Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.issues,americast.usa-today.issues From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: issues Thu, Aug 27 1992 Date: Thu, 27 Aug 92 05:59:07 EDT Message-ID: 08-27 0000 DECISIONLINE: Issues & Debate USA TODAY Update Aug. 27, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network Here are some of the issues and topics being debated across the nation Thursday morning in USA TODAY: Jobs, Military, Colleges. TODAY'S DEBATE - JOBS PROGRAMS: USA TODAY'S OPINION: President Bush joined the chorus this week with a belated but welcome call to increase federal spending for jobs programs he once sought to cut. Bush's proposal: Raise job-training spending from $740 million to $2 billion over five years to train the unemployed, youth and displaced workers, including those threatened by the North American Free Trade Agreement. Bill Clinton has a similar job-training plan that has one great advantage over Bush's: He says how to pay for it. Clinton calls for a 1.5% payroll tax on employers, but Bush won't say how he'll finance his unless he's re-elected. ... both candidates have the right idea about a strong federal role in job training. When trade agreements, a prolonged recession, global competition and technological advances leave workers stranded, government has every reason to intervene .... The few studies there are of federal jobs programs show most have succeeded at improving the employability of those who go through them: They raise average wages of disadvantaged trainees between $400 and $800 a year, teach life skills and speed up re-employment. Some changes that could improve that record: Get a clear picture of private-sector job needs before funding new programs. ... Make sure programs work by measuring the success of their graduates. ... Streamline the administration of the 60 federal programs and 51 state programs to eliminate duplicate efforts. OTHER VIEW: RICHARD B. MCKENZIE, a professor at the University of California:Irvine Graduate School of Management: George Bush and Bill Clinton now have at least one thing in common: Both have accepted the flawed logic of federally funded worker retraining programs, for which ... the American public will pay the tab. Both candