The Quintessence of 'Dumb!'
As I write this on the evening of Friday, Feb. 3, the local TV media are blaring out "winter storm warmings!" They're predicting -- repeatedly -- a "very-large snowstorm" -- up to as much as 10 inches of the "white plague!"
Earlier in the afternoon, I happened into a large food market. The place looked as through someone had hung a sign outside reading -- "Today Only -- Free Food And All Else To The First 20,000 Shoppers." With merely the prediction of on-coming snow, the rush-hour traffic moved at a pace as though it had already arrived. The drive home took twice as long as usual.
I'm a native Baltimorean, so I'm quite familiar how much fear and terror fill the hearts of all Baltimoreans at the mere mention of the word "snow." I've witnessed this phenomenon for nearly half a century, but -- to this day -- I don't understand the reason for it. In fact, I've reached the point where I don't even try to understand it any longer.
I've lived, at various times, in some cities where a snowfall -- some snowfalls which make the ones we get here -- occasionally -- look like mere "flurries" -- is an everyday reality. I lived, for example, in Buffalo, N.Y., where it snows daily . . . at times as much as two to three feet. But life went on as usual. No one panicked and ran to the food stores to "stock up on" bread, milk, toilet tissue, and the like. In fact, no one even noticed the snowfall -- and the broadcast and print media certainly never made the fact that a snowstorm was approaching their lead story.
I've decided to finally write a letter regarding this ridiculous occurrence here in Baltimore, whenever snow looms in the weather picture for one reason: One would think that over the years and after a plethora of snowstorms which have invaded our sky during these years Baltimoreans would have become inured to and more sophisticated regarding the "white plague" which, in fact, attacks our city only very seldom and begin to take a snowfall "in stride," as it were. But it appears to me the opposite is the case. It seems to me that, each winter, we become increasingly terrified of the possibility (just the possibility) of a snowfall.
And it also appears to me that each year an approaching snowstorm takes on more dire dimensions and becomes a larger media event. In fact, one of the local television stations has scheduled a "Snow Show" wherein several of their newspeople would be on the tube all day doing nothing but "covering" the storm. This has to be the quintessence of "dumb!" No -- I'll take that back. This scheduled "media event" is merely the epitome of "dumb!" The quintessence of "dumb" is the way the people of Baltimore conduct themselves when they hear it's going to snow. Or is the quintessence of "dumb" really the fact that I've taken the time and effort to write this letter which, I fully realize, will fall on deaf ears?
Louis P. Boeri
Baltimore
FDR's Madness
Isn't the labor secretary's thrust to raise the minimum wage just another example of a contradictory federal policy?
After all, if federal officials still believe in the free market principles they fought so hard for in North American Free Trade Association and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, shouldn't these free market principles apply also at home to our own economy?
The U.S. has been the high-cost, most economically uncompetitive nation for decades. That's why Third World countries export their low-cost products to us.
But that gets the government all upset about the trade deficit. So, why does the labor secretary wish to raise business costs, which will make us even more uncompetitive in the world's economy?
I submit the reason is pure domestic politics.
Franklin D. Roosevelt started the concept of minimum wage in 1936 as the country was just beginning to emerge from the Depression. FDR wanted to take political credit for coming out of the economic decline. Up until 1936, free markets for the supply and demand for labor set the wage rates.
In the face of discouraging advice from businessmen, FDR prevailed in his madness, and set the minimum wage at 25 cents per hour.
When consumers could not pay the increased costs of products, the country went back into a recession. Only World War II solved the recession and saved FDR's political tail . . .
Jack Aellen
Mount Airy
Outstanding Series
Congratulations to The Baltimore Sun on its outstanding series, "The Disabling of America" (Jan. 22-Jan. 25). The articles written by John O'Donnell and Jim Haner brought to my attention the serious problems regarding abuse of Supplemental Security Income.
