r
Thinking things over
Sp
President's travel grueling
By VERMONT ROYSTER
Wall Street Journal —ONS
How does the man do it?
Ten days. From Washington to
Warsaw, to Teheran, to Riyadh in
Saudi Arabia, to Cairo, to New
Delhi, to Paris, to Brussels and back
to Washinton.
Out to the airport, in from the airport. Unpack the bags. Parties,
receptions, sight-seeing. Business
breakfasts, business luncheons,
business dinners, business conferencesf Pack the bags. Out to the
airport. Off again.
And in case you haven't looked at
a world map lately, that's a jaunt to
cover 10 time zones.
All any veteran t r a v e l e r ,
businessman or tourist can do is
marvel at the rigors of Presfttent"
Carter's whirlwind tour of Europe
and the Middle East last December.
Now this past week he's been off
again, flying down to Brasilia with a
stop-off in Caracas, Venezuela.
Thence across the South Atlantic to
Nigeria and Liberia, both in
equatorial Africa. This time 14,000
miles, seven, time zones in seven
days.
Even under the best of circumstances this is grueling travel to
test any man's stamina. When Mr.
Carter came back he had to plunge
immediately into final work on the
budget and his State of the Union
message.
How does the man do i{? The
answer is "perks."
I do not myself use the word in a
pejorative sense nor do I mean'to be
flip. The point is simply that when
the President travels on the nation's
business he does notlrajuelas you or
I.
~_L— —
Air Force One IsTTis private plane,
its schedule adjusted to his needs
and its accommodations arranged
to minimize the physical strain of
travel. It is filled with a bedroom
where he may take off his clothes,
get some resrwhitr teaping~ThosF
time zones and arrive without undue
fatigue. And all this is paid for by
the stockhuldei s of the nation — its
taxpayers — and the bill is considerable.
In the literal sense of the word this
is one of the perquisites of his office,
that which is provided for him over
and beyond his salary. In the same
way we provide him with rent-free
housing and funds for appropriate
entertaining in the White House. All
tax free.
Do yt
want to g
andj tell i
responsib
the point,
attack, b
forum.
But we can't provide these things mere "perks" in the pejorative
out of mere generosity. When we sense. Why, so it's asked, should the
pick up the tab for a luncheon for g o v e r n m e n t " s u b s i d i z e " a
Tito, or provide him with transpor- businessman's lunch or travel actation exceeding anything available commodations beyond the bare
even in the so-called first-class sec- minimum by allowing the cost to be
tion of commercial airlines, we do it tax deductible as a business exbecause we recognize the nature of pense?
the job. They are intended to help
No doubt that rhetoric has an aphim better carryout the nation's pealing ring. But that it contains
business. What must seem like lux- some intended demagoguery is prourious "perks" to, let us say t a coal bable. That in it is unintended irony
miner o r . a n - a u t o workers * a r e • •Js. certain.
„
understood as necessary for the
The irony is that on these journeys
president to do that job properly.
the president is tactily acknowledgAll this would hardly be worth ing what businessmen have known
remarking if it were not now the all along. Travel is an essential part
fashion in Washington to use the of much executive business and
word -"perks" in a pejorative when it is to be done it should be
fashion when applied to other ex- done expeditiously and with as little
strain as possible if it is to be done
ecutive business.
Mr. Carter himself rails against efficiently.
the "business lunch" (with or
The State Department concedes
without martinis) and if he had this that the president's latest trip is the
way he would disallow business main symbolic. Nonetheless the
meals as a proper business expense. president is trying to deal with matHe would also disallow any ters so importance to the U.S.
firstclass tiekets on commercial Venezuela is the world's—fifttT
airlines for business travel by largest oil producer. Nigeria the
others, not to mention the use of seventh larges. Brazil is a major
private business planes.
supplier of ^minerals, including
The contention is that these are chrome and bauxite, it's also the
*: Death
Whirlwind tour
largest country in South America
and so a major factor in U.S.-Latin
American relations. Liberia is less
important e c o n o m i c a l l y but
politically important in subSaharan Africa.
