4 - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, January 5, 1995
a "
420 Maynard
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Edited and managed by students at
the University of Michigan
Jessie Halladay
Editor in Chief
Samuel Goodstein
Flint Wainess
lP' tonal Page Editors
Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of a majority of the Daily's editorial board. All
other articles, letters, and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily.
'He was pretty laid back (at the arraignment). He
winked at the cameras and made some comment
about "You are going to be seing a lot of me.'
-Ann Arbor Police Sgt. Phil Scheel, on the suspected serial rapist.
/VM ilT - nrcc7 R C/1' MNEW o, IMPR'OVED r
ORPHANA 6E . .
:::":: "GRUEL
::r::FAT FRED!
Health reform lives at 'U'
A funny thing happened in 1994 as the
country withdrew itself from the mire of
the health care reform debate. Apparently, the
Clinton administration represented managed
care, and as its plan went down in flames,
managed care was to die a simultaneous death.
But in fact, triggered in part by the national
clamor for reform, managed care moved be-
yond fad status in 1994. As academians and
policy makers debated the merits of health
maintenance organizations and other types of
managed care plans, the free market had al-
ready reached its conclusion: Managed care is
here to stay.
The number of individuals participating in
managed care plans is quite surprising. Sixty-
five percent of individuals insured through
their employers participate in some form of
managed care, and a majority of privately
insured Americans are now enrolled in man-
aged care.
Still, change is never easy to accept, espe-
cially for those who have benefited the most
from the past. Evidence of this stubbornness
comes from the nation's teaching hospitals --
the most prestigious of which being located at
places like Harvard as well as our own Univer-
sity-where the future is uncertain. Formerly,
these great centers of research and teaching
had the best of both worlds.
On the one hand, they received large fed-
eral subsidies. But these were subsidies with
few strings attached. The hospitals were churn-
ing out specialists, contributing to the vast
national imbalance between specialists and
primary care physicians. Moreover many uni-
versity hospitals, the University often being an
exception, were stuck in time, the latest ex-
ample being the resistance to move away from
fee-for-service, or traditional indemnity plans.
And this failure to move forward evidence by
university hospitals was in many respects re-
sponsible for the outrageous medial inflation
the United States has known in the past three
decades.
At the December Board of Regents meet-
ing, the University made a commitment to
buck this trend and to be a leader in the next
century. By endorsing the creation
Michigan Health Corporation -- a b
is to serve as the primary vehicle forr
the University Medical Center into am
care-friendly future - the Board of F
has become a voice for change inste
symbol of the status quo, and is now p
maintain its position as a leader of the n
teaching hospitals.
To be sure, the agreement raises co
Will the regents be squeezed outc
constitutional oversight role as the c
tion takes on a life of its own? Is manag
truly the wave of the future, or is it
another temporary victory in the war,
medical inflation-one that, as so man
band-aid solutions have in the past, w:
erate initial savings but can't contra
term growth? Will research and devel
be compromised?
Fortunately, the players involved
historic decision to empower the M
Health Corporation have thoroughly
ined these questions. The Board of P
will review the corporation quarterly i
sary, and will be the sole proprietor
corporation. More important in the
picture however is the role of managed
the nation's future.
Here, the corporation also passes t
First, the corporation does not pretend
the key to every future door; it will p
slowly and cautiously. In addition, as]
has shown, managed care is not a single
It can mean HMOs but it can also mean
of-service plans, which allow a patien
for instance, a specialist not involved
network if they are willing to pays
more.
In the end, the University has m
right decision in proceeding with the c
tion. Students will continue to be taug
patients will continue to be served. An
importantly, the University Medical
will continue to ride the waves ofc
searching - in a way only universities
for the trends of the present and the so
of the future.
ie
of the
ody that
moving
ianaged
Regents
,ad of a
oised to
nation's
)ncerns:
of their
orpora-
ged care
Is Lou Reed a spokesman for democracy?
Veto the
line
simply To the Daily:
against I am writing in response to
ny other the letter "America the fascist
ill gen- rears its ugly head again (12/
A long- 12/94)." The author reveled in
hyperbole and name-calling in
opment nearly every sentence. While I
disagree with her, I will ac-
i in the knowledge that this is America,
ichigan where everyone is entitled to
exam- voice their opinion. I am curi-
Regents ous what she thinks shouldhap-
pen to people who disagree with
fneces- her. She claims American his-
s of the tory includes, but is not limited
bigger to, the violent suppression of
3 care in ideological opposition, lies and
death. But where in her letter
did she mention that people who
the test. disagree with her are anything
[to hold but sick and racist? With all her
proceed America-bashing, she sounds
M-Care like a member of the Manson
eentity. family.
"Any idiot can see that our
n point- country is totally screwed up.
t to see, And which "idiot" does she
d in the quote? Lou Reed, the wealthy
slightly musician, who says that people
are "worth less than infected
ade the yeast to corporate America.
And what are Lou Reed' squali-
orpora- fications for making this state-
ght, and ment? All that cocaine use prob-
nd most ably made him forget the blood
Center and the pain of the proletariat
change, who slaved away to produce
scan- copies of his album in his record
company's factory,
lutions coYes, wealthy stockholders
and CEOs make millions. If we
had no stock market or free
enterprise, we would be like
one of the Third World nations
whose people risk drowning to
of pro- get to an evil country whose
esident. Proposition 187
ne-item
sponsi- To the Daily:
ntuated It seems that recently people
hakes it have been looking for issues to
mkedit blow out of proportion. One
,ending particular issue is racism. I will
budget be the first to admit that America
that are has a considerable problem with
m veto racism. But the answer is not to
ng pro- cry wolf every time something
happens involving parties of
making different race. A recent xample
leaders of this crying w t
o)k a-t esponse to th
tt VS. Proposition 187.
f Con- I am a resident of Cahifor-
ing the nia, and if my absentee ballot
had come in time, I would have
veto, it voted in favor of Proposition
nent of 187. I am not racist. I do not
ves the hate Mexicans. But I do have a
embers problem with the current situa-
erences tion in southern California.
seldes Since most students at the Uni-
scal de- versity are not from California
s based and have probably never been,
ions. let me describe things there.
a sup- I went to a high school that
e most has suffered such drastic cut-
backs that it cannot afford to
all but hire janitors Playing a varsity
should sport such as foot bal cost stu-
kely do dents upwards of $600 i nfes.
at they Cutbacks have slashed teach-
ilk ca d ers' salaries cauisne teachers
faults are so well articulated by
Lou Reed. In addition, America
has the cleanest environment,
unlike the Eastern European
nations, where private citizens
owned nothing and the gov-
ernment had no incentive to
minimize pollution. According
to the author, our greatest pur-
suit is "watching football and
getting wasted in sports bars."
She shouldn't make fun of
people who suffer from alco-
holism; it's not very politically
correct. With all her talk of
Americans being cruel, I won-
der if she was in the blood drive
last month against Ohio State..
I was there - it was my fourth
donation in under a year. She
probably didn't donate because
she was afraid her blood would
save the life of some unwashed
sports fan who lacks her sensi-
tivity and kindness.
She refers to Proposition
187 as a "sick piece of statu-
tory trash enacted by a bunch
of Nazi-like Republicans in
California." These "Nazi-like
Republicans" include half the
Latino voters in California.
People can only be oppressed
by ridiculously high taxes for
so long, before the Democrats
are voted out of office and
Proposition 187 is voted into
law. People are allowed to view
protestors as "whiners,"just as
she is allowed to view Ameri-
can presidents as mass mur-
derers' If you don't believe me,
check the First Amendment.
The author then lists people
oppressed by the United States.
Native Americans and white
settlers should have coexisted
better. Neither one behaved
honorably toward the other. In
Nicaragua, the U.S.-backed
democratic Contras were voted
into office when the people had
a chance to finally vote in 1990.
