| Show o gait gakf gfihmc Sunday September 11 1988 Section a Tribune Editorials rage 20 Common Carrier Letters Demagoguery of Election Year Hides Possible Sanction Hurt Those South African sanction bills Congress seem to have evolved from that dubious theory of problem-solvinthat says “do someit's if even wrong" The proposed thing sanctions which would remove US business investment from South Africa and impose a near total trade embargo would certainly “do something" to register this country's repugnance with apartheid However considerable reason exists to believe they are wrong Imposition of sanctions raise serious risk that they would inflict a lot of hardship on the very people they are intended to help the millions of disenfranchised black South Africans who make up the bulk of the nation’s work force Loss of the United States as a trading party would have a substantial negative impact on South Africa’s international trade The United States for example is the destination of 154 percent of South Africa’s exports amounting in 1984 to about $14 billion at today’s exchange rates In any nation a 15 percent loss of exports is going to hurt But in one where blacks and coloreds make up 78 percent of the population and consequently because of the strictures of apartheid constitute the bulk of its work force the economic hurt done by any sanctions is going to fall mightily on this already disadvantaged group Additionally as noted repeatedly by Reagan administration spokesmen the sanction could very well prove hurtful to a peace process that holds considerable promise of ending the war in Angola along with expediting the independence of South West Africa or Namibia objecNegotiations on this tive are now under way in Brazzavile the Congo and administration spokesmen have openly worried that congresnow before g blue-coll- ar still-tenuo- tw'o-fol- d sional action mandating sanctions against South Africa could very well upset these talks Besides gaining Namibian indepen- US-nurture- d dence the talks could readily bring about the withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola South Africa has already pulled its troops out of Angola and Namibia demonstrating a considerable amount of good faith movement toward accomplishing the objectives of the Brazzaville talks This effort however is probably being placed in jeopardy by a Congress that in all political reality seeks to make some points with its constituency rather than actually imposing sanctions on South Africa The press of time this election year makes passage of a sanction bill unlikely While the US House has passed its version of sanctions the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is still working on a sanctions bill And there is less than a month left before Congress is scheduled to adjourn to enable members’ unfettered travel along the campaign trail Clearly the primary motivation behind the congressional South African sanctions effort can be found largely in domestic political considerations an effort aimed at gamering votes from among that large group of American voters to whom apartheid is anathema rather than any realistic hope of actually imposing them Ignoring the very real possibility and punitive sancthat the tions against South Africa proposed in the legislation is most likely to encourage resistance to change in South Africa than promote a rapid end to apartheid supporters of sanctions go after votes without thoughtfully considering the possible hurt their enactment could produce — Further economic devastation of South Africa's black population and — Jeopardizing the year-plu- s progress made by US negotiators in an effort to restore peace to Angola and independence in Namibia In short it is demagoguery in its rawest form vote-gettin- wide-rangin- g g Builds the When it was reported that the Soviet Union might have lost communication with one of its unmanned Mars probes a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry demonstrated a gift for understatement more like that traditionally attributed to the British Declining to comment directly on the Mars probe reports Vadim Perfilyev noted "This is not an easy time for our " space people Indeed it hasn’t been The reported loss of signal from the Phobos probe comes on the heels of the crisis involving Soyuz TM-- when a Soviet and an Afghan cosmonaut successfully landed their craft 24 hours late after computer failure twice aborted reentry tnes With Abdul Ahad Mohmand the first Afghan in space and his Soviet crewmate Vladimir Lyakhov safely back on Earth one very notable aspect of the whole incident in contrast to the reticence of Mr Perfilyev was the candor the Soviets demonstrated in disclosing their harrowing episode Soviet news outlets seemed exceptionally anxious to let the world know of the plight of their spacemen Accounts were promptly broadcast on Soviet radio stations and were given quick and prominent display on the nation's nightly television programs Perhaps it is another aspect of Mikhail Gorbachev's "glasnost" policies that effort to bring greater openness to 5 Soviet life and affairs It is in stark contrast to former times when reports of Soviet space mishaps were delayed and even when released were limited to the barest of details In the case of Soyuz TM-from the moment the two cosmonauts began havfrom oring trouble with their bit details were readily available not only to the Soviet public but to news agencies around the world Americans who watched evening newscasts knew Lyakhov and Mohmand were in difficulty and that their supplies of oxygen and food were running low When those same Americans picked up their newspapers the next morning they learned the cosmonauts’ third try 5 re-ent- ever-prese- Usually it was an unsatisfactory procedure There's nothing wrong with a good debate Let a moderator toss out the Questions keep track of time limits and when necessary gertlv move the proceedings along By late September with the campaign in full swing the major issues will either through rtavp been identified obvious or mention omissir n previous 7n impartial moderator should hm little dffinilty eliciting response on the important presidential topics from th (wo ron'rnde rs ( rin‘m airrmd at the press - fu i- Non-Vot- Route e Salary Gets the Greatest Scrutiny Tax-Pai- d By Margery Elfin Special to The Washington Post Americans have very ambivalerJ attitudes about compensation for public servants The — on recent shamefaced vote — or non-vot- e the congressional pay raise brought 3 the fore a number of questions about the popular view of the worth of public employees The public has had a fairly consistent record of looking with disfavor on raises for people who are paid with tax dollars no matter what services they perform yet it is singularly unenvious of people who earn huge amounts of money in the private sector Knowing this Congress was naturally reluctant to go on record with a pay raise vote so it ducked the issue didn't vote and through a parliamentary maneuver was still able to get its raise What is there about working for a government that equates with working cheap’ There is nothing elsewhere in the economy that shows hostility toward big earners Sports stars and ordinary players rock stars and entertainers receive salaries that might seem excessive to the average American but nobody blinks Auto executives and Wall Street junior traders have incomes far beyond what any government employee could hope to earn and no one seems outraged by the fact The story often told about Sen Edward Kennedy's first campaign makes the point Kennedy with no work experience and little experience of anything that might be considered preparation for the job of US senator was at a plant gate to greet the morning shift Shaking hands with workers as they entered he was stopped short when a worker said “Mr Kennedy I've heard you've never worked a day in your life" — long pause — “and you haven’t missed a thing” Margery Elfin is an associate professor of political science at Hood Coliege When I teach a course on Congress I ask students whether they have any objections to the huge amounts of money some recording artists make They say no But when faced with the question of a congressional pay raise they are nearly unanimous in their criticism In explanation they tell me that it is their decision to purchase a record thereby enriching the rock star but that the congressional pay raise is Everyone's tax dollar is taken They do not perceive the issue as having anything to do with social value or the common good In judging the worth of certain jobs to the community most people would rate police firefighters and teachers as crucial to the and survival of the populace Yet these groups are forced to plead and often to battle for higher pay There's a missing connection somewhere in the public mind about services performed and rewards received Somehow doctors lawyers and bankers are well-bein- g be well off policemen firemen supposed and teachers are not There is no logic to it Some people have a convoluted notion of equality that directs their thinking in this regard If they engage the professional services of a law7er or doctor the price is negotiated and they as private individuals pay the price If public servants were to receive substantial raises many taxpayers would feel disadvantaged in exerting control over workers whose services they might or might not use There is no concept of the public interest ift this way of thinking The political perspective is as narrow as this: if I don't directly benefit I won t pay This is a standard argument on school taxes for those who don’t use public schools The public need for education safety and a healthy environment is not considered a private responsibility The people who perform these tasks for us are paid grudgingly Accordingly private goods are valued over the public good and the people who produce it In economic terms people evidently see no relation between escalating costs in private services and resultant public costs— the price of consumer goods for example inflated by high legal and advertising costs which corporations pass on to consumers Faced with an extreme hypothetical choice I try to force students to reconsider their positions Imagine a city without police and sanitation workers then imagine a city without lawyers Where would you choose to live? Musicians Fear What the Future May Hold Can Symphony Management Do More? s NON Anne Mathews RTfSfREET cprnernearncu Tte to get back to Earth had been successful Of course the good news of this Soyuz adventure is that Lyakhov and Mohmand were able to snatch victory from what for some very anxious hours seemed to be the jaws of certain disaster and death In the larger view how ev er the better news is the expeditious way in which the Soviet space establishment kept Soviet citizens along with the rest of the world continually and currently informed about an ongoing crisis It was trulv “not a good time for our space people1' but the prompt and complete disclosure of what was going on gave added credibility to Secretary General Gorbachev's policy of glasnost with Reporters Excused Whether as commonlv alleged the press is generally unloved in this country there are occasions when normally reporters can step aside One is the now pending debates between the two presidential candidates Evidently Republican George Bush will verbally spar with Democrat Michael Dukakis at least twice Sept 25 and the second date to be determined eventually Since the format has yet to be determined let panels of newsmen be excused For previous presidential debates the organizers have used prominent reporters as the source of subject matter with the candidates fielding questions as if the event were a news conference the So Congress Takes tile most part bogus When partisans blame reporters and new scasters for the firestorm that developed around Vice President Bush's selection of Indiana Sen Dan Quayle to be the GOP vice presidential nominee they totally miss the target The furor was created by the way Mr Bush handled the selection and then the manner in which Sen Quayle mishandled questions concerning his service in the Indiana National Guard during the Vietnam War Press bashers want to blame journalists for picking on the National Guard It wasn t the news people who insisted on commenting about the guard s Vietnam War days but instead new smakers w ho had political reasons