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About Sandy post. (Sandy, Oregon) 1938-current | View Entire Issue (May 25, 1978)
Salem scene ||S a é d y ^ ) ^ Overlapping benefits boost insurance costs Sue Lafky, Editor Von Braschler, Gen. Manager Caroline Duff, Office Manager, by Jack Zimmerman Associated Oregon Industries John Kline, staff reporter Published weekly Thursdays by The Outlook Publishing Co.. Bo« 68 Sandy Oregon 97055 Second class postage paid at Sandy Oregon 668 5548 SUBSCRIPTION RATES In Multnomoh and Clock am as Counties per year ..................... *7.00 In Northwest ond Pacific Coast States outside Oregon per y e a r ............... *9 00 Servicemen on y odd I ess ............ *7.00 Outside Northwest ond Pocific Coast states, per year ................................*11 00 In Oregon outside Multnomah and MEMBER N E T lP f lP E R A m o c muon ■ F o u n tU 'U S Page 2 ill 1 Oregon Newspaper 1 Publishers i Association I Sandy Post, Sandy, Oregon 97055 Represented Nationally by U S SUBURBAN PRESS INC No. 13 We Want Your Views Readers often write, and questions concerning letters to the editor usually arise. Since we hear many of the same questions each week, a brief ex planation of requirements might be helpful for all. First, letters to the editor should be typed (double-spaced), signed and no longer than 250 words. They should be free of libelous attacks on others or libelous slurs on businesses and free of reckless disregard of truth and foul language. You may print your opinions, but responsibility in print should be stressed. Consequently, The Post reserves the right to edit letters sparingly with consent of the writer. (In such rare instances, we would contact you beforehand and work things out.) Deadline of 5 p.m., Monday, should be observed, so that letters will be timely. Obviously, we at The Post openly welcome letters, and will be only too glad to print your frmws and views within these columns. After all, your community newspaper is a marketplace of ideas. So bring us your polished apples, so all can take a bite. (VB) Whatever Will It Take to Involve Voters? American decision-making is sometimes simplified and American voters made to look simple by the way we reduce complex issues and a multitude of choices to the better of two evils. Cynics say we shop, too, with the same subtractive reasoning; dress A is not yellow, therefore dress B is the best. As voters, we vote against things. We vote against larger government, against more taxes, against candidate A and for nothing. Proponents of the binary theory of explaining how we make our selections argue that French-style ballots with a multitude of parties and candidates would prove too complicated for the American voter, which may explain why our primaries attract so few voters. Too many choices. And it explains, they argue, how “Jack for State” style poster—while non- informative, contains just about all the American voter can handle. Does this suggest voter apathy? We at The Post hope that our readers don’t fall prone to these trends. Weeding out dresses on a rack on the basis of color preference is one matter. Sifting through urgent political choices, however, is far more complex than simple black or white. While only half of all Oregon voters showed up Tuesday, let us all face one staggering realization; Tough days are ahead. Make no mistake. Gathering winds of inflation sweep through empty fields in America where gross national product, balance of payments and natural resources were once matters of pioneer pride. Land dwindles for a growing flock of work-eat-sleep apartm ent dwellers and subdivision subur banites in look-alike homes with closed doors. Running scared, labor annual cuts itself larger slices of America’s pie in the sky, with little concern for tomorrow. When will the pie be gone, and how soon will our children return with but a taste on their lips? As the well runs dry from free dipping and government rolls over bodies with laisez-faire economy at the wheel, how soon will it be until our entire democratic system of free enterprise is reconsidered? Perhaps it won’t be until our cars run out of gas, American mills shut down and Americans huddle in groups inside small, unlit, cold boarding rooms. But the time of social review and public attention must be near. The democratic system will be tested as a vehicle to resolve these awesome social problems, and we urgently hope that all citizens are ready to wrestle these complex issues to the ground. (VB) Atiyeh surprises Vic Atiyeh’s resounding victory over Tom McCall for the Republican gubernatorial nomination and Ruth McFarland's strong showing to force a November run-off for superintendent of public instruction highlighted a busy prim ary election Tuesday. Gov. Bob Straub was easily nominated as the Democratic choice in his bid for a second term. U S Rep Bob Duncan was unopposed in his bid for another term in Congress In the race for U S . Senate, Republican M ark H atfield was nominated for another shot at the seat he holds and State Sen Vem Cook. D- Troutdale. beat three other challengers for the Democratic choice to unseat Hatfield Atiyeh, who was confident of his chances in the last week of the cam paign as he closed in on former Gov. McCall, said he can beat Straub in November “ He's an opponent I can beat,” the state senator from Beaverton said Tuesday night. ‘‘The people of Oregon want some changes—and they believe I cando it.” McCall said »he voters had nominated two strong and experienced candidates and the state will be well served by either McFarland, basking in the second place finish that forced a fall run-off, said she will concentrate more on getting around the state in her cam paign for superintendent of public in struction “ What we did worked pretty well,” she said, referring to her primary campaign “ It indicates that maybe a person without a stupendous war chest can still win an election.” Another winner, Vern Cook, said