That is the justification for this
journey. Some people doubt ttV
true, question whether the President can accomplish very much on
such whirlwind trips; and it may be
hard to measure what was accomplished on the earlier Middle
East-European trip. Yet I for one
will accept the claim that both these
trips are a proper presidential expense, chargeable to tjie taxpayers.
For while the benefits may not be
immediately measurable, and
many of his meetings were seemingly pro-forma, I would be hard put
to argue that the trips are without
uses to the President in conducting
the business of the nation.
The only thing that puzzles me is
why, in the eyes of Washington, one
executive's legitimate business expense becomes another man's il^
legitimate "perks." Anyway, if
such trips are to be made I don't
think anyone would expect the
president to be sent off tourist class
on Pan Am.
lanelli overstepping bounds
We're appalled that Mayor John lanelli has
taken it upon himself to "campaign" for a certain school board candidate in the city.
He's been soliciting petition signatures for
Robert Deforge, one of several city residents
hoping to gain a seat on the Plattsburgh Board
of Education in an election later trns month.
As the city's chief executive, he should
maintain a neutrality in the school board i d f y f
It's downright unethical, let alone unfair to the.
other school board candidates.
But . m o r e important, it leaves open the
chance of collaboration if Deforge is elected.
Money changes hands between City Hall and
the school district.
For example, the school district pays the city to collect school taxes. And there's the issue
Viewpoint
went unreported? Many, we're sure.
The local group will be operating the only
clinic of this type in northern New~York*
A confidential VD clinic of this type has been
lacking in the North Country and we're sure
the number of positive VD cases in Clinton
County will be up in 1978 — not because Plann-r
ed Parenthood will be promoting it, but
because more instances-will be reported and
more people screened.
It's a valuable asset to our community and a
real positive, approach in trying to stem the
most prevalent communicable disease in northeastern New York State.
By HENRY J. TAYLOR
tration now has more than 6.000
forms and questionnaires. These involve 15 million copies. In 1965 the
forms numbered 3.803. In 1971 they
were 5.298.
The administration has assigned
at least 100.000 bureaucrats to regulatory bodies. Each year the bureaus print more than 10 billion
sheets of paper that U.S. busineds
must fiil out.
One bureau is issuing an order
with 155 rules on climbing a ladder.
Ruie f states that you must first face
the ladder.
I also find that in one case Social
Security is currently being collected
by one individual under 144 names.
And the elephantine Interstate
Commerce Commission's" paper
work alone makes this footdragging colossus so cumbersome
that maybe the ICC should just give
up railroad matters entirely and
build iibranes for itself^
Press-Republican
- *~%t..
Saturday. Aor'i 5 1 Y 7 5
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THE RED. CARPET
^ It's time no
<ome out on tr
ahink that thi
booking into ar
.way streets.
Brinkerhoff ai
light at the c
and Oak. Ab(
bicycles cam<
After the ligh
across Oak a
coming down
Court. It was
it looked like i
*and four chi]
straight down
watching for t
Igoing to hav
cidents if the>
them again thi
-.
Disco
:
Answers to new questions
on mandatory retirement law
By HARRISON H. DONNELLY
Congressional Quarterly
WASHINGTON — Congress
recently raised the permissible
ment employees are included, since workers over 65 could conalthough those in risky positions tinue to pay into the fund. But a
such as police and firefighters can Social Security Administration acbe forced to retire earlier.
tuary estimated that the law would
Exemptions
result in a one-tenth of 1 percent inrWho4sn't covered?
crease in payments into the system
A. After a lengthy fight in Con- by 1985 — a virtual drop in the
gress, lobbyists for business and-—bncltetr"
jmjy^r£ity---grouTJ3-Tnanaged to win
Q. But my pension plan requires
exemptions for high-level executives - and tenured college pro- me to retire at 60 — how will the new
law affect me?
fessors.
