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Show T mil1 page f nninl 'B1 ipr f1 "IB1 ,w ifi" jr wwwyriP -- in w rfT f1" U r f A4 Tuesday, November 7. 1995 3n dDamr ttDpinBoini Accountability is needed in welfare system, not cuts With the debate going on in Washington on where cuts n should be made in the dollar federal entitlement program the news desk is flooded with opinions, cries for help, and just plain rubbish from groups saying they cant survive without all of the federal funds they are multi-billio- receiving. It seems not one single federal program will not be in some way impoverished by the proposed cuts. And there you have it. That is the problem with the entire system. Everyone is looking for a handout It is not the people receiving the checks that are to be blamed for the abuse of the entitlement system, it is the people who sign the checks who are to blame. If they do out funds to prove they have clients, their program will be cut. So, they make up clients or allow clients to bend the rules to appear to qualify for funds. In a recent magazine article the story was told of one family that received well over $100,000 a year in government entitlements. The mother to the large family had made it her lifes work to beat the system. She had made a pest of herself over a period of 10 years and during that time been successful in proving all of her children were unable to work. An investigation proved it was not true, but there she was collecting checks every month. Some government employee the taxpayers are paying to watch the public coffers was turning his head and effectively stealing funds as much as the welfare recipient. In a television report another great American rip-oartist was unveiled. The Medicare system is wasting millions of dollars each year by refusing to contract with the lowest bidder for its purchases. The report showed that for years Medicare has paid an outrageous $800 for a wheelchair seat pud the manufacturer admitted contained about $8 worth of material. It went on to show the actual Medicare payments for one patients gauze bandages for a sore on his arm. Over a four month period Medicare had paid $40,000 for bandages for one sore on one arm. The report compared the cost paid by Medicare and the Veterans Administration for the same bandage. Medicare paid over $3 each for the bandage the Veterans Administration pays $.04 each. Who is the thief? We all blame the welfare recipients when in fact they would not receive any funds if government employees were not signing checks for illegal funds. No one wants babies and children to go hungry. No one wants to deny health care to children or the elderly. But the fact is there is enough money being wasted each year to take care of every ailing American citizen with money left over if the system was being administered honestly. The excuse a Medicare spokesman made for the flagrant waste of funds was that Congress had passed a law in 1987 to end the waste, which had locked in the prices being paid at that time. Why werent the 1987 contracts put out for not-dol- single-handed- ly ff ( public bid? Is Congress so afraid of a few suppliers that they are too gutless to stop ripping off the taxpayer. Would they rather take food out of babies mouths than stand up to artists? And it doesnt end there. The myricorporate rip-oad of programs designed to help the poor and the disadvantaged must be forced to prove their worth with legitimate claims and legitimate clients. Laziness on the part of the government has brought us to where we are today. Now we must face cutting funds that are actually needed to provide truly necessary programs. We dont need cuts. We need accountability. Sen. Taylors idea just common sense A Davis County legislator is suddenly in a media spotlight. A Los Angeles Times reporter has called... A staff writer with the New York Times has conducted an interview.. .USA Today cant be far behind. posal wasnt controversial. To him, it was based firmly on common sense and wise public policy. And I agree with him! Like many Republicans, Taylor sees much of the welfare g but system as a costly blunder. He believes single well-meanin- cadopt by Bryan Gray Sen. Craig Taylor of Kaysville wasnt attempting to brew up a an when he proposed controversy item for a Utah welfare reform .bill. He never considered that his thought would be labeled an attempt to buy babies from unwed mothers or a legislative stab at social engineering. He wasnt ready for radical critics who tagged him as a religious zealot. He didnt figure that KSL Radio host Doug Wright would be interested enough to schedule him for an hour long radio interview. In Sen. Taylors view, the pro are mothers economically rewarded for not working, for not marrying and for having more children, creating an endless welfare cycle. As he wrote to his GOP colleagues, In welfare, as in most other things, we get what we pay for.. .For 30 years, welfare has paid for and illegitimacy, and it has achieved massive increases in all three. d Even though being a mother is not a walk in the park, it has become increasingly prevalent in a society which values non-wor- k, non-marria- non-we- Ricki Lake more than Noble Prize winners. In 1993, about one of every three American births was to an unwed mother and of these children, about 97 percent were kept by the single mother. Sure, the women pay for being a single parent. But Taylor fig ures we all pay. Illegitimacy comes with a lifelong cost to taxpayers. Utah Not surprisingly, have penciled in a Republicans proposal limiting benefits and, in case of single mothers under 18, eliminating state benefits entirely. This led critics to argue that cutting off benefits would only lead to more abortions, a cry that got Craig Taylors attention. His response was to include language offering cash assistance d and payment of uninsured but medical expenses only if, among other things, the woman agreed to nix an abortion and place the baby up for adopbirth-relate- tion. Critics may howl, but Taylors concept is not religious zealootry. It is simply an incentive plan placing the childs beset interests at the head of the line. In