthly which quotes him as saying, among other things: — The administration's “supply side’ economics merely is a code word for the “trickle-down” theory of economics in which —— say tax breaks and other benefits for the wealthy eventually benefit all levels of society because of investmentsin savings and plant expansion and modernization. — President Reagan’s tax cutbill was an effort to find a politically acceptable way to drop the highest federal tax rate from 70 percentof taxable income to 50 percent. — Heis despairing of being able to balance the federal budget wihoutstill more budget cuts and a tax increase. Stockman first tried to say he made his remarks off the record. But even if that is true (and only he and writer William Greider know whether it is), Stockman did not deny the remarks attributed to him. Since the Democrats / CANT SéM 70 Bey ia OUT” have seized on Stockman’s apparent disillusionment and cynicism to intensify their attacks on the Reagan economic program, the public should keep somepertinentpoints in mind. — Two decadesofdeficit spending by congressional liberals who foundit easier to appease demandingconstituencies than manage the nation’s financial affairs prudently have given this nation a debt of more than $1 trillion. Interest payments onthat debt currently are $109 billion a year and comprise the third largest expenditure in the budget. Only defense and social welfare programs exceedit. — That burgeoning debt helps fuel the current record high interest rates. It also brings the government into the credit market where it soaks up money young couples want to buy new homesandindustries need for expansion and modernization of plants. — It maybegalling for some to see wealthy people get a tax break, but we used to have anidealin this country that a person could strive for success and keep the fruits of that labor. Otherwise whystrive? — The idea that heavily taxing the wealthy would give the middle-income taxpayer miraculous tax relief is a shopworn myth. If the government confiscated the entire income of everyone making more than $100,000 a year, it would run the government at current levels for less than three weeks. If ‘‘supply side’’ is another word for “trickle down,"’ so what? America has had two decades of spendthrift ‘flow-through’’ policies, of taxing productive citizens heavily and throwing the proceeds at every social problem. It’s obvious that no matter who is in the driver's seat, a failure to reverse that trend of penalizing the productive would be disastrous. The Democrats and liberals have been vocalin attacking Reaganomics but absolutely mute in saying how they would balance the budget, cut taxes and get governmentout of our lives. At least Reagan has made that commitment, and nowit is not a question of whether, but of how and when. Stockman may bedisillusioned and cynical, but one fact remains. The Democrats have had more than two decades to do something about the economyand they haven’t. Reagan has made a commitment and laid out a plan. After two decades of liberal deficit spending and bungling, they owe him the chance to make it work. Jack Anderson Afghanis Short of Dis By JACK ANDERSON WASHINGTON — The Russians have learned to their sorrow that the hardy tribesmen of Afghanistan are courageous and effective guerrilla warriors. But they have also, presumably, learned what my associate Peter Grant found out while traveling with the rebel forces that for weeks had been besieging the strategic crossroads town of Tamir: The tribesmen are hopelessly incapable of conducting conventional military operations. Partof the problem is the guerrillas’ drastic shortage of equipment. But perhaps the biggest trouble is thefierce independenceandprice of the freedom fighters themselves. Planning and coordination are almost totally absent; even rudimentary discipline is a rarity. Self-reliance and individual initiative are valuable commoditiesin a mountain ambush. They can be a fatal flaw in the siege ofa fortified town. Here’s what happened one day while my roving correspondent was outside Tamir: The 800-man Afghan Army garTison, with its 20 Soviet advisers and quantities of Russian tanks, artillery and ammunition, depended for its supplies on helicopters. They flew in a coupleof times a week, and each time they succeeded in landing and making their deliveries, the siege was extended for a few more days. With no anti-aircraft weapons beyond rifles and bazookas — their one captures Russian ground-to-air missile having been fired ineffectively the day Grant arrived — the guerrilla forces depended on mortars to attack the gunships when they landed, Yet after waiting for the helicopters for four days, the mortar unit was caught by surprise when the choppers finally showed up. One