he was pleased with his strong showing in the U S Senate race and said that was necessary to establish credibility in his race against Hatfield He added that he would immediately begin organizing a committee to raise funds for his statewide campaign Champagne completes training Pvt. David Champagne Marine Corps Recruit Champagne of 47915 SE re c ru it training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot. San Diego D uring the nine-week training cycle, he learned the basics of battlefield survival He participated in an active physical conditioning program and gained proficiency in a variety of m ilita ry skills, including first aid. rifle marksmanship and cioae order d rill. Team w ork and self- discipline were emphasized throughout cycle the training I Used To Save Stamps, But... Now I Can't Afford Them Anymore...” ' Letters to the Editor ~j Super concert To the Editor: Well, Tim McCarthy and the children of Welches School have done it again. band made me want to stand up and cheer, and the honor choir made me want to get up and dance to their great rhythm and sound. Thursday night’s concert was absolutely super! The first graders brought tears to my eyes, the second graders gave me joyous laughter, the Yes, kindergarten on through gave all of us a great big hug and kiss in the form of their musical efforts and T im ’s efforts the evening of May 18. Now, didn’t someone say what the world needs now is love sweet love? Thank you children and Tim. Sincerely, Connie Warnock Brightwood As others see it A n oldie, but goodie I t ’s an old idea that Sen. Frank Church dusted off last week—but still a darned good one. The Idaho Dem ocrat proposed, as Oregon’s Sen. Mark Hatfield and others have before, that Congress set up a revolving, self- sustaining trust fund to pay for access roads, reforestation and tim ber sales preparations in the national forests. The fund would be financed by federal timber sales and thus would do away with the need for annual appropriations by Congress to meet what are essentially, or should be, operating costs directly associated with the growth, harvesting and replanting of publicly owned tree crops. This, as Church explained, would provide a businesslike way of using a portion of federal timber revenue* to guarantee future yields from those forests There would still be additional revenues going to the federal Treasury, and these might be used to cover costs related to the recreational use of national forests, m ain tenance of wildlife reserves and wilderness area and for other purposes favored by Congress. W hat could be more logical? The Forest Service has been falling farther and farther behind on national . forest utilizatio n and management jobs assigned to it by Congress because that body hasn’t been w illin g to plow enough timber sale* receipts back into the forests. The plan resurrected by Church would more or less automatically guarantee better results and would need to be tended by Congress only occasionally. If there’s any fault in it, it may be only that his plan is too logical to be compatible with the general pattern of fe d e ra l g o v e rn m e n t operations that Congress has established. Eugene Register Guard System needs changing Judging by what the House Ways and Means Committee is recommending, Congress is tinkering with the Social Security payroll tax just to appease the voters, not to make the fundam ental changes that are necessary The committee, by the narrowest possible vote with Rep. A1 Ullman of Oregon breaking a tie vote, recommended that payroll Lax increases scheduled to take effect next year be reduced slightly. At the very most, some employees would save $123 next year under the committee’s plan The vast majority of workers would save much less, as would their employers. N e v e r th e le s s , t h is proposed reduction would require the infusion of an estimated $14.5 billion of general fund money into the Social Security system, specifically the Medicare trust fund. This proposal manages, at the same time, to be costly to the government and re la tiv e ly ineffective in reducing the burden of federal payroll taxes. It is obviously intended as a political gesture to take some of the sting out of criticism directed toward incumbent Crime prevention tip Use an electric engraver to mark all your appliances, tools, firearms and other property with your driver’s license number. Police can trace the ownership of recovered stolen articles much more easily than with the use of Social Security numbers —Submitted by the Sandy Kiwanis Club and the Sandy Police Department. House members. Rather than continuing to tinker with the Social Security tax rate and the taxable wage base, what is needed is a fundamental reform of the structure of the Social Security system. The system was intended to be a retirement program, but it has blossomed into a social service program with the addition of M edicare, d isab ility benefits and several other aspect* not related to workers* retirement. The system will never be financially sound until all parts unrelated to retirement are removed and are sub jected to the regular budget process in Congress. House members like Les AuCoin of Oregon have been urging such structural reforms But if the action of the Ways and Means Committee is any guide, they're still being ignored Albany Democrat-Herald The high coat of Workers’ Compensation Insurance was a major issue during the 1977 legislative session and promises to occupy a position at least as prominent when lawmakers next convene in Salem The fact costs more than doubled—from $203 5 million in 1974 to $424 million in 1977 and will soar to $488 million this year—makes it easy to understand why this mandatory employer-paid fringe benefit is being scrutinized so intensely. And high on the list of Workers’ Comp law changes to be sought in 1979 will be curbs preventing overlapping of multiple benefits that tend to pave the way to early retirement for a