rewarding an adoption decision, Taylor is not coercing anyone. Hes merely giving women an option, the same kind of alternative that people are offered in various forms every week. (If you agree to work overtime, youll receive fatter paycheck. ..If you quit smoking, youll pay less for a health insurance.. .If you receive a decent grade-poiaverage in high school, youll get a discount on your auto insurance.) Theres nothing wrong with offering incentives. And since 63 percent of all single mothers depend on taxpayers for welfare assistance, the promotion of adoption over single parenthood is a proper role of government. The LDS Church was right on the mark when it issued a statement to its leaders that unwed parents should not be counseled to keep the infant ah condition of repentance. ..In many instances, an unwed parent is not able to provide the stable, nurturing environment so essential for the nt babys well-bein- g. Taylor understands this much better than his shrill Democratic critics. But the critics may have won at least in the short term. The welfare reform item is being shelved. It will be altered to generate greater support. If changed too much, the welfare cycle will continue. r ff Published by Clipper Publishing Co., Inc. P O. Box 267 1370 South 500 West Bountiful, Utah 8401 Dim Voonr flDpnmiioini Auto dealership met planning requirements Dear Editor: I would like to clear up some apparent misunderstanding on the article appearing in the Davis County Clipper Oct. 14th 1995. Regarding my appeal (not a complaint) about the Charlie Brown used car dealership. Being a property owner close enough to 196 West 500 South, I received a letter from the Bountiful City Planning and Zoning about the proposed car lot and attended their meeting to express my concern about the quality of the automobiles that would be on display at this location, that they should be later model cars and the property be maintained as most (not all) of the surrounding areas are. I then left the meeting not even knowing what the decision of the planning and zoning would be. Within the week cars appeared on the lot, then a trailer unit for the business office, so I looked in the telephone books for the Charlie Brown dealership, wanting to go see what class of vehicles he was now displaying, and how the property was being maintained. I found no listing, this concerned me so I wrote the city stating my desire. That I wanted to know more about this and would like to express it at the next city council meeting to know what conditions were put on this granted use for a used car dealership. As the days progressed asphalt was removed, sod was laid, and the vehicles were late model nice looking units being displayed on the property. So I assumed what planning and zoning had required was being done. However at the council meeting after stating: all I asked for is that all property owners play by the same rules up and down 5th south and-thcar lot was no exception, it was to be kept-u- p and vehicles being displayed to remain later model units such as those now there. The street 500 S. is the major artery to downtown Bountiful, and I have a vested interest in keeping it looking nice. As the meeting progressed it appeared they wanted more landscaping, his office did not meet fire code, some did not want a car lot on this cor- is Subscription rate: 504 per copy d $25 00 per year Mailed $35 00 per year ) Publication No (USPS on published and except the week of Christmas and New Years at Bountiful, Friday Tuesday Utah Second class postage paid at Bountiful, Utah Address all correspondence to P. O. Box 267, Bountiful, Utah 8401 ISSN. 1061-122- 149-180- semi-weekl- y ner. motion was made and seconded that it go back to planing and zoning, etc. etc. I finally raised my hand to address the city council, then proceeded to tell them I have been through this situation as Charlie Brown is tonight too many times and was sick of it. I stated that if what conditions the planing and zoning has placed on the permit had been met by Mr.. Brown then they ought to honor the permit granted and let him get on with his business. I then sat down, and within 6 minute's the council voted to sustain the planning commissions decision, and within a very few minutes later the meeting was adjourned. Just wanted to state the facts. Lawrence Barber Centerville 5-- Thanks to Life Care for sharing Halioween Editor, Just a note to share as a new resident in the Bountiful area Halloween Night at Life Care Center was a huge success. Many thanks to the Care Center, the Merchants who donated, and all the work of those who participated to make the evening enjoyable for the residents, their families and all the trick or treaters. Its great to see a caring community. Carrot L. Hoggatt Whole team should see play when BHS ahead Editor, would like to congratulate the Bountiful High Football team and coaching staff for the big win in the High School State Tournament quarter final game Friday. However, there is one question that I would like to ask. How far ahead of the other team do I ) -- irtrt Art aWl ifnn you have to get before you let all the seniors get a chance to play? , The last season game against Davis was a big win and yet there were seniors on the sidelines who didnt get to play in their last season football game. Against Weber it was 35-- 6 and still there were seniors waiting for their chance to play. Realizing that the rest of the games will probably be closer than the last two, dont you think you could have given the rest of the players their chance? There are a lot of fans wondering what it takes, maybe you could let us know. ; ' - t I ' f ) Name withheld Letters to the Editor Guide The ClipperKaysville Today welcomes letters from our readers. Please submit letters conforming to the following guidelines: 1. Maximum length should be 300 words (approx. 1 12 typewritten pages). 2. No letter will be printed that may be considered offensive to our readers. 3. All letters should include the dbl.-spac- ed author's name, address and a daytime phone number. No unsigned letters will be printed. 4. All letters are subject to editing for content or length. , ; |