mortarposition hadn't been set up; another had no ammunition. Recoilless rifles were in one place; their rockets were in another. The reason for this confusion, apparently, was that the besieged garrison had sent out word that they wanted to discuss surrender terms. Since there was no central leadership among the four tribal groupsthat wereencircling the two, each individual Mujahidin evidently decided for himself whether the siege was overornot. The conference was ultimately held, but the negotiations ended abruptly when a rebel leader shot andkilled the Communist representative. Other examples my associate reported show theseriousnessof the Afghantribesmen’s lack of elementary military training: — “One day wewereabouttofire a mortar from a hidden position when I noticed two members of the group making a fire for tea. I pointed this out to the commander, and he angrily ordered the men to put outthe fire.’” — At one point, a 10-man unit as- ° |° signed to keep watch ona strategic road simply walked away without botheringto tell anyone. Fortunately, the Communists failed to exploit the situation. — ‘The Mujahidin often reminded me of a bunch of unruly schoolkids — whose teacher was at heart one of the boys. One day weintercepted a coded short-wave transmission from the Tamir garrison to Soviet headquarters in Gardez. One man was painstakingly transcribing it when another sneaked up behind him and poured water on his head. Everyone, including the commander, roared with laughter and the broadcast was forgotten.” — Supplies were pitifully short, Grant reported, especially munitions. “The rebels were limited to about 20 mortar rounds a day, hardly enough to pound the garrisoninto submission. Medical supplies were so low that the same syringes and needles were used over and over.” ’ Robert McDougall Utah Needs Prettier Plates I first became conscious of how boring Utah's license tags are a few years ago whenI wasdriving in the South. At a traffic light in downtown Jackson, Ms., a crowdof noisy black teen-agers stopped in the middle of the street and madea lot of fun of my Utahplates. “Utah — what's that?”’ oneyelled. A vision of Wyoming's greatplate with a horse in full flex and a cowboy riding high flashed through my mind. “If I had Wyoming plates those guys would be impressed,” I told myself That trip took me through 11 states. The further I got from Provo, the more interested people becamein mylicense plates. Those tags got meintointeresting conversations about Utah, religion, politics, and several about polygamy. Since so muchattention was being Plain black and white seems too spartan for the state with deserts, lakes, mountains and some of Lawmakers ordered a motto about five years ago. State Tax Commission Chairman David Duncan, whose province a plate mottois,is digging a deepset of ruts with some determined foot- tags sold each year would cost the state money so Duncanis justifying his procrastination on grounds of saving money. If the mottois left up to Duncan, the world's most spectacular slick dragging. rock formations, We are not the only state content with black and white, Texas plate: are the same. Texans have spent so Duncansays thelegislature didn’t set a deadline for complying withits direction and since he hasn't been pressured by legislators he has let the matter drop. After the legislature passed a law demanding a motto onplates in 1977, the tax commission ran a contest to find the best motto and picked ‘‘The Bestof the West.’’ The public turned the motto down becauseof its arrogance. “Becauseof all the public outery over the motto that wasselected, we just putit on the back burner,” said Duncan. The extra words on the 250,000 one-word motto ‘BeeUtahful.’’ If that's his best choice to date, perhaps it’s lucky for the state's drivers that the matter is not being pressed. 1 don't think too manypeople are cheaper than I am, but lowcaid be willing to pay the few extra centsit would cost for a really well-designed auto tag. I don’t meantherip-off prices they are charging for so cal- directed toward my numberplate I desperatley wanted one that said something good about our state. much time bragging about everythingin sightit is a relief they are modestontheir plates. But Utah's motto-less plates are unusual. Most states have a slogan, a picture, or both. Every timeoneof those Wyoming cars drives by sporting the bucking bronc I get an overwhelming desire to jump out of my own car and scratch a soaring seagul or an angry bee on my ownplates. It's not the legislature's fault he indicateshis favorite is the cutsie led vanity plates. If we are proud of our state, why don't we say so on the symbolof state we all drive around, and I don't mean that dumblittle beehive they put on someplatesinsteadof a period. |