for getting quoted on the matter Even they for the most part weren't concerned about the guard but only Sen Quayle's reason for and methods of joining In the long run as usual the American press will sun iv e this calumny too But m the interests of clearing the surroundings of every distraction so tbe candidates can display their capabilities unn strutted s() volt rs can mrrc rtrate soI !y on Dukakis and Bush commcn tarv let the drl ates be held w it h report i rs recount ng w hat they h ar from the randJ C s not hi irg part if thf show Labor strikes tend to be complicated and the current dispute between the Utah Symphony musicians and the Utah Symphony Society is definitely not simple At issue is a proposed reduction in employment for the musicians from 52 to 46 weeks a year a 5 percent pay increase based on the salary an increase m the number of concerts performed during the 46 weeks and a reduction by attrition in tne workforce from 83 to 75 musicians Financial austerity is the symphony manIn the economic agement's explanation downswing of recent years the symphony has suffered along with everyone else We can t offer money we don't have" executive director Paul R Chummers has said In order for the Utah Symphony to regain financial health sacrifices must be made now to avert disaster down the road management argues k ‘ Anne Matiiens is The Satt Lake Tribune music k riter The financial situation is indeed not rosy The orchestra finished its 1988 fiscal year Aug 31 with a $280000 operating deficit The svmphony s endowment has been reduced in the past two years from $5 million to $3 7 million Roughly $600 000 was lost m the crash last year ($170 000 has subsequently been recovered m investment gains i but the endowment was hurt most by the necessity of covering large deficits in particular a massive $983 000 deficit m fiscal 1987 according to finance director Douglas Neiswender The endowment is now back to what it was in 1982 to the level of the original gift without any investment appreciation The staff met its goal of raising $1 7 million for fiscal 1988 although it was determined last spring that $2 million was required The 60 symphony boarJ members have been active m raising money acquiring $fi93 202 from contributions this year The deficit was reduced from a projected $4fi0 0O0 to $280 onn Mr Chummers savs a Save the 1'lah campaign like the one Ballet West mounted a year ago was studiously avoided W p don t want to cnmfv apv impression that we are about to leave the scene he savs 'Up are goirg to he around two years from now five vears from now and in vears from now Ue re just trying to aihuve s ime fiscal stock-mark- Svm-phnov- ” -- s'a1 d ti £-?:- -! r The musicians originally asked for a contract with a 20 percent pay raise although this proposal was redrafted last week with compromises that were not made public The heart of the strike according to a spokesmen for the musicians is not over money per se The musicians believe that management's proposals represent a retrenchment that hurts the orchestra professionally and reduces its quality They argue the only incentive they can give to management for continued growth is to demand more A statement of purpose reads "While we are seeking substantial gams in salary and these gams are only a means other areas to an proposals are not just meant to put more money m the pocket of the musicians not just better working conditions benefits or pension but to encourage the symphony board to share in our vision of the future " There as unusual unanimity in the orchestra in rejecting the management s proposals The musicians voted 82 to 3 to reject the pres ferred contract In a separate ballot a majority voted to strike Unions are not popular in Utah and the Utah Symphony musicians are in a tough spot in terms of enlisting public sympathy The work they do is singular — few people have jobs bearing any similarity — and neither readily nor widely understood The musnans are aware that thpir salaries are not shabby hv Utah standards But the majority came to Utah from all ov er the country and do not ue Utah as a frame of reference Rather they look to their peers in comparable orchestras — Ba'timore Atlanta Dallas and Houston — and find themselves at the low end of the salary srale The current minimum salary for the orchestra is $23 Oho which cuts would reduce to $26 470 w ih the averace salary bring about 1 30 f't'O a year acr rdirg to Mr Chummers one-yea- end-The- se two-third- right-to-wor- 8ms k (Principal musicians who negotiate their salaries m separate contracts make more) This is not exorbitant for professional musicians with long years of training and experience By comparison the base salary in the Chicago Symphony (one of the top five in the country) is roughly $52000 a year and in the Altanta Symphony (an orchestra closer to the Utah Symphony) roughly $36000 The musicians argue they are not prepared to make a large sacrifice in terms of money benefits and working conditions when they feel management has not done all it could to avert the money crunch It is possible to see their point The symphony was without an executive director for a year w hen the board combed the country for a qualified person after Stephen Swaner left m October 1985 Paul Chummers signed on in August of 1986 More significant there was no fundraiser on the staff after former development director Edward John left in October of 1985 until George Benson joined the orchestra a year ago The last fund drive to beef up the endowment took place in 1984 The next hurdle in the strike is Tuesday when rehearsals for the opening of the sub scnption season are scheduled The opening concert is scheduled for Sept 16 and 17 in Symphony Hall with music director Joseph Silverstem conducting the traditional program No question Utah's symphony-admirinaudience is deeply distressed that both sides m this apparent impasse are so adamant still so far from an agreement In the rituals which seem to define labor dispules tbe hidden agendas are often difficult to discern and the outcome therefore is even more difficult to foresee But the longer this strike continue the more disappointment and loss there will be for everyone conremed full-tim- e |
