Wvc Seniors Enjoy Mixed Success In Indoor All-star Games

2 Men Hurt In Attack At W-b Group Home

Sunday, February 08, 1998 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 





GOP's `hands-off' style of government is meddling at its worst &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As members of this session of the Congress returned to a more sustained
schedule in Washington, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott laid out a work
agenda for them that is a stunning contradiction in termsThe terminology he
and a majority of the Congress use as their principal adjectives, verbs and
nouns in almost every sentence are those that ridicule the role of the federal
government. Their litany includes claims that the federal government is too
big; is too invasive of the rights, interests, and pocketbooks of every
citizen; is too invasive of the rights, duties, and responsibilities of state
and local governments; is too complicated, too demanding, and too unresponsive
to the taxpayers. It is a meddling, authoritarian, expensive nuisance. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What he and his cohorts propose, they say, is to get government off the
backs of the taxpayers and return government to the people. "What," he asks,
"do these pointy-headed people up here know anyway?" &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Of course, Sen. Lott wasn't speaking about members of the Congress. He may
have been willing to include the current White House cadre among the
"pointy-heads," but his obvious target are those employed by the government to
deliver its services. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Certainly he intends to include the Internal Revenue Service. While he
hasn't yet gone as far as the House leadership in promising to "eliminate the
IRS as we know it," he made it clear that radical restructuring is part of
this year's agenda. While most of the IRS problems result from the agency
trying to administer ever more complex tax codes enacted by the Congress- with
the amendments adopted last year as a prime example- and to do so with a
sorely reduced and inadequate operating budget, the con gressional leadership
blames the employees, not themselves. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Significantly, the solution receiving the greatest attention is one that
would replace what is about the nation's sole attempt at a progressive and
fair tax, with a regressive and innately unfair flat tax. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As for getting Washington's hands off local government and returning it to
the people, Sen. Lott called for what amounts to a voucher system that allows
parents to transfer public funds from public schools to private and religious
schools. It is a program that Pennsylvania's Gov. Ridge and the governors of
several other states have been advocating. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 That a consequence would be the destruction of the public school system and
diminished education opportunities for those most urgently in need of them,
doesn't seem to matter. The point seems to be that some parents- parents who
vote- would benefit. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Along that same line of using a congressional agenda to score against
teacher organizations, Sen. Lott says the agenda will include mandating
aptitude tests for public school teachers, and compelling an end to the
granting of tenure to teachers wherever that is done. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He justifies such steps as "returning control back to the people." But
tenure in Pennsylvania is a result of state law, enacted to eliminate the
practice in many school districts of making teacher employment subject to
political patronage. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Does Lott propose to have the Congress usurp state laws? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Further, since tenure and qualifications for teacher certification in the
public school systems of many other states are set by the local school boards,
what is his complaint? School board members in Pennsylvania as well as in the
other states, are elected by the voters in their respective districts. The
voters already have full and absolute power. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 If voters want to adopt or change practices regarding the employees or the
operation of their schools, they already exercise that power through their
representatives. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 True, the voting public can be accused of neglect, of failing to be
adequately informed about all issues in their school district, or even
sufficiently circumspect about those whom they elect to represent them as
school directors- but, does having Washington make such fundamental decisions
such as these for them amount to "returning control to the people"? Surely
Sen. Lott isn't proposing to replace our representative democracy with a
direct democracy. Or is he? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And there are other elements in the agenda Sen. Lott has outlined that are
equally questionable. One example is the pledge to adopt legislation that
would ban late-term abortion. Because this is a primarily medical matter of
great complexity, it is susceptible to the introduction of emotional elements,
especially when advocated by those with little or no understanding. However,
like many of the items on his agenda, this one has a dedicated, vociferous,
and voting legion of supporters, and it fits perfectly into their efforts to
seek a ban on all abortions. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Still, making it a federal issue contradicts the claim of Sen. Lott &amp;
Company that government is too big and too invasive and needs to have its
meddling fingers chopped off. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 However, the agenda outlined by

Gop's `hands-off' Style Of Government Is Meddling At Its Worst 
As Members Of This Session Of The Congress Returned To A More Sustained 
Schedule In Washington, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott Laid Out A Work 
Agenda For Them That Is A Stunning Contradiction In Terms.

Gop's `hands-off' Style Of Government Is Meddling At Its Worst As Members Of This Session Of The Congress Returned To A More Sustained Schedule In Washington, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott Laid Out A Work Agenda For Them That Is A Stunning Contradiction In Terms.