Friday, January 20. 1989/University Daily Kansan
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Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Taking action on priorities crucial to Bush's success
George Bush has declared war on drugs. And he vows to clean up the environment. And he is the self-proclaimed education president.
He must state his position. Strengthening the U.S. economy is especially urgent. Is it available if the nation
After today's inauguration, President Bush must take action on the issues to which he has given so much lip service. Because of the rapidly changing social and economic climate, he must state his priorities and act accordingly.
Strengthening the U.S. economy Many experts think a tax hike is inevitable if the nation's debt is to be reduced. Bush must be flexible and willing to work with Congress to solve the problem.
In 1992, trade barriers will be removed from within the European markets, further dividing the three world economic powers: Europe, Asia and the United States. European markets will be able to work together to compete — and win. And economies in Asian countries will continue to expand.
Bush must make appointments on the basis of merit, not ideology. During his tenure, he probably will have the opportunity to nominate three Supreme Court justices. Harry Blackmun, Thurgood Marshall and William Brennan, each more than 80 years old, are likely to step down.
The environmental crisis also must command a top priority with Bush.
The UA, automobile fuel efficiency requirements must be touqement, and recycling must be encouraged. Also, a new Clean Air Act must be drafted by Congress to clean up nuclear waste and conserve wildlife.
waste and conserve which Bush must take in to show that the appointment of Willihemnett as "drug czar" was more than rhetoric. He needs to finance the drug programs that President Reagan neglected.
Our nation cannot afford to be a victim of weak policies that are spread too thin. By giving top consideration to the world economy, education and the environment, Bush will be a more able leader, and the United States will be a more effective world power.
Grace Hobson for the editorial board
Death penalty no deterrent
Despite better arguments against it, the death penalty soon could be a reality in Kansas again.
could be a reality in Kansas again. Gov. Mike Hayden on Monday announced his capital punishment proposal, igniting what surely will be a raging debate during this year's legislative session.
Hayden wants capital punishment for premeditated murder, drug-related murder and killing law enforcement officers, reasoning that the death penalty would deter murders and be no appropriate punishment.
in appropriate Debate is scheduled to begin next week in the Senate. Games opposing it far outweigh those favoring it.
But arguments opposing it. Victor Streib, a Cleveland State University law professor, has researched for almost 10 years the deterrent effect of the death penalty on crime. During an appearance on "This Week with David Brinkley," Streib said that he had found little to suggest a link between the two.
What deterrent effect it might have is diluted by the backlog of prisoners, more than 2,000, now on death row. Unless the U.S. government goes on a murderous rampage not equaled since the Cambodian killing fields, most will die on death row. Since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the states' right to decide the issue in 1977, fewer than 100 people have been executed by the 37 states that have the death penalty. That is chiefly because of the convict's right to higher court appeal.
because of an attack, potential murderers need not worry about being killed for the crime.
The expense of lifetime imprisonment also is a common argument of death penalty proponents. But the facts have been distorted. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the costs of appeals outweigh those of lifetime imprisonment several times over.
Many proponents trumpet the values of societal retribution, citing an 80 percent favorability rate in some national polls.
But as an enlightened, civilized society, should we practice exactly what we want to condemn? The death penalty arises from fear and vengeance, not from common sense and a fair justice system.
James Farquhar for the editorial board
News staff
Julie Adam...Editor
Karen Boring...Managing editor
Jill Jess...News editor
Deb Gruver...Planning editor
James Farquhar...Editorial editor
Elaine Sung...Campus editor
Tom Stinson...Sports editor
Janine Swiatkowski...Photo editor
Dave Eames...Graphics editor
Noel Gerdes...Arts/Features editor
Tom Eblen...General manager, news adviser
Business staff
Business staff
Debra Cole ... Business manager
Pamela Moore ... Retail sales manager
Kevin Martin ... Campus sales manager
Scott Frager ... National sales manager
Michelle Garland ... Promotions manager
Brad Lenhart ... Sales development manager
Linda Prokop ... Production manager
Debra Martin ... Asst. production manager
Kim Coleman ... Co-op sales manager
Carl Cressler ... Classified manager
Simon Hines ... Sales and marketing adviser
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Wait, the prompt says "Maintain original document structure."
I'll just use plain text.
One more check on the spacing.
"Quest columns should be typed, double-spaced and less than 700 words. The answer will be photographed."
Let's re-read line 3 again.
"The word will be photographed."
writer will be photographed.
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Maybe Congress deserves a raise
The most popular position to take on pay raises for congressmen is that we shouldn't give these political scoundrels one extra nickel.
As Patrick Buchanan, the conservative columnist, angrily put it while ranting about "Beltway Bandits"：“Currently, members of Congress receive $89,500 a year, some five times what the average American earns."
average
it's an interesting statistic, but I'm not sure
what it means.
what it means. I'm certain that Buchanan, with his speaking fees and TV shows, rakes in 30 or 40 times what the average American earns. He probably makes at least five or six times what the average congressman is paid.
gressman is park.
Does that mean that Patrick Buchanan is a more valuable creature than 30 or 40 average Americans? Or five or six congressmen?
rossity, although as fierce as Buchanan is, I wouldn't swap a good watchdog for him, and all a good dog costs is the price of table scraps.
Actually, I don't have any strong feelings against congressmen getting pay raises. I've known some congressmen who weren't worth $8.95 a year. Others would be bargain if they were.
$82,000's the problem with trying to decide who's worth how much.
In Chicago, a garbage collector makes about $25,000 a year and a cop about $33,000.
Compare that with Sylvester Stallone, who took in $63 million during the past two years without emptying one smelly can or firing anything but blaps.
Is Stallone worth 910 cops and 1,240 garbage collectors? Or even one cop and one garbage collector?
Mike
Royko
Syndicated columnist
Without garbage collectors and cops, we'd have disease and anarchy. Without Sylvester Stallone? Well, we'd still have Arnold Schwarzenegger, who made only $43 million in 1987-88.
who make only two decisions.
That's the trouble with juggling numbers, as Pat Buchanan did with his "five times what the average American earns."
I've known congressmen who weren't worth $8.95 a year. Others would be a bargain at $895,000 a year
The fact is, the average congressman is not the average American. He is better educated, a swinger, reads more, watches fewer game shows and soap operas on TV, knows more about law, foreign affairs, national problems and assumes greater responsibilities. So why shouldn't a congressman be paid as much as a weak-hitting utility infiltrator?
In the big federal spending picture, a raise for congressmen is just pocket change. The Pentagon will spend more than the entire congressional raise on a few airplanes that don't fly.
Yet, the average person becomes outraged at
the thought of a public official — any public official — wanting a pay hike.
we demand good judges, yet we pay them less than they could earn chasing an ambulance. We want good governors to manage our states, but become indignant if they ask to be paid more than the manager of a small factory.
Isn't it kind of goofy that the president of the United States — the most powerful man in the world, when he's awake - is paid less than a mediocre point guard in the National Basketball Association?
Consider that Elvis Presley made about $15 million this year. That's not bad for someone who has been dead for 12 years.
has been beaten back.
That's the salary of 180 congressmen. Or 45 U.S. presidents. Although I'm not a big fan of George Bush, I hope that he will contribute more to this nation during the next four years than a deceased rock singer.
The key to the public pocketbook seems to be entertainment. Americans don't mind spending a collective fortune on anything that will amuse or divert them. That's why athletes and other entertainers become vastly wealthy. Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, they're all in the $20-million-a-year to $50-million-a-year range. Some golfer recently picked up more than $1 million in a weekend.
But we bang the table at the thought of a congressman making what any of those entertainers pay for a car.
pay for a car.
Congress ought to wise up. Instead of going onScopes and holding debates, they ought to learn to dance, sing and slam dunk a ball.
Wike Boiko is a syndicated column-
Mike Royko is a syndicated columnist who writes for the Chicago Tribune.
Baby-sit your way to financial freedom
Cable television recently has become glutten with individuals challenging me to give up my humdrum, dead-end career pursuit and find my financial freedom.
Dave Del Dotto looks for a desperate home seller while Ed Beckley calculates how I can make my purchase with no money down. I could start my own F.H.A. home loan retrieval service. Maybe Mellinger's Mail-Order Money-Making Method moves me. Or I could travel abroad to Helsinki, Finland, and discover a formula for rejuvenating hair that Robert Vaughn and Bradford Dillman haven't found yet. What the heck, why don't I just call a toll-free number and ask the federal government for a grant?
Let me share a secret with you. The career of the future isn't going to be real estate, mail-order catalogs, hair researchers or biking the federal government, but next great employment opportunity will be a job in which millions of U.S. citizens already have training. Most of us have done it for a few dollars here and there, but we never have explored the full potential of expanding this weekend hobby into a lucrative career. If financial freedom is your goal in life, it might be worth your think to about the exciting, new world of full-time professional baby-sitting.
The need for reliable baby sitters has never been greater. More than 50 percent of the
Bill Kempin
Staff columnist
married couples in this country both work, leaving little rug rats galae scrambling about the domicile seeking attention. More folks are
The need for reliable baby sitters has never been greater
working evening shifts or all-night jobs
working evening shifts of
To be an effective and well-off professional sitter, you must be willing to watch kids 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. So, the first thing you need is enough people who will let you baby-sit around the clock. Let's say you plan to charge them a dollar per hour. If you work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, your annual income will be $8,760.
we. Yeah, I know, that looks like poverty level income at first glance. But consider for a moment
what your expenses will be. Rent? Zippo. You're always residing in someone else's home. Utilities? Ditto. Food? You never have to buy a morsel as long as your customers have leftovers in the refrigerator. Transportation? Just ask the couple to drive you to your next job. You'll never need to make a car payment.
need to make
you Don't have to buy a TV or a stereo if you
pick your assignments right. All you need are the
clothes on your back and an outfit to change into
while you're washing your sweater and jeans in
the family's Kenmore. With any discipline whatsoever, you'll gross more than eight grand a year. How many other jobs allow you to pocket that much loot?
Sure, your social life will go down the toilet. You won't have a place to call your own. You'll be a transient, a stayferrer, the stuff most poems are made of, and you'll be eating and sleeping a lot better than those dumb poets. And think of the service you'll be doing for the general public — allowing otherwise worthless people to go out into the work force and establish an identity and self-esteem of their own, while you sit in their homes threatening yard apes to within an inch of their hides, just so you can draw thousands of dollars per annum.
I amm...
Now that's what I call the American way!
■ Bill Kempin is a Leavenworth graduate student
majoring in journalism.
BLOOM COUNTY
by Berke Breathed
I'M HAPPY CRAZE I
GET THE FEELING MY
MOTHER IS ALIVE AND
WELL SOMEWHERE...
FINALLY LIVING IN DIGNITY AND RESPECT WITH MAN