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Show $ The Public Forum The Salt Lake Tribune, Thursday, March 30, 1978 9 Trilnine Readers Opinion F ew Hearts willing to do the work. Ail this added expense the growers will be passed on to the consumer, so we all lose. The problem is pretty well summed up by Krod J. Emery, director of the Federal Register, when he quotes this parable: It is like the two fellows in the hot air balloon who get lost in a cloud and, emerging, call down to a man on the ground, Where are we? The fellow calls back, In a hot air balloon. The answer, like a lot of regulations, is absolutely accurate but totally useless. Everyone needs to do their part to stop this useless increase in useless regulations by writing their congressman and letting him know of their dissatisfaction. KEVIN PETERSON Centerville by Editor, Tribune: Cats. Cats in cages. Sitting in litter boxes. Lying down on newspaper, backs against the concrete walls. Pressed against the wire doors, paws shooting out for contact. Homes? Kittens. Eager and bumbling. Dumb and staring, uncomprehending of environment. Lives to be chosen or ended in weeks. runs. InescapaDogs. Dogs in indoor-outdoble excrement. Constant racket. Piteous and yearning expressions. Love? Puppies. Groups of them: sniffing, playing, sleeping. Oblivious and trusting. Fates sealed by the dollar. This is what we do to lives we hold affection for? Overbreed? Abandon? Neglect? Have we j Forum Rules Farmer Tears Public Forum letters must he submitted exclusively to The Tribune and hear writers full name, signature and address. Names must he printed on political letters hut may he withheld for good reasons on others. Writers are limited to one letter every 19 days. Preference will he given to short, typewritten (double spaced) letters permitting nse of the writers true name. All letters are subject to condensation. Mail to the Public Forum, The Salt Lake Tribune, Box 867, Salt Lake City, L'tah, 84110. no conscience? What we purchase for enter- tainment and companionship annoys us with responsibility? I take no pride in our modernity. We think now only to escape from problems, not to solve them. We trust in God for that compassion and help that we, as creatures, will not offer to others less evolved. We are responsible. We are involved. Life is dependent upon the interrelation of respect, concern, and commitment. Please, let us employ these in our homes. The Humane Society can contain but so many of our living errors and there are but few hearts to save them. DENA BARRY IVTNS Ludicrous Land Bill Editor, Tribune: I am in complete agreement with Tooele County Wildlife Federation President Gerald Gordons opposition to Sen. J ake Gams bill asking for federal land in Utah to be transferred to the state. This is just another example of how ludicrous Gams Neanderthal approach to modem day societal problem appears to be. Im su. . that If Jake had his way, not only would this Mil become law, but a logical extension of his philosophy would be to blacktop all of the land that ne seeks. Just think how neat and orderly that would look, and how well it would prepare ua for future business developments, Can you Imagine a beautiful, ultra-modeshopping center In the middle of Bryce Canyon National Park? Afte; all, according to Jake, what's good for General Bull moose Is good for the country. Do Utahns have any idea how embarrassing Gams prehistoric views are, when they are presented to a national audience? Although very few people outside the state even know who he is, nevertheless it has to hurt a little for outsiders to view our state through his simplistic statements. Thank goodness the chances of even meriting consideration for such a ridiculous proposal are nil. Can you imagine a senator from New York or Massachusetts saying, hmmm, I see Utah wants to take over all federal land in their state. I'll have to give that some serious consideration." m TOM WALSH Sandy Inflationary Reform Editor, Tribune: In January the Carter administration issued proposals for tax reform that will greatly affect each employee receiving benefits. Each of us needs to let our congressman and senators know how we feel. The House Ways and Means Committee will be conducting hearings April 1. Our letters must reach them by then. Some proposed changes that will adversely affect us are: (1) Our retirement plans will be greatly reduced in benefits or dropped altogether. The government red tape and ERISA laws have caused enough problems, now this. (2) The group life medical and disability insurance that we all count on will cost so much that employers will not be able to afford to offer it to employees. Each employee will have to take coverage whether or not he wants it. There are only so many dollars and by paying for those who dont need it, employers will have to cut way back on programs of those who do. The new legislation would impose a heavier tax on all and provide excessive benefits to the lower paid in order to give adequate benefits to in the higher. Anyone who is even a part-owna business is going to feel the sting of this proposal, especially the small businessman. He will not be able to receive benefits offered owners or employees of a large corporation. If this proposal is passed, an employer will have to curtail present benefits, not add to them in order to upgrade, and discontinue the plan or pass the increased cost on to the consumer. There goes inflation again. er CALVIN CRAGUN Useless Rules Editor, Tribune: There are too many ruies and regulations in government. Who needs them or even wants them? Each year as many as 5,000 pages are added to the Code of Federal Regulation which already contains 73,000 pages shelf. and take up a As a businessman, these regulations