A. The new law makes it clear
This means that executives and
that
pension plans can't require
professors can still be forced to
retirement
before 70. It rejects the
retire after they turned 65. The excourts'
interpretation
that the old
emptions only apply to executives
law
allowed
mandatory
retirements
who have pensions of more than
before
age
65
if
stipulated
by a pen$27,000 a year; the exemption for
professors would end in 1982, after sion plan before 1967.
• whi<# they couldn't be required to
Q. What about federal goveni"-retire before 70.
Q. Don't older executives and pro- ment workers?
A. They'll be allowed to work to
fessors have rights too?
A. They would be protected whatever age they want, provided
against discrimination along with they can do the job. This raises
other workers, except that they serious questions, since currently
could be required to retire at 65. it is extremely difficult to fire a
Supporters of the exemptions federal worker for incompetency
argued that these positions, which — the process can take years. Presirequire exceptional ability and dent Carter has recommended a
dedication, need to be open to cons- faster system for deciding whether
to fire employees.
tant infusion of new blood.
Critics pointed out that universities, for example, could save
Effects not known
substautlsf salary "costs by ^hiring
Q. Does anyone know what the
younger teachers, who would be effects of this law will be?
billing to work for much less than
experienced, tenured professors.
A. Not really. Its impossible to
Retirement plan imptct
predict how many workers will take
Q, Does this affect my Social
advantage of the chance to work
Security benefits ?
longer A survey of its employees by
A. Not at all. You'll still be eligible
a major retail chain found that
for reduced benefits at 62. and full
almost half would like to stay OIL
benefits at 65. Of course, ii you work
But supporters of the new law say
past 65 and make more than $4,000 a" the percentage staying on because
of the law would be much smaller —
year, your payments wjll go down.
anywhere from 2 to 20 percent,
Some people have suggested that
a c c o r d i n g to c o n g r e s s i o n a l
the new law will help the financially
testimony.
troubled Social Security system.
from 65.
Here, in question-and-answer
form, is an explanation of how the
new law will affect the^gelieraT
public.
Q. What does the new law do?
A. It amends the 1967 Age
Discrimination tn-Employmont Act,
which protects workers aged 40 to
65, to include those between the ages
of 65 and 70. The act prohibits
discrimination on account of age in
Each year the forms themselves employment, including promotion
cost us about $15 billion; $1 for the and hiring practices, and forced
forms, another $1 for the forms retirement.
detailing how to fill them out, $1.7
May continue working
billion more to store t h e * t etc.
Q. How does it affect me?
There are more than 3,500 governA. It means in most cases that
ment bureaus. These have added
your
employer can't-requirc you to
about t,V*Q separate—rec
eave
your job on account of age unsystems. And they are now install
til
you
are 70.
ing data-processing computers at
Q.
Do
I have to continue working,
the astounding rate of about 500 a
or
can
I
still
retire at 65?
year. In fact, the Defense DepartA.
You
can
retire whenever you
one lost $160 million by buying addiwant.
The
law
says only that if you
tional computers when ample were
want
to
keep
on
working, and are
already idle in the Pentagon. still
able
to
do
the
job, you can, until
Today, more than 2,600 comyou
reach
70.
puters.—(feet?—teeth—bared—like
Q: Witt Tha veto retire at TO then?
outraged orangutans, are spinning
A. Only if your employer wants
away. Their full-time potential each
you
to. There is nothing in the new
year is to supply the Washington
bureau with a stack of records about law that requires people to retire at
70. Some companies already allow
2.000 miles JUgih.
"
—
their
workers to stay on the job inThe amount of paper shuffled annually by federal employees could definitely so long as they are able.
filT lIuuAlufl l vast ASIFOOVM* M As older people grow more assertimes. Or, if you lined up these tive of their rights, rhanres are that
shelves end to end they would reach more employers will begin allowing
from Byzantium-on-the-Potomac to them to continue working past 70.
