Show O J Standard-Examine- r Congress should put skids on newsletters At a time of federal budget constraints the question of free congressional newsletters should have been a priority for congressional action Newsletters are costing the American taxpayers a bundle and they are nothing more than political propaganda Sometime certainly not very often one will arrive in the mail that has some useful information Usually they are more generalized on issues of concern to a small network of a congressman’s constituency The costs are staggering when comparing the value to the American people Furthermore they are pure public relations gestures accomplishing nothing of substance instead showing how senators or representatives are serving their constituents a subtle tool at building support at election time This contention is validated by the frequency of mailing that increases prior to the general election examine September mailings For emphasis purposes that reached this office There were congressional newsletters received from Rep Thomas Foley Sen Jesse Helms Sen Paula Hawkins position papers from Sen Joseph all lawmakers in distant states Besides the Utah delegation freely distributed through the mails similar the exception is Sen EJ “Jake” Gam publications Sen Garn is of legislation that could save a substantial sum of money for the taxpayers He has signed on with a measure to ban congressional newsletters If the measure is approved it has been estimated that it would save taxpayers more than $500 million over a five year period Doesn't the bill make sense? Think back for a moment to the congressional newsletters that have been delivered to your mailbox Did they have any lasting impressions on the effectiveness of your congressional representative or a particular impact on your life? As the national deficit grows the Congress should be inclined to deny itself this luxury that is shameless mailing Not so It has spent in excess of $150 million in the past which incidentally make up 98 peryear on newsletters cent of the postage money spent by lawmakers only 2 percent is used to answer letters from constituents Since the newsletter mailings have accelerated during the election season it becomes obvious that it is just another campaign strategy Members of Congress have enough incumbency advantage without having to feed from the tax plates to seek votes Sen Garn is on track His recuperation will prevent him from active advocacy of the banning of mailing perks Picking up the phone and urging his colleagues — espe— during the final hectic days becially the fore the congressional recess is about the only method that Garn understandably can take to help overcome the misuse of franking privileges Certainly the legislation deserves support it’s a painless way to cut a little excess fat from the federal budget Favorite airiine Sands on ‘fed up list ’ I'm sorry to say it but I am fed up Fed right to here With My Favorite Airline MFA got us the three of us out of LaGuardia on time and home a few minutes early We had six bags when we started Each was tabbed and marked with our names I gave the curbside porter a heavy tip to handle our cargo When we arrived at our destination there were only five bags There are still only five bags And there have been more than three weeks of frustrating negotiation Lost passenger baggage I know is also a frustration for airlines The number of revenue passengers emplaned who since 1965 have been allowed to put aboard three bags each without special regard to weight has more than doubled since 1970 — from 170 million in that year to 343 million in 1984 I can't find any figures on number of bags carried in that time let alone the number of those lost irretrievably but the numbers must be proportional if what I heard from other travelers is true The procedure is to look for an hour or so (and miss a business appointment) for your lost luggage and then fill out a claim form “It may be a couple of weeks until we can get the necessary papers to you" said MFA conceding the bag might be gone forever and confirming it five das later Don Shoemaker What you do is go home and begin to call the claims department It never answers the telephone so I suppose the thing is taken off the hook But we weren't My wife had all her summer wardrobe (she dresses neatly but sparsehad a couple of prized ly) in the bag and new shirts some critical medicine and some valuable odds and ends “Tracers” had been sent of course although I do not know' where to or even what they are since nobody would answer the telephone We were told that after a time lost bags may wind up in a special warehouse like old elephants retiring to the boncyard We finally found somebody to ask about this “I'll give you a number” she said It turned out to be the reservation desk of MFA in Tampa Fla far away and wholly innocent of any knowledge about lost baggage How they manage all this confusion I do not know Airport baggage security seems pretty good It is difficult for anyone to pick up and get away with someone else’s bag or to want to keep it if it is full of dirty clothes even if they are neat and sparse But it happens It happened also to a kins- man of mine recently He was traveling offshore to an important business meeting where he was supposed to look his best No bag No clothes except those he had on He appeared rumpled and unhappy at the meeting The host an airline executive was embarrassed “Go down to the hotel men’s shop and get yourself a new wardrobe at our expense” That was done A few days later just as the traveler was sitting down in his seat new wardrobe and all to go home a little man came trudging up the aisle “Your lost sir” he said beaming suitcase I suppose all of this is a consequence some way or other of deregulation which was supposed to work wonders and did at first If so I don’t like deregulation I just want my shirts back We have filled out the necessary forms had them notarized with a list of everything lost and how much it cost (could you re- member?) and are sitting back to see what happens next I’m fed How about you? Knight Ridder Newspaper American marketplace responds to busy working women My shopping list was as day The shopping cart was the clock said 6 pm so I long as my day yesterloaded to the max and detoured to the supermarket's deli department and ordered a pound of fresh crab salad for dinner food has affected our lives as much as the introduction of clothes once did Sure the crab salad was more expensive than something could have made at home "from scratch" but like a lot of scurrying women these days I'm more piotective of my time than my money meal is a The event at our