While I believe there are individuals who very much need and deserve to receive SSI benefits, there are others who are bilking the system for every cent they can.
That's why I've written to Senators Bob Packwood and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the chair and ranking minority member of the Finance Committee, urging the committee to hold hearings on fraud with the SSI program.
I believe that John O'Donnell and Jim Haner have truly done a national service by bringing this problem to the attention of the public and that the Senate would be remiss if we do not follow up and investigate the extent of this scandalous fraud on the system.
Fraud and abuse at SSI cannot be tolerated. It hurts those who are truly disabled and need help. Able-bodied and minded people should be expected to contribute and work.
SSI must be reformed to have a clear mission and legislative framework and strong enforcement.
There is no doubt that there are adults and children who need this humanitarian benefit.
Yet, we must do all that we can to weed out those who simply use the public subsidy to support their substance abuse habits and to avoid work.
Barbara A. Mikulski
Washington
;/ The writer is a U.S. senator from Maryland.
Got to Watch 'em
The early pensions, supplementary pensions and cash for unused sick leave from the taxpayers of Prince George's County to Gov. Parris Glendening and his top aides show what happens when the voters aren't looking.
It should be fair warning to Mary- land's voters: If we don't pay attention to what is going on in government among our elected officials, we'll deserve what we get. Not looking usually adds up to higher taxes and plush deals for politicians and their friends and supporters.
John T. Norris
Ellicott City
Defense Fat
In a quarter-page article Jan. 21 on defense spending, Gilbert Lewthwaite did not find space to note that the United States spends more on its military establishment than all its NATO partners combined -- about two-thirds of the total NATO budget.
The U.S. spends almost twice as much on its military as all nations who are not U.S. allies, including Russia and all the other states of the former Soviet Union combined.
Compared to military spending of conceivable adversaries the picture is even more bizarre; nearly 10 times that of Russia; over 30 times that of Iraq, over 100 times that of North Korea, over 150 times that of Libya and over 200 times that of Iran or Cuba; over five times what is spent by all these combined.
Fifty-eight percent of U.S. research spending is on weapons -- more for weapons research than any other nation spends on its entire military establishment. We hear ominous warnings that we risk losing our technological edge if military spending is not increased. This is hardly credible in view of the huge overkill in research spending in the existing budget. Still these scare tactics work. The Clinton administration has asked for an additional $25 billion for the military and the Republican Congress wants to spend even more.
There is much talk about preparedness of U.S. forces. There seems to be some irrational fear that the U.S. military, which by any measurement is by far the most able and best equipped military force on the globe, will somehow be unequal to the task of vanquishing the Haitian police force. This is the same fighting machine that virtually overnight destroyed the largest and best equipped fighting force among possible adversaries in the Persian Gulf five years ago in a walk-over. The fact is there is no force in the world -- not even NATO minus the U.S. -- that can compare with the U.S. military.
The people must assert their constitutional leadership to bring some sense into this situation. Congress is blinded by the jobs issue. It cannot wean the economy from military programs even though an objective observer sees military spending as counter-productive -- even in the short run. Money spent on more nuclear weapons that will never be used clearly is wasted and money spent on improving nuclear weapons seems the epitome of waste. Still there are champions in the Congress for such spending and for reviving "Star Wars."
More fundamental is the fact that the drain on research funds -- and brainpower -- caused by misplaced emphasis on weapons during the Cold War sapped the U.S. economy and huge unneeded military spending continues to strain the economy. We have to wake up and realize that we are competing in a world economy. The U.S. cannot continue to spend more than half its research and development funds on weapons. The U.S. has already lost its leadership in product development to Europe, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and other Pacific Rim nations.
We need now to break free of this error and work to regain technological leadership in products useful to people. There is no danger of the U.S. losing the military race -- not technologically, not in preparedness nor in any other way -- but we are lagging badly in the consumer economy race. The race where world leadership is ultimately decided.
J. Wayne Ruddock
Baldwin