Too bad people there didn't
have to remind them of how the
Contras had tortured them. Viet-
namese children were burned
by napalm because Ho Chi
Minh wanted to conquer South
Vietnam, at any cost to his
people. When the United States
placed an embargo on South
Africa, the people we were try-
ing to help only suffered more.
U.S.-owned factories closed
and the unemployed then had
to find employment with white
South American employers.
America does not love to
starve people. Our foreign aid
is provided free of charge to
many lesser-developed nations
so their people can survive.
They then turn around and criti-
cize us in the United Nations
and vote against our ally Israel
any chance they get. The author
should visit other countries. In
South America, Africa, South-
east Asia, the Middle East, she
would keep her opinions to her-
self. No one criticizes the gov-
ernment there and lives. I re-
member the massacre in
Tiananmen Square. She is free
to bad-mouth Newt Gingrich
without having to fear for her
safety and family. Is America a
great country or what?
Ian Goldenberg
RC first-year student
Choose not to
choose: a criss¢
of generations
Escaping reality is what genera-
tions do best.
And this generation spoke with a
BMW tongue: Choose not to choose,
it said. In our ubiquitous quest for
order, we make lists, purchase plan-
ners, make new year's resolutions
and enroll in Comm. 102 because iA
the dread of sifting through the .-
course guide alone is insurmount-
able.
Choose not to choose, we col-
lectively chant, as vacation finally ;
lends us the time to settle down with
a good book that it took us great
intellectual pains to choose (John
Grisham, Michael Crichton, we love
you; thanks NY Times Bestseller
List!); and as 1995 becomes the
year to join the legal profession.
Law, chimes in the nice repre-
sentative from the Business School,
being theonlydamn altenativethese
days, what with federal law having
those confiscatory socialist capital
gains clauses. Medicine? Who needs
it; I actually heard of one student
that had to become a primary care
physician, and was forced to try to
raise a family on 100 grand, that
poor man.
And this generation spoke with a
tongue of marijuana: Choose not to
choose, it said, for the time is now to
tune in and dropout. Why yes, times
have changed - the '60s are out.
But never shall the will to live
through narcotics cease; never shall
we not be able to take the 9:30 train
from San Francisco and arrive at
11:00 in never-never land.
Ticket? Don't know how to de-
scribe it, but I sure know howto
smoke it. Destination? Anywhere,
as long as it's away from here. We
choose not to choose.
Once upon a time, the genera- i
tion met in a movie theatre and
realized they were actually one and
the same. In the red corner sits he
who wants to escape from the ter-
rible terrible ways of college life.
It's tough being a full-time student,
you know. In the blue corner sits he
who has not had time to ask why he
is watching "Dumb and Dumber"
for the second time. He does know
though that it is better than actually
thinking of something to do.
Perhaps Ann Arbor was the
movie theatre that housed the meet-
ing. In many ways, the University
community stands in danger of be-
coming two of the sons Yehudim
read about during Passover. There
is the rebellious son, scorning the
customs and traditions cherished by
many. And there is the son who
doesn't know how to ask at all. He
is so accustomed, in the case of our
fair city, to being given answers that
he forgets how to pose questions.
Well I'll help out and pose a
question: Did the third Passover son
- the wise son - go to Yale?
Of course intellects could be frol-
icking in the fields of Ann Arbor.
ever hai
never knowing the Arb, never know
ing the Earle. Never knowing that
thing called Main Street, never
knowing the Michigan Theatre.
Never knowing the University Mu-
sical Society, and neverhaving taken
a class in the Residential College.