house — and then prepared mostly out of guilt for special occaoonx I he rest of the time it's whatever can be put together in less than 30 minutes popped into the microwave or ordered otT a restaurant menu Happily the food industry has been responsive to our needs and is paying attention to the voices of women consumers The Campbells Soup Co for example asked as what we wanted in convenience foods and we answered: roods that are quick and easy to liv — and taste like mom's We Rusty Brown also want “ready food” to be low in calories cholesterol and fat and moderate in salt Oh yes portions must be ample enough for the men in the family It was pressure from consumer groups that persuaded McDonald's Corp to fry Chicken McNug-get- s and sandwiches in pure vegetable shortening instead of the higher cholesterol artery clogging beef fat that was being used Vnd the more we all learn about good nutrition the more we insist on being able to buy fresh fruits and vegetables Our taste has gone front red to green — less beef and more broccoli please — a fact that has vexed the cattle ranchers to no end Studies show that per capita consumption of fresh pioduee has risen 12 percent over the past 10 years while purchase of beef has plummeted 16 percent Speaking of fresh produce there are still some unanswered questions I have as a consumer Like are those cucumbers glistening with wax? Is that some noxious preservative? I also want my fresh progrocer to level with me if the duce has been sitting around in ripening rooms losing so much vitamins and flavor that it would be better nutrition to buy canned or frozen counterparts I also want a pound boxed brown sugar to be soft at time of purchase Who wants to be bothered with baking it beside a cup of water as the package recommends? On the other hand I don't want a chemical added to do the trick Consumer input is affecting other areas of our life as well A New Jersey homebuilder about to design a new development asked 15 working women to tell what they wanted in housing A computer consultant told him: "We all end up doing some woik at home and you need a separate place to do it" So the builder's 1986 plan calls for a woman's study just off the living room Women also said they wanted a smaller living room larger kitchen an exercise room and “his" and “her" closets with more space in hers why Dear to my heart was the fantasy these women had for a rotating circular closet that with a push of a button whirled out the winter wardrobe in October and the summer clothes in April In another survey of working women location of housing was as important as the interior They wanted the option of convenient and safe or close-iliving As one mother put it: “If fever want to work Johnny has a where I can get home in 15 minutes" That reminds me of a sketch once saw of a mother and child with violins standing at an elevator door choosing from a selection of floors one to eight that read: Bank groceries day care health club school office music lessons and pediatrician It was called the “American Dream Apartment” Our experience so far indicates that if consumer interest escalates to consumer demand the marketplace answers The “American Dream Apartment" could become reality Perhaps even with a built-idispenser Newspaper Enterprise Association Statistics support that nation has not forsaken marriage Because “family policy” is now one of the key issues it might be useful to understand just how complex the situation really is Here are some facts that are rarely thought about: Consider the case of mother s who bear children It's a real problem But one of the demographic secrets is that nearly all children end up getting mothers of married! Arthur Norton of the Population Division of the Bureau of the Census says: “Mothers of children born out of wedlock end up with a marriage rate only slightly lower nan the population as a whole which is about 90 percent" In other words many of those "illcgitima e" children are likely to have mote stability and permanence in their lives than think we generally Or consider the alleged disaster of “latchkey" childien I hose are the kids whose parents are still winking when the kids return home Irom school to XA— Ben Wattenberg an empty and allegedly lonely residence Sad Truly sad in some cases Except that a study recently presented to the Vmertcan Psychological’ Association reports that the children of working mothers scotcd higher on ID tests had better communication skills scored higher in math and reading and were mote than children whose moth-ei- s did not woik! Mind you it’s still nice to have mom at home when a cinld returns from school but apparently when that’s not the case the child can do quite nicely thank you Or think about divoicc It’s a real problem It's tine that about half of all first marriages will end in divorce But what is not gencially mentioned is that the divorce rate has stopped rising and about nine out of 10 divorced merieuns get remained Thai’s not exactly the portrait of a nation that’s given up on marriage Moreover it scents to me that the only thing worse than a very high divorce rate would be a very low divorce rate as in many Third World countries After all a divorce is usually the joint and voluntary action of a husband and wife who have decided their lives together have become miseaiable Typically they both know in advance that it will be a rocky passage for them if they split But still as the numbers have shown us the Vftcr a while two part nets become most of them get new purtneix Some of them even live happily ever alter And some don’t but and time on our children Well spending on schooling per child has risen by 50 percent just since 1970 after discounting inflation Infant mortality — alleged to lx rising — has been cut in half in the last 15 years Isn't that helping our children? Or think about this It’s said that the “extended family" is breaking down But polls show that more than half of all Americans "spend a special evening with relatives at least several times a month" Other reseat ch confirms that "kinship ties" remain very impoitant and makes the point that the extended family of the "good old days” was — in large measure — a may tiy yet again America to be sure It’s not Noiman Rockwell's But then again tlieie weie a lot of very unhappy nun iigcs m those days whete people didn't have a chance at a second chance Or foiget the past for a moment: A recent poll showed that muinugo and children were included in the hlcsiyle of choice for 94 percent of Ameri- It's also said we'ie spending too little money myth can women In all beware of data' It’s very complicated! Now paper Enterpme fuisafori I |