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Show "1 18A The Salt lake Tribune Clean, Lean, Mean" Sunday, July 24, 1983 V Measure Would Collect Child Support at Top By Judy Mann Washington Post Service WASHINGTON Rep. Marge Roukema, has come up with a bill that could revolutionize the American way of divorce by fundamentally changing the child support payment system. She describes her bill as clean, lean and mean. It is all of that, and perhaps more: it might prevent child support payments and visiting privileges to the noncustodial parent from being used as weapons in bitter divorce fights. Roukemas proposal would require the states to set up mandatory systems under which child support would be withheld from a persons wages beginning when a court decree ordering payment is issued. Past-du- e child support would also be withheld from wages, and any fines or collection fees for past-du- e support would be levied against the deadbeat parent. The states also would be required to institute ways of withholding funds from income other than wages, and to enter into reciprocity agreements with other Tax Cuts Hurt Badly The Great University of California in Deep Trouble Wada Special to the Los Angeles Times As an alumnus and regent of the University of California, I have a personal stake in seeing that the preeminence of the university is maintained. But all Californians have a vital stake in keeping the university strong. For more than a century the university has educated California's brightest and ablest students. It carries out research prostudents into the education pipeline at an By Yori grams that expand knowledge and lead to g the improvement of the health and of people throughout the world. Within California the economy depends heavily on UCs contributions to the states agricultural industry, to the microelectronics industry, to health care and advances in energy and resource conservation to name but a few. But the UC system is in trouble. In recent years Californias emphasis on tax reductions has meant major cuts in the universcuts that are forcing UC to itys budget take actions that severely affect the quality of its teaching and research missions and that could erode our traditional commitment to education. The universitys ability to provide reasonably priced education to all qualified students is threatened by inadequate state support. This is particularly serious at a time when Californias demographics are changing rapidly. It is critically important to ensure that students of all backgrounds have access to a university education. To accommodate budget cuts, UC has had to cut academic programs and reduce enrollments, primarily in graduate-leve- l programs. Stu55 dent fees have been increased sharply percent in just the last two years. New increases appear imminent. I oppose tuition increases and, as a regent, will fight to keep fees as low as possible. The future of the state will depend on educated and productive people; California cannot allow the university to become accessible only to the financially comfortable. students must be Minority and able to afford the education that they need to become scientists, engineers, doctors, teachers and other professionals. It is in their best interest, and it is in the state's. We also must continue our efforts to get well-bein- low-inco- Sharon Rowe early stage. UC is working actively with junior and senior high schools to see that students become eligible and are adequately prepared for admission to our campuses. I expect positive results from these early outreach affirmative-actio- n programs directed toward serving Latino and black students, who are underrepresented in the university. In addition, the university must keep trying to recruit more women and members of minority groups for our graduate programs, faculty and administration. The most adverse effect of recent budget reductions has been on UC faculty salaries, which have not kept pace with inflation and now lag about 18.5 percent behind those at other major institutions. This disparity, cou- Yori Wada, executive director of the San Francisco YMCA, is the new chairman of the University of California 's Board of Regents. pled with the high cost of housing in California, makes it difficult to recruit and retain quality faculty. This year at our UC San Diego campus, for example, more than half the people offered faculty positions in engineering, physics and chemistry turned them down. Our campuses are also losing some of their best faculty to institutions that can of- fer salary and benefit packages that the University of California cannot possibly match. At Berkeley some professors have received offers 60 percent to 150 percent above their current compensation at UC. The loss of top faculty cuts even deeper because these are the ones who attract other bright young faculty and students to teach and study at UC. Campuses with strong academic departments and programs also benefit their surrounding communities by attracting businesses and companies. Californias recent failure to persuade MCI Corp. to locate here instead of in Texas can be blamed partly on this states lack of commitment to higher education. Budget cutbacks have also caused seri- ous problems for UCs facilities. The university cannot recruit and retain fop research- ers or continue to carry out quality instructional and research programs in badly deteriorating or crowded buildings and laboratories. Yet state funding for capital outlay and maintenance of facilities has been minimal for several years. The university estimates that it will need $4 billion over the next 10 years for building and renovation projects. UC must keep up with its students changing interests and with the state's economic needs. For example, enrollments in engineering and computer science have increased dramatically in recent years. These enrollment shifts to and science disciplines require building modifications or additions to provide space for teaching laboratories. Also, rapid technological developments in the biological sciences require new kinds of sophisticated building systems and equipment. Funds are needed for new types of instructional equipment as well as for the physical expansion that will enable the university to prepare students for new scientific and fields that are vital to To replace Californias economic obsolete instructional equipment will cost a staggering $221 million, and more than $18 million will be needed annually for future purchases. This is only a partial list of the universitys many needs. All Californians must renew their commitment to keep the University of California great and to provide the support necessary to sustain it. The stakes are too high and we have too much to lose to do otherwise. well-bein- g. Common Carrier Newcomer; Come to Terms With S.L. Reality By Sharon Rowe When the plane came over the Wasatch, and I saw Salt Lake glimmering out of the green valley, I knew. It was home. Unfortunately, I wasnt on the ground long before I found that just as home usually does, this one has its problems. I believe, my first taxi ride was the one in which the gruff, aging driver, having been cut off in traffic by a passenger carrying van announced loudly, Damn Mor mons! Here I began to suspect-alwas not contentment in "Peaceful Valiev. My first thought was, "Is this ever rude! How does this fellow know that Im not a Mormon, myself?" He could tell," he said, "that we were from out of town. Good guess, on the way from the airport. And, how, I wondered, "does he know that person in the van is Mormon?" I began to look suspiciously at all cars with that little beehive on the plates. From encounters with hotel personnel and waitresses, to name a few, I soon discovered that some people open right up when they hear you are from out of town. They tell you everything from what is wrong with the liquor laws to how their children are mis l Editor's Note: Today's Common Carrier article was written by Mrs. Sharon Rowe, 2350 E. 3700 South, Salt Lake City, Utah 84109. She is a housewife who moved to Salt Lake City with her family from northwestern Ohio in 1981. The views expressed in the article are her own. Opinion expressed in Common Currier do not necessarily reflect those of The Salt Lake Tribune or the Common Carrier Board of lay editors. Articles in this department are selected by the lay board of editors which operates independently of Tribune editorial and reportorial policies. The Common Carrier board, representing a cross section of the community, is composed of James E. Dooley, Salt Lake County coordinator for equal opportunity; Dr. David Mulder, A treated in school. I suppose, I wont leave you guessing if I say all these dissatisfied folks lay their complaints on the doorstep of one group in this valley. As we were contemplating a move here, we soon began doing a great deal of traveling about the Salt Lake area. So the next thing I noticed, after the unusual number of people walking around restaurants with small, brown, paper bags, was the little ditches running next to and frequently across the road. They made the car bounce up and down, and my teeth chomp together. Very unusual, in my opinon, and I felt I had been discomforted, so of course, I knew who must be responsible. It was inevitable, I supposed, that I would soon meet my first Mormon. I was terrified. You will note that in a very short period of time my attitude toward Utah was undergoing some radical changes. I had begun to develop apprehension. I started imagining I could tell Mormons from at a glance. So, I naturally started assuming other people could, as quickly, tell I was a Non. Then I started attaching all sorts of meaning to every glance and gesture psychologist; Mrs. Deanna Clark, civic worker and past president of the Utah League of Women Voters; Kenneth D. Robinson, business representative for the International Association of Machinists, Lodge 1020 and John F. Stephens, a retired Army colonel. The board seeks articles from all segments of the community. Articles need not be professionally prepared, but should be less than four pages of doublespaced, typed copy. They should pertain to the economic, political or social g of the well-bein- Intermountain Area. Articles should be timely, have a central theme, promote dialogue and be challenging. Material should be nailed to Common Carrier, The Salt Lake Tribune, P.O. Box 867, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110. made in my direction. This went on for sometime, until I began to realize that some of those people thought I was Mormon! EEEEGad! I come from a very clannish small town in the east, where us oldtimers dont bother with who have been there only a mere 20 or 30 years, and that colors my impression of Salt Lake City. First, about those liquor laws. They have just about made a teetotaller out of me. Must be effective, but had you thought of a special tax on small, brown sacks. Johnny-come-latelie- s, In school, I think my children are getting along reasonably well. They like their Mormon schoolmates and enjoy the fact that they are mostly serious about their school I wasnt exactly dework and lighted, however, when I found that the question of the year was going to be Are you LDS? None the less, Mormons have as much right as anybody else to preserve their family values by exercising control over their childrens choice of activities and companions. Also, it is true that children, whose parents are friends, and who engage in group activities together are more likely to be friendly inside that group than out. Besides, in some large families there are so many children of just about the same age, that the children dont look outside the family for companions. However, if you would like to make a lifelong enemy in Chicago, Detroit, or any other place I can think of, the best way is to say you wont have your children play with his. People will overlook little transgressions like driving your car into their garage in a place where there is no door, but never, never discriminating against their children. Here, I have met people whose hands shake and whose voices tremble with rage as they expalin, "Here we are the minority. They counsel all manner of ways to assert status and demand my my rights. Also, as I am a woman, I hear lectures about Mormon women. "Boring. Always pregnent. Pushed around by men. No more than vassals, trapped in illegal plural marriages." I have met a number of Mormon women and not one was the least bit boring, or pregnant as far as I could tell. Furthermore, they seemed to think with great clarity and on a variety of subjects What's more, they were as happy as anybody Ive ever met and their hands didnt shake and their voices didnt tremble. If you talk to some transplants to this area you get the idea that perhaps someone has called a group of people here to find out well-behave- what is wrong with this place and fix it. I remember the crowd of newcomers, who swelled the population of my hometown. They moved there, they said, because they liked the place. However, as soon as they were residents all they talked about was how much better this or that was elsewhere. After they had changed that little town into a place like the one they had moved from, they didnt like it anymore, and they descended upon another hapless, little community not five miles away. I have heard some poeple say that what we need here is to drag Salt Lake City screaming and kicking into the 1980s. It is supposed to be in the 1950's now. What I wonder is, Do people in the 1980s really have their heads in a better place, or is it just different? If you keep your ears open it wont be long before you will hear someone say, this (Salt Lake City) is not reality. They mean that the social climate is not what they believe exists everywhere else in the country. I agree with them, this is not reality in Dallas or Chicago. However, it is reality in Salt Lake City. And maybe this is what the fuss is all about. M J v v- states so support could be withheld from wages of parents who move out of state. Wage withholding would not be a measure ordered by the courts after months or years of delinquency and court appearances by the parents. Support would be withheld from a persons paycheck before he or she ever sees it, and, under Roukema's bill, sent to the custodial parent through the existing state agencies that track down delinquent parents. "If we institute withholding from the date of the court decree, a lot of the superstructure both the probation officers and the social workers and the attendant problems that come with garnishment and so forth is eliminated, says last-ditc- h Why get child support enmeshed in all the ill feelings that are tangential in divorce decrees and make the children the victims? she says. Roukema secured administration back- ing last week for a major policy change in which federal child support collection muscle would be extended to all custodial parents, not just those who end up on welfare. The administration has proposed an ambitious plan to reward states that do a good job of collecting and to punish, by withholding federal funds, those that do not. The administration plan requires mandatory withholding after two months delinquency. At a congressional hearing last week, Roukema argued against the waiting period. "Why should the custodial parent wait two months or more before any support is received? she asked. Further, by the time the system works, months pass. The bills do not stop coming in, the chijdren still need to eat and be clothed. a Rep. Carroll A. Campbell Jr., member of the House subcommittee that is considering the legislation, says he is concerned about the stigma that mandatory withholding might attach to those who are willing to pay. His bill would make wage h withholding mandatory only after a delinquency. He also would require the states to notify credit bureaus when people are in arrears and to withhold income tax refunds from delinquent parents. Last year, the federal government collected $166 million from the tax refunds of delinquent parents whose children were on welfare. Only 35 percent of the 8.4 million women bringing up children with an absent father received any child support payment in 1981. and only 22 percent received full payment, according to the Census Bureau. A recent Department of Education study found that children of absent fathers did poorly in school, in part because of economic deprivation, and it recommended stricter sanctions against nonpayment of child support. Child support payments have been, for a great many parents, voluntary, and as the data shows, a great many of them havent volunteered. Their failure has plunged hundreds of thousands of households into poverty, and prompted a bipartisan congressional drive for reform initiated by Rep. Barbara B. Kennelly, the Congressional Caucus on Womens Issues, and Senate staffers working on the Economic Equity Act. Mandatory deduction would go a long way toward reform, whether it begins with the separation decree or the first delinquency. In New York City, where it goes into effect after three delinquencies, it has increased collections by 50 percent. Withholding child support from wages would place child support in the same category as state and federal taxes and Social Security payments. It is not a voluntary commitment, any more than any of these are. It's a legal obligation. two-mont- Bernstein on Words Preposition at end. Your grammar teacher. Miss Thistlebottom, may have told you that a preposition was a bad word to end a sentence with. Up to a point she may have known what she was talking about. But there are more exceptions to the rule than she dreamed of. The rule traces back to Latin, a language that most modern writers are strangers to. And it is a rule that can well be done away with. As H.W. Fowler says, The fact is that the remarkable freedom enjoyed by English is putting its prepositions late ... is an important element in the flexibility of the language. A letter from Spencer B. Downing of Radnor, Pa., has raised the question. The people who insist on the rule do not alw.ays know about what they are talking. They do not know for what rules are. And it makes one wonder to what they are up. Sometimes, it is true, placing the preposition at the end makes for a weak sentence. Example: German is not the best language to write poetry in. school Kissinger to head panel in search of peace News Item in Central America r |