In Woody Allen's Annie Hall, a
picturesque couple bounds down
the street, arms locked, smiles plas-
tered on their unassuming faces. A
typically searching and confused
Allen approaches the couple, look-
ing for a panacea to cure his aching
loneliness.
asting little time on pag The 104th
eantry, House Speaker ongre ss
Newt Gingrich is trying to follow First of a series
through on his pledge to pass the
"Contract with America" in the first 100 days bility on t
of the legislative session. One of his first during time
legislative efforts will be to pass an executive a necessity
line-item veto, which would allow the presi- Ignoring th
dent to veto individual lines of a congressional crisis is du
budget proposal. This will certainly be one of politically
the least contested items in the contract, as could actua
President Clinton and a plethora of congres- cess by mo
sional Democrats hayc V YiCer m en k
proval of the UiCu Ut. and t
line-item veto will barely make a dent iA IhL dea<
budget deficit and could even impair the bud- The differe
get-making process. gress passi
A quick look at various state constitutions presidentd
and budgets will provide evidence that the must work
line-item veto is a bogus solution to budget the budget
crises. Each state that allows its governor to executive u
veto items from the budget has seen no sub- of Congres
stantial decrease in its deficit, including states into accoun
that do not have constitutionally mandated cisions -i
balanced budgets. It is a safe assumption that on voter w
the line-item veto would prove equally impo- Preside
tent on the national level. Consider the fact that porter ofd
Congress has the power to define exactly what presidentsi
constitutes a line, and is therefore able to sure to bec
couple programs vital to the president's agenda beware tha
with programs favored by the Congress. The very littlei
reil r. that th nrecident mwoiu i7 E nn;i1 to detest- -
effects, notably the lossa
grams important to the pr
Supporters of the lin
not a tool of oppression
veto claim that fiscal irre
he part of Congress, acce
es of divided government, r
y to curb discretionary sp
he fact that the bulk of the
e to entitlement programs1
untouchable, the line-ite
ally disrupt the budget-maki
ving much of the decisioni
mimstrauon n cri ow
ence will be that instead c
ing its own budget and lett
decide whether to sign or,
out each individual compo
with the president. This gi
undue power, and forces m
ss to take presidential pref
nt when making specific fi
instead of making decision
ishes ard personal motivat
nt Clinton has long been
the line-item veto, as hav
in recent memory, and it is
ome law. Zealous reformers
it the line- item veto will lii
to improve the ystem th
walowming hitter n I l i
they are involved in an acci-
dent with someone without in-
surance. Furthermore, citizens
have no legal ability to file a
civil suit against illegal aliens.
There is no way of collecting
damages from illegal aliens,
even those who have legiti-
mate jobs. In essence, citizens
are paying the auto insurance
of these illegal aliens.
lr> e prePm"nrion 187
days. ,
could' I
gency room, in iabor, and re-
ceive extensive medical care.
By the time she is released
from the hospital, she has re-
ceived, in many circumstances,
over $30,000 worth of medical
care. Much of this cost is borne
by the state, which passes it
along to taxpayers in the form
of higher taxes. The rest is ab-
sorbed by the hospitals, which
have to provide care to every-
one, regardless of their ability
to pay. Hospital bills, for those
of us who pay them ourselves,
are much higher in California
than in other states. Is this be-
cause California babies are
har der to deliver? No, it is be-
cause the hospitals must make
of illegal aliens willing to work
for minimum wage. If the
Michigan Union were located
in Los Angeles, the restaurants
in it would not be offering such
generous wages. All of this
means that it is more difficult
for hard-working Americans to
secure well-paying jobs because
there are people willing to un-
dercut them, and then not pay
taxes on the money they make,
Pronostion ;Yr -
Cec a. e
targeted at any onr. group it
applies equally to French, Afri-
can, Korean and Mexican
aliens. Do not be fooled into
thinking that Proposition 187
only applies to Mexicans by the
fact that most illegal aliens in
California are Mexican.
The purpose of Proposition
187 is simple. It aims to make
California a less hospitable des-
tination for illegal aliens. If we
must close the loopholes that
illegal alines exploit to curb the
influx, then that is what we
must do.
As a taxpayer in the state of
California, I am frustrated pay-
ing inordinate taxes to subsi-
dize programs that support
1
)i