growing number of claimants. Essentially, Workers’ Comp was designed for the benefit of workers sustaining job-related injuries and illnesses Workers so suffering are entitled to have temporarily lost income replaced, to have medical bills paid, to be returned to the workforce and —if unable to return—to be compensated for permanent total disability when that situation occurs. Benefits are not awarded as punishment to the employer. Workers cannot be penalized if their injury occurred because of their own carelessness. Employers cannot be sued for negligence. It is a no fault system. As described by law, benefits are designed to make the injured worker whole. They were not intended to raise the injured worker to a higher economic status than existed before the injury. The problem that is becoming more troublesome each year is the use of the system as an early retirement program. This is encouraged by multiple benefits from many overlapping social programs that have come into existence since the birth of Workers’ Comp in the early 1900s. A recent study by auditors of the Secretary of State’s office for instance, concluded job disability often can provide Oregon public employes with a tax-free in come greater than their former gross salaries. The study of 100 disability cases from the beneficiary files of the Public Employes Retirement System revealed that 85 also were collecting payments from Workers’ Compensation Insurance. Further in vestigation uncovered the fact 33 of those collecting benefits from two sources were being further sub sidized by disability checks from Social Security. The problem is not uniquely something that occur* only among public employes. Overlapping benefits are just as prevalent in the private sector. An interview survey conducted among 1036 subjects in Illinois, Georgia, New York and California by Cooper and Company for the federal Inter departmental Workers’ Compensation Task Force indicated the overall significance of the overlap problem. Of all respondents interviewed, 37 percent said they received benefits from at least two other sources. The largest single overlap appears to involve Social Security disability insurance benefits. Next largest overlap in the Cooper survey was Social Security survivor’s benefits. Next largest overlap in the Cooper survey was Social Security survivor’s benefits. Also involved are Social Security retirement benefits, unemployment insurance, Medicare, public assistance (welfare), Medicaid, Supplementary Security Income, private insurance plans and veterans benefits. No one as ascertained the magnitude of this iceberg. But the tip is full exposed. Investigation so far shows most overlaps do not involve defrauding the system. The legality of overlaps is seldom contested. But some states are moving to close the more obvious loopholes before the system becomes do overburdened it can no longer exist in a fiscally responsible manner. Lawmakers in the state of Washington -made changes when they learned there were more police and firemen on disablity than on service pensions. Police and fire disability claimants in that state now receive only token payment from the retirement system. Their cases are handled by a Workers’ Compensation Board that determines the extent of disability and limits, payments accordingly. The Oregon Legislature in 1977 enacted Senate Bill 1048, which offsets the cost of Workers’ Compensation by the amount of Social Security benefits without reducing a claimant’s total entitlement. The resulting new law also requires periodical physical examinations to prove continuing disability and calls for monitoring claimants' income sources by requiring income affadavits each April 15 Such offsetting legislation appears the most likely solution to the problem of overlaps And while the law resulting from passage of SB 1048 in Oregon last session applies only to Social Security benefits paid claimants on permanent total disability, additional offset will be sought at other levels of disability as well. When tax-free benefits even begin to approach take- home pay, it becomes increasingly difficult to restore recipients to productive pursuits in the workforce. Overlapping disability benefits rapidly are ap proaching a point at which the cure for one social illness may create a malignancy of even greater magnitude. Bikes recovered The Sandy Police Department has recovered a girl’s green bicycle and a boy’s red bicycle. Those with inform ation concerning possible owners Stolen from the Zigzag cabin owned by Timothy McCann of Portland were a stereo, four axes, two sleeping bags and an antique lantern, total value more than $400 Champagne joined the Missing from the Zigzag Marine Corps in January 1978 and is the son of William cabin owned by Thomas Champagne of 47915 SE Walker of Portland were Wildcat Mountain Drive In items adding up to $420. Sandy including a color television set A Rhododendron cabin owned by Donald Purcell of Portland was burglarized for $489 worth of tool*, including a chain saw. Finally, a Rhododendron cabin owned by Ethel Little of Portland was broken into, with item* totalling $265 missing Marvin Mosbrucker, 8937 SE 347th Ave., reported that $250 worth of lumber was stolen from a shed on his property Mosbrucker told INSURANCE WE SELL . . . dieriff’s deputies the burglary occured on the night of May 20. The personal insurance counsel ond advice of a local agent |* important to you in plonning a complete insurance program. Coming Soon! ’ SUSPENSE ’ TRAVEL Honest Family InlartaMMwet Graft dmaftandpa always Ira* when « compenwd by paying grandchild John $ of the bikes may call the department at 668 556« A spokesman for the department said the bicycles are one speed and probably belonged to small children SERVICE WE GIVE! Four area homes robbed Four vacation home burglaries were reported to the Clackam as County sheriff's office in the past week. f G ^ g w Morgan Local RaprweeatwWva WALRAD Sandy, O regon MER0T 1