Q. Who is covered by the bill?
Salt Lake City.
A. Almost everyone working
My investigation finds that about
where
there are more than 20
250.000 — yes. 250.000 — government
employees.
State and local governemployes chiefly spend their time
tat taxpayers' expense) filing
papers into cabinets The cabinets
cover about 25 million cubic feet of
~C0-$cr*!
ssace — more than 12 times the entire rentable area m New York s immense, i 02-story Empire State
Du;.dir.g — just for the paper-work
;ung!e s filing cabinets
And president Carter's executive
branch a.one has more than two
m;,;ion cabinets As .'or the Defense
Department a New Jersey paper:..? man-facturer :c:d me
The
:>rcers I new ge: are sc enormous
:hat we must 5e shooting paper
*::DS '
Paper work stiJJ__
runs Washinqton
*?!£«
BicycU
This is In n
!Cola-Cumberli
Tun. I'd like tc
company for s
Terry Gordoi
organizing it
timers and otf
as Pepsi Cola
on a fine job
weather condi
bad condition
finishers. I'd
*ime to thank
*^weh a g
race. It's nice
given to all the
TaCe. NOT JUST
Press-Republi
to all the hard
first annual P
Success.
of the transfer of fiailey Avenue Park.-.-*
How would a candidate backed by the
mayor vote on a controversial city-school
board issue? Would he owe the mayor
something? It's only speculation, but it's
something we have to think about.
There's a potential conflict here because the
city and the school board do business with
each other. He oughta leave the campaigning
to the candidates.
There's a potential problem in the North
Country and Planned Parenthood has come up
:
with a plan to solve it.
'"'
That problem is venereal disease. And next
week that organization will open the first
areawide VD screening clinic for men and
women.
There's an obvious need for such a clinic —
whether we want to believe it or not. Last year
alone there were over 1 million cases of gonorrhea and syphillis, the two main venereal
diseases, reported in the U.S.
And there were 115 positive cases of gonorrhea reported in Clinton County. How many
* ? v * - ; # « * • *•
:
iRaceeff
VD clinic-a valuable asset
President Carter, seeking election, promised to "cut Washington's
red tape and needless paper work
and reduce the White House staff."
te„i£-now well into his second
year and has the largest White
House staff in history.
As for the paper work. President
Carter broke these promises, too.
Apparently jour suffering taxpayers have no idea that it costs
about $40 billion a year and, in the
light of President Carter's election
promises this is now a very hot subject — and getting hotter.
It remains enough, to shatter the
nerves of an astronaut
In President Carters second year
it cost us around $8 biilion a year
merely to have the Washington
Bureaucrats push their way through
the paper work Jangle. It also costs
taxpayers an estimated $20 billion
annually to repjy.
I find that the Carter adminis-
I would like
pie who wrote
of Mr. Elmer
death that w
don't have tJ
Ttjod^ will but
been a cauti
'across, it coul
* sure hope SOJ
before we rea<
Senior citiz<
jwhich are use
their purchasi
tain merchant
discount? Whj
tists not givini
the Grand Ur
stores give
because one
citizen establi
high income ii
others in bi
livelihood. It i
independent 1
stores, grocer
panies. Senioi
certain reducl
income is ovc
This should b«
for discount ca
• Wrestl
A big thank
and all the peo
ble for the b
Peru wrestlinj
small minded
have done not
c a u s e hard
"everyone, shai
be easier to SJ
the people wl
plaining abou
youths today. ]
ting a good e
follow.
Ligh
I think ther
flight on the
Catherine anc
have been so
in the last fe
save some bod1
Prom <
To Tuesdayconfident tha
prom court w
out. well, f doi
when the pri
have this matt
and ail they <
caller. 1 reali;
handled much
^HS /jjy "^"e *^zo*i&
Job f
*-e
&Z«£M±^
I'd ake to vc
the em ploym
County and PI
several differ
try name in h
employment 1
as a *ab teci
receptionist T
this area for a
waats a job to