OPINION/FEATURE
Writer feels that welfare state needs to be changed
The Clackamas Print Page 3
Wednesday, May 31,1995
Staff Writer
I think we’ve become «‘wel
fare nation. And that’s not good,
especially when we don’t have the
money to keep it up. That’s a ma
jor reason our deficit is about the
$4 trillion mark it is now. And
Social Security, welfare and the
like, is a political sacred cow. If
politicians touch it, even with a
10-foot pole, they die - or, more
accurately, their careers do. Since
I’m a columnist who expresses his
opinions, I’ve nothing to fear.
I believe the welfare state has
gotten to be so big of a boondoggle
that a major overhaul is needed^
Welfare is supposed to be a tem
porary solution to a temporary
problem - and then, only as a last
resort.
I personally believe charity
begins with friends, family and
community (and a majority of us
has at least one, if not a combina
tion of more than one, of these el
ements).
But all too often, I’ve seen the
Washington porkers (the city, not
the state - and most of these are
Democrats) fill in all those roles.
And yes, they have something to
gain out of this, in particular po
litically, for they’ll then say they
brought home so-and-so’s welfare
check and if they don’t get voted
back to Washington, that check
won’t go so - and - so’s way any
more.
Thus, they build a constitu
ency. (I’m not sure it worked in
November, though; I’m certain
that if it had been used, it
wouldn’t have.)
And, morally, people have
downsized their
standards. As
an example,
some young
women
get
pregnant just so
they can collect
more welfare.
In some states,
New Jersey for
example, that
practice is be
ing cracked down upon. And all
the welfare benefits-”handouts,”
they should be referred to, - sap
the recipients of their work ethic
and/or incentive. And then there
are those unscrupulous types.
They’ll use the money for things
it wasn’t meant to be used for.
(There are other problems re
lated to this habit I’ll call “wel
fare kids.” These problems are
moral, physical and most cer
tainly psychological.)
4 C
I believe the welfare state
has gotten to be so big a
boondoogle that a major
overhaul is needed.
California Angels on the way back up
by Jesse Sowa
Sports Editor
After nine long years of
waiting for another playoff base
ball team, the fans of the Cali
fornia Angels will finally be
granted their wish.
Since 1986, when the An
gels were led by such “oldies, but
goodies” as Rod Carew. Reggie
Jackson and Rupert Jones, the
Angels have suffered through
some horrible rebuilding years
and many terrible mistakes by
management.
Over the past five years,
California has dealt away such
players as Wally Joyner (Kansas
City), Dante Bichete (Colorado),
Jim Abbott (Chicago White
Sox), Luis Polonia (New York
Yankees), Chad Curtis (Detroit),
Devon White (Toronto) and
Mark McLemore (Texas).
Now the Angels are led by
up-and-coming stars like 1993
American League Rookie of the
Year Tim Salmon, J.T. Snow,
Damion Easley, and Gary
DiSarcina. California looks for
leadership in veterans Chili
Davis, Spike Owen, Mark
Langston and Chuck Finley.
Davis who was the lone hit
ting threat in the lineup last year,
has been joined by Snow and
DiSarcina in the .300 range. With
Snow and Davis among the
league leaders in runs batted in
and Salmon going those two with
eight home runs, California Will
have no holes in the lineup this
year.
As of May 30, the Angels
were 20-11 with a two and one-
half game lead over the Seattle
Mariners in the A.L. West. A road
record of 10-4 has helped Cali
fornia get off to their best start
since that glorious 1986 season
when the Angels made the divi
sional playoffs, but fell to the Bos
Sure air bags work great
in front-end collisions,
but only a safety bMt can
protect you from side an.d K
rear-end collisions. So
buckle up. And you’ll
cover all the angles.
Also, the money these wel
fare checks are written for is a
fraction of what the recipient
could be earning as a productive
ton Red Sox in six games.
Pitching has been the key to
the season so far. With Mike
Butcher at 4-0, Shawn Boskie
and Langston 3-0, and Finley
starting to get the upper hand on
the mound, California has no
reason to look back this season
in a relatively weak division.
Newly acquired all-time saves
leader Lee Smith already has 12
saves and has yet to give up a
run.
As all the sports fans who
follows major league baseball
this summer will find out, the
California Angels are ready to
come out of the ashes and make
a run to the World Series. With
an experienced pitching staff, a
powerful bullpen, and a hitting
crew to match any other in the
major leagues, California will
push its way through the Ameri
can League to the cream of the
crop.
member of the workforce. Not to
mention work can help build
character. The difference, then, or
so my observations lead me to be-
leive, is that people work for
wages, but live the life of Kaelin
for a welfare check. Draw your
own conclusions about which will
be chosen.
To further the problems,
some services are duplicated by
the state and federal governments,
leading to unnecessary ad-
ministrative costs. Hence, I sup
port the block grant system. For
those who don’t know, a “block
grant” is instead of paying fed
eral welfare, the money will be
divided among the 50 states ac
cording to each state’s population.
In so doing, it can save on admin
istrative costs and go a long way
toward cutting the red tape - and
the red ink.
Besides, state governments,
centered in places like Salem,
Olympia, and 48 others, are closer
to the people than the Wash
ington, DC-centered federal gov
ernment.
So how do I believe we can
overhaul the welfare system?
I believe the first thing we
need to do is to integrate work into
any welfare reform package. No
more handouts; we now need
hand - ups. We need to continue
cracking down on habits such as
“welfare kids.” But most impor
tantly, we also need to increase the
efficiency of payment by using
block grants.
Etheridge performs for
an eclectic audience
by Hoyun Choi
Staff Writer
Melissa Etheridge put on a
smashing concert, making sure
everybody got their money’s
worth. The opening band led off
a strong start to the night. The
lead singer had a strong voice,
much like Etheridge’s. She was
successful in pepping up the
crowd for the main attraction.
As Etheridge entered onto
the stage, the crowd went wild,
excited to see their favorite artist.
As she went through her songs, I
noticed that she had a great sense
of performance. She has a cer
tain charisma which attracted the
overwhelming enthusiasm of her
fans.
The highlight of the concert
was when all the band members
went over to the drum set and
played a little gig. Throughout
the night, the drummer also took
his drum sticks over to the
guitars. The band was really cre
ative and kept the crowd on their
toes.
Etheridge played songs from
a variety of her albums. She
played many of her old songs as
well as the newer ones such as
“Come to My Window,” “Only
One,” and “Yes I Am.” The songs
were easy to relate to for many of
the other concert goers since it
involved meaning about love and
sexual preference. The crowd was
filled with a very diverse group.
Overall, the concert was a big
plus. I went to it not really pre
pared to know what to expect.
The music and performance was
great and I’m really glad I decided
to go.
It also opened my eyes up to
the diversity of people that I had
not really even seen before.
Etheridge was well worth it.
ADS_______
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