OUR VIEWS

Gore and Social Security

The vice president proposes to add to the program's expenses by enlarging the benefits for women. For purposes of Social Security reimbursement when they retire, he would give credit for some of the time women leave jobs to care for their children, and he would let women keep a larger share of Social Security income than now when their husbands die.

That may sound kind and empathetic — and it might be a good thing to do some day — but it is a highly irresponsible idea to proffer at this juncture.

If Gore does not know the facts about Social Security, he ought to hit the books. From the budget documents of the administration to which he belongs, he could learn that this is a pay-as-you-go-system and that the revenue will no longer be sufficient to meet the needs of tens of millions of recipients in about a decade and a half. At that point, Social Security will have to start collecting the amounts owed it by a government that has spent past surpluses on other programs.

Gore's suggestion is that the way to recover that money is for the government to set aside the surpluses it is currently generating. That won't do the trick. One think tank analyst puts the debt owed to Social Security at $20 trillion, and what that means is that taxes eventually will have to be hiked drastically or benefits reduced sharply or both unless the system is restructured.

And not just any restructuring will do. The most solid answer is to produce an extra revenue stream from the returns on individual retirement accounts. Judging from what Gore has said, he hates the thought.

According to many political analysts, the presidential contest between the presumptive nominees — Democrat Gore and Republican George W. Bush — will come down to how most women vote, and it is hard not to suspect that Gore's Social Security proposal is chiefly aimed at winning this vote. Clearly, it is not aimed at strengthening a wobbly Social Security system.

The dog ate the check

As of last October, said the IRS, members of Congress and their staffs owed $10.5 million in back taxes. The nonpayment rate was 8.4 percent for the House and 7.5 percent for the Senate.

Although you would hope the members of Congress would be a little sharper than the average American, their deadbeat rates are close to that of the nation as a whole, 8.1 percent.

This might not be worth remarking except that, in a gratuitous and ugly slap at the IRS, Congress ordained that nonpayment of taxes be grounds for immediate dismissal of IRS employees. Congress did not see fit to apply this law to its own members, and no wonder: There would be 37 empty House seats and seven Senate vacancies.

And, while Congress likes to beat up on bureaucrats, the nonpayment rate governmentwide, 5.2 percent, is far better than its own.

The IRS has been compiling government tax compliance data since 1993, and it has had a salutary effect. Last year, the White House was hideously embarrassed when its deadbeat rate was found to be more than 13 percent; this year, it's been halved to 6.5 percent.

Actually, nonpayment is a nonissue for government employees. By definition they have jobs, so they're good for the money, and with penalties and interest Uncle Sam comes out ahead. And, of course, the IRS knows who they are and where they work. Right, Congress?

Next to the giant sloth ...

Hsing-Hsing's death last November was mourned as the loss of a local institution. Thus, there was considerable outcry, even outrage, when the Smithsonian announced that Hsing-Hsing would again become a centerpiece, this time as a stuffed exhibit in a new Hall of Mammals at the National Museum of Natural History. The goals were worthy — education and conservation — but, in an age of holographic imaging and virtual reality, taxidermy seems a rather Teddy Rooseveltian way of accomplishing them.

As one of his first acts, new Smithsonian chief Lawrence Small acceded to the popular will and the giant panda's pelt will not go on view. As a sample of indignation, one complainant demanded to know if Hsing-Hsing would be a precedent to the stuffing and display of deceased presidents.

Hmm.

While the idea may have a certain merit, politicians, of which presidents are a sub-genus, are not an endangered species, and, unlike the pandas, any visitor to Washington can see herds of them roaming freely through their natural habitat.

YOUR VIEWS

Only one flag should be recognized

THE MAIL

My 6-year-old grandfather and his 12-year old sister walked from Tennessee to Marion, Ill. where relatives lived. They left home with a bit of smoked ham, three onions, and some cornpone. He said they foraged quite a bit. At age 10, grandfather was driving a mule in a coal mine; He later learned to make harness and how to repair shoes. Later, he added a general store to the business. I fondly recall the cookie jar he kept on the counter.

Confederacy month will be a boon for recruitment by those who wish to once again separate Alabama from the Union. But, do we really want 50 countries? Do we want Protestants killing Catholics and Jews, and vice versa as they are now doing all over the rest of the world?

I'm near 79 now and have always been a cheerful taxpayer because I think it promotes the common good; I donated 3½ years of my life to Uncle Sam during World War II, and the only flag I'll ever recognize is the one with 50 stars and 13 stripes. We call her "Old Glory." God grant that she fly forever.

Joe Wolverton
4433 Haley Way

Get over it

Over the ages, my ancestors and yours have chosen at one time or another to place their fellow man into slavery. And for ages, our ancestors have also been slaves to their fellow man.

Fortunately over the centuries, man's incivility to man, at least in this form, lessened. The reasons man progressed toward civility are probably a conglomeration. Some might credit a gradual and subtle religious awakening. Others may believe it a continuing positive mutation of our collective mentality.

In any case, thank God that slavery was finally abolished globally in the past century except in parts of West Africa where chattel slavery is still practiced.

Apparently unbeknownst to many, victimization as slaves was never confined only to blacks or black Americans. They were only the most recent victims. And in deference to their inhuman exploitation, ironically in an historical context, they were the most fortunate of all slaves. In contrast to the terrible fate of our ancestors who became the first known slaves, history's most recent slaves, black Americans, enjoyed the fate of participating in the last historical remnants of slavery and were freed as they witnessed its ultimate abolition.

With the abolition of slavery should have come a sense of gratitude, rejoicing and the immediate governmental institution of a Marshall Plan type program of economic mainstreaming of black Americans into the work force. Instead, black Americans have become major political pawns, catered to and maneuvered by politicians through vote-getting legislation of incentive-destroying "handout" monetary subsistence.

The multitude of firmly entrenched election-inspired welfare programs have become a way of life never intended. This way of life is represented, protected and continues to flourish today through the efforts of a most powerful, demanding and threatening PAC of clever opportunists, a la Jesse Jackson/Al Sharpton, who evolved from the welfare chaos.

Finding it easier each day to demand and receive whatever of politicians at all levels and the kowtowing of the media to their each and every whim has encouraged further demands, the latest being their assault on all things "Confederate." And be assured that it won't end here. They are on a roll.

The "Slavery Card" is the foundation of a successful socialist movement that most white politicians, white media and white citizens fear but dare not resist.

Armond ''Si" Simmons
104 Wadsworth Lane
Pell City

LOOK BACK

50 years ago, April 7, 1950:

Walt Disney premieres animated story of "Cinderella" after six years in the making.

25 years ago, April 7, 1975:

U.S. Marines prepare to land in Saigon to evacuate Americans as Navy's 7th Fleet increases presence off coast of South Vietnam.

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