cost me time and money and dont increase production one unit. For instance, the U S. Department of Labor has recently made it harder to hire foreign pickers In hope of providing employment for American citizens. According to Time Magazine (Nov. 7, 1977), American citizens dont want this work as evidenced when a $10,000 recruitment drive was made and only attracted 75 job applicants. Only 15 reported to work and all of them quit within a week. Most pickers can earn $1,500 for the six weeks harvest. In order for the growers from 10 east coast states to have their apples picked, they had to appear before five state district courts, two U.S. courts of appeals, and Supreme Court Justice William Brennan before they could hire foreign pickers who were ot ) i Editor, Tribune: Are the farmers who are demanding parity for their farm products being realistic? If the prices paid for their goods is supported at parity, then they will be paid, no, encouraged, to produce surpluses and, if, by chance, or design, they should then demand will force the prices up. This is a nice situation, one in which any or merchant or manufacturer who over-buy- s would like to be placed. For, under those circumstances, the risk of doing business would be removed for him, too. Instead of this artificial situation, all price supports and controls for agricultural production should be removed and the market allowed to float or, in other words, respond naturally to the effects of supply and demand. If the farm or industry wants to over-plalet them pay the consequences Instead of burdening the taxpayers further. Besides, do these farmers really lose as much in their work as they would have us believe or are these losses the result of bookkeeping gymnastics? How do they manage to borrow enough to buy brand new, luxuriously appointed, expensive tractors? Wouldnt the banks be forced to seek more efficient operators for these farms if they were really being so poorly run? I suspect, instead, that if our household accounts were kept the same way, wed all be ready to go on welfare, driving a shiny new car to pick up our checks. RALPH P. SCHAMEL under-produc- e, over-produc- nt over-produ- our oar. llii Ikmim. or Iootl. Cheater, Chieler at All Editor, Tribune: I would like to respond to Betty C. Scotts criticism of people who pay $35 for personalized license plates (Forum, March 22). Perhaps Ms. Scott Is being judgemental without cause. Did It ever occur to her that those people she so adamantly condemns for having personalized license plates might well have the means, the desire, and also the willingness to contribute hundreds or even thousands of their dollars to various charities and other philanthropic endeavors? Did it ever occur to her that in income the wealthy and the above-averag-e frequently are called upon, both by taxation and by their own conscience, to give amounta far beyond the average? Because a person spends $35 for license plates does not mean that that person will not simultaneously give to charity and worthwhile causea. They are certainly not mutually exclusive. If people can derive a little joy from personalized license plates, why not let them do so wlthhout subjecting them to value Judgme-nents- ? DR. SIDNEY K. SNOW True Discrimination Editor, Tribune ; The letter by Linda Semllng entitled Bankrupt Social Security (Tribune Forum, March 20), deserves front page space. I dont think there is a taxpayer In the privately employed sector uho would not leap at the opportunity to drop Social Security and establish his own retirement plan. Employers, I am sure, would likewise enjoy the challenge to use their share of the contribution to Increase jobs, reduce unemployment and expand the economy. The federal government has done a marvelous job In eliminating discrimination In almost every area of our lives. However, we, the privately employed, must suffer under the burden of Social Security while federal employees may choose a better, more sound plan. This, In my opinion, is discrimination in its true form. In a recent letter to Utahs congressional delegation, I asked, Why is this discrimination allowed? The only reply received did a superb job of restating the question without addressing a solution. Maybe it is time for The Tribune, with its more influential position, to support the privately employed taxpapery In an endeavor to correct this discriminatory practice. ED PERSONS Granger g Y rt now in a lower lax bracket P Everyones Out to Feather Their Nest By Ernest Conine The Los Angeles Times Bert Lances latest escapade, involving an allegedly illegal takeover bid for a large bank holding company in Washington, D C., reminded me of some unfinished business. Two months ago I wrote a column describing America as a nation of cheats, as the land of rip-ofand describing how millions of otherwise-honeAmericans pilfer from their employers, chisel on their income taxes, collect unemployment benefits to which they are not legally entitled, or otherwise Indulge In petty fraud. The column obviously struck a nerve. A mountain of letters poured in, including quite a few from people who admitted that they were among the cheats. But one note of criticism and of appeared again and again. Why, tt was asked, did I not have more to say about the rip-ofperpetrated by Big Business, Big Government and Big Labor? A gentleman from New Mexico, for example, discussed some of the very real inequities in the tax laws, and concluded: . . . I will personally screw the government any and every time that I think I have a reasonable chance of getting away with it. After all, my government screws me every day of the year." Tend to Rationalize The confession was a perfect example of the that people point made by another reader who cheat tend to rationalize their actions on the grounds that they themselves are being cheated, and are therefore entitled to get even. This is a game that anybody can play, since all of us feel victimized by one evil force or another. The trouble is that if we all use such an excuse to cheat and chisel, this will end up being a rotten country for everybody. Unfortunately, however, it does seem to tie true that such rationalizations are, made easy by the bad example set by all too many members of the leadership class by the bankers, corporate executives, government officials and educatiors who do a lot of corner-cuttin- g themselves That brings us back to Bert Lance, the budget director and close friend of President Carter who resigned last year as the result of criticism that, among other things, he benefited from thousands of dollars In interest-fre- e overdrafts on the bank of which he had been chairman. In defending himself at the time, Lance argued that such practices were common in the an allegation that industry banking business spokesmen strenuously denied. But, lo and behold, just this month a federal inquiry Into the subject concluded with a finding that bank insiders do indeed benefit from special treatment. Overdraw Checking Accounts Of the 13,000-odbanks covered in the survey, more than 4,000 said they had allowed bank officers, major stockholders, directors or members of their families to overdraw their checking accounts without paying interest. In 102 cases, the rubber checks exceeded $100,000. About 15 percent of the banks admitted that fs fs d rip-ofl- s. As confirmed by a recent management study, most big corporations offer a mouthwatering array of perquisites to their top executives. These range from free physical examinations and company cars to the use of yachts, company planes and hunting lodges for personal pleasure as well as for business. There are instances where, in the words of an 7iosr March 30, 1953 Salt Lake Citys chances of competing" for teachers in tin bustling regional employment mart had deteriorated considerably Sunday, as new' statistics sharply underlined the citys low rank in teacher wage scales. A survey of minimum and maximum salaries paid classroom teachers during the current school year in 30 cities of eight mountain states shows Salt Lake City ranking 31st in the wages paid beginning teachers holding bachelor degrees and 27th in minimum salaries paid educators with masters degrees. The figures, forwarded to Dr. M. Lynn Bennion, city superintendent of schools, h Arthui E. Artiesen, director of research for the school system, show local salaries for beginning teachers $243 below the regional average and $542 a year under Tucson. g enforcement officer for the Securities and Exchange Commission, corporate managers use their companies as their own private piggy banks. In some cases, company funds are used to maintain executives homes and yachts. Corporate managers sometimes can obtain loans from their company treasuries on very favorable terms. There have even been cases where repayment was forgiven. As long as tax rules are not violated, such goings-o- n apparently are not illegal. Most executives would argue that, within limits, such incentives are not even improper. Setting Good Example They obsviously are not going to give up a good thing for an abstract reason like setting a at least good example for those less blessed not voluntarily. President Carters proposal for a crackdown on the tax deductibility of many executive perks probably has more public appeal than businessmen would like to believe, however. and The fact Is that to the general public employees who particularly to executive inevitably find out about them perks reek of injustice. Such a perception may or may no, be fair but it provides a handy rationale for the employee who steals company tools, cheats on his sick leave or pads his expense account outrageously. The cheat and chiseler who blames some-Ixxl- y elses bad example for his own wrongdoing is still a cheat and a chiseler. It is probably true, though, that it would help if the movers and shakers in our society were to clean up (heir own act. (Copyright) rank-and-fi- le Hcully Work! Another Great Engagement Ad Through a Lonely-Hear- ts By David Haldane Special to The Los Angeles Times LONG BEACH, Calif. Because my other sources of income are inconsistent, I work part time as a classified-a- d taker at a local newspaper. Im a fairly young man, and most of my fellow workers are women in their middle years. But, except for a few' minor cultural differences, we get along fine at least until someone makes a snide remark about the jerks who buy lonely-heart- s ads in tiie column. Then I explode, personal because thats how I met my wife. People dont believe me when 1 deny having placed the ad myself. But God knows I don't have any reason to split hairs now that Ive decided to come out ot the closet with my story. The literal truth is that my mother placed the ad. She plumed one day to tell me what shed done. What did you do. Mom? 1 put you an ad in the paper. the charge of contempt, because he has persistently reported proceedings of the committee when in executive session. Coupled with this threat was another to censure Representative Leatherwood of Utah, on the assumption that he had furnished The Tribune corresjxm-den- t with facts. But before the threat of vengeance could lx carried out the momlier who made it was so busy defending himscli against a much graver charge that he forgot or abandoned his original purpose. Ariz. they frequently waived overdraft charges for public officials. And many, many banks reixrted making loans at unusually low interest rates to insiders of other banks with which they had close dealings. The human tendency to feather ones own nest, when one has the power to do so, obviously is not limited to bankers. It shows up in Congress, whose members have voted themselves salaries and fringe benefits that enable them to live in higher fashion than 99 percent of the people they represent. It shows up in labor unions, where pension funds in some cases have been used to make loans for the personal enrichment of the union leaders and their friends and relatives. And, of course, it shows up in the executive suites of our major corporations. Big companies have recently been brought to account for illegal political contributions in their country, and for bribes to officials of foreign governments. Some Sins Are Legal In terms of debilitating effects on the nation's moral climate, however, some of the worst sins committed by corporate executives are actually legal, and thus cannot fairly be described as David. she said, her immigrant's accent unusually thick, promise me you wont tc niad. The Wa It Was Here are briefs of news in The Salt Lake Tribune 25, 50 and 100 years ago today: March 30, 1878 Marks of the flood are Cm' JOTTINGS quite visible in the lower portion of the city. The storm has interrupted telegraph and rail communications East and West. Rhubarb pics are now in fashion. The slices will grow as the season advances and pretty soon they will light on the cheap hashery table and last all summer, disputing the room with the industrious flies. We have known some people to hanker after rhubarb pies. The silver certificates now being discussed in Congress will be printed in the shape of bank notes, and being receivable for all public dues, including customs duties, will perform all the duties of money. They will, therefore, be an additional currency, of equal value with greenbacks, for they will be based on silver, and be convertible on presentation either into silver bullion or silver dollars. March 30, 1928 WASHINGTON The house irrigation committee went wholly mad today mad in it cleared its table of two ways bills by favorably reportingthe last three on Its calendar and then. In a fit of temper, threatened to drag the Washington correspondent of The Tribune before the bar of the house of representatives or before the committee on jood nuw. Leel st Harmless Indulgence iNow flu 1 knew at at once what she meant, since for some time shed been fretting that her son with literary pretensions had no job and. much more serious, hadnt yet married. The ad read: Young writer, 2ti. socks bubbly spontaneous female for fun and companionship." More Amused Than Angry At first I was more amused than angrv after all. the deed was done. But its importance hit me around (i:30 the next morning when I was awakened by the first of many phone calls. Hey, demanded a female voice, "are you the guy with the ad in the paper?" What if I am? I replied, off balance. full-tim- e after day. Those weeks were delightful, but enervating. Id never have guessed how many lonely women live in Southern California: somehow Id thought that only men become lonely here, since most women I knew could always get a date. Yet here they were, calling me in droves. One young caller phoned three times, from three different cocktail lounges, to announce that slicd Just run away from an overbearing mother and would I care to join her for a drink? Another woman told me that tier canary talked to her; still another said that she heard voices at night, and a third, who conceded to being in tier 5tis. wanted to discuss the 'in.r points of ballroom dancing Ami so it went, day The only way that 1 would get any sleep was to take the phone off the hook, which Id do when returning from a night on the town. That ad, as you can imagirie, landed me a lot ot dates. To avoid chaos. 1 devised a simple questionnaire for use whenever the phone rang. I asked each woman a series of basic questions, took her phone number and told her that I might be getting back in touch. Every night for those two sweetly grueling weeks I went out with a different woman. A few were interesting; one was the most exciting woman Id met in my life my wife. Dawn. It happened like this. Well into the second week I got a call from someone named Louise who called in response to the ad. We chatted pleasantly for half an hour or so. and then she announced. Listen, I know someone whod love to meet you. I think. But for heavens sake dont tell her about the ad or she'll never go out with you." Agreed to Blind Date In due course, and with a little encouragement from Louise. Dawn agreed to a blind date. It was love at first sight for both of us. Some lour months later Dawn learned the truth alsiut how wed met. One evening at her apartment we were reading the newspaper together when she started giggling. Listen to and proceeded to read this." Dawn said ad aloud a particularly eccentric lonely-heart- s Irom tiie classifieds. Dawn." 1 said, choosing my words careful- ly. there's something you ought to know Later she told me that this had been one ol came closer to the worst nights of her life. leaving you than I ever had since, she said. "I 1 felt humiliated. I realized you could have been the Boston Strangler, for all I know. anybody It was a terrible shock. That night was a turning point in our relationship, a kind of cosmic reckoning. You could have been anybody. In fac both of us could have been anybody, and were something that wed never admitted to before. Even now I still sense the blow to Dawn's pride. Yet meeting through an ad wasnt all that different from meeting at a party or a bus stop. Not long ago took her order met the woman who actually an event that she remembered, because it seemed awfully weird for a mother to be calling in that ad for her son. I for just smiled and thanked her introducing me to my wife. 1 |
