Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.issues From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: issues Fri, Feb 28 1992 Date: Fri, 28 Feb 92 05:50:42 EST Message-ID: 02-28 0000 DECISIONLINE: Issues & Debate USA TODAY Update Feb. 28-March 1, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network Here are some of the issues and topics being debated across the nation Friday morning in USA TODAY: Charity; Lottery; Neuharth. TODAY'S DEBATE - THE UNITED WAY: USA TODAY'S OPINION: William Aramony - United Way of America president whose spending and management practices are under heavy fire - has indicated he plans to tough it out, to ignore mounting calls to resign. That's unfortunate for everyone - but especially for the children, the poor, the sick and the disabled who depend on the 42,000 health and social service agencies that United Way helps fund. They almost mandate Aramony's exit, even though investigations continue and no illegality has been charged. Last year, the 2,100 local United Ways raised $3.1 billion. About 1,400 voluntarily paid dues of just 1% of collections to United Way of America, the network's headquarters. Those local offices are autonomous. Still, donors are phoning them to protest the fat-cat image Aramony has draped over the whole United Way network, and to ask about canceling their pledges. ... Heading a charity is a public trust. Public officials must consider appearances as well as actions; so must Aramony. He hasn't - and so must leave. And if he won't, his board should make him. OTHER VIEW: LASALLE, LEFFALL, a Washington physician and chair of the United Way of America Board of Governors' executive committee: Tuesday's USA TODAY "Voices from Across the USA" asked: Are big salaries justified for charitable-organization executives? The responses clearly dispelled the notion that professional community service must entail major financial sacrifices. Most Americans believe quality leadership deserves quality compensation. In 1990, 2,100 United Way organizations - the largest system of voluntary health and human-service caring in the nation - generated a record $3.11 billion in contributions. William Aramony, president of United Way of America and acknowledged leader of this well known, hugely successful charity, has been under fire recently for his $390,000 annual salary. ... As president of United Way for 22 years, Aramony has offered national leadership to a system that efficiently spends less than 15 cents of each dollar raised to conduct its business. VOICES ACROSS THE NATION ON GAMBLING SOLVING STATES' PROBLEMS? NASHVILLE, Tenn., Nelda Watts, 57, middle school principal: States with legalized gambling and lotteries, ultimately end up with shortfalls of revenue anyway - and some additional problems which require additional revenue ... the need for regulation, for policing to make sure things are run properly and taxes are collected properly. GREEN BAY, Wis., Tom Mayer, 26, health, fitness coord.: People gamble anyway, not necessarily the high-stakes stuff you see at the casinos, but in the home. It should be available. Leave it up to people's own discretion. Legalized gambling is a good way to take the burden off the tax payers. ROCKLEDGE, Fla., Carol Piper, 45, homemaker: I don't think it's a good way to raise revenue, because it causes too many problems, like people who can't afford to gamble getting hooked on gambling. It's the poor who go out hoping to hit the jackpot, and it doesn't happen. Then they're hooked like people on drugs. NEW ORLEANS, La., Victor A. Gordon, 59, school principal: In these hard economic times, I do believe that this is one of the avenues the states have, and I would recommend wholeheartedly that states support such an endeavor. If it were better economic times, I'm not certain I'd see it the same way. SIOUX FALLS, S.D., Greg Nelson, 39, disabled: I've seen what happened in South Dakota. When you get into gambling, you also get into a few other things, like people who gamble and can't stop and other interests coming in to take a slice of the money. The state government should live on taxes, not gambling. TOPIC - NEUHARTH: AL NEUHARTH, founder, USA TODAY: Newspaper columnists had a potentially captivating newcomer join their ranks this week, the former boss of the former Soviet Union. Mikhail Gorbachev made his debut in an Italian newspaper, with USA distribution rights to his once-a-month column sold to the New York Times Syndicate. Gorby's going for the gold as a capitalist. In addition to his column, he plans lectures around the world. USA agents trying to sign him say he could command $25,000 to $50,000 per speech. Not bad, compared to his paltry pension of rubles that amounts to about 60 U.S. dollars a month. Here's what Gorby wrote about Bush: "Recently, President Bush has again said the United States won the Cold War. My reply would be that the long years we spent plunged in the Cold War made losers of us all. Moreover, I do not think arguments on this score are any longer of much importance - except in presidential primaries." Amen and Ah-Ha! Issues & Debate Editor: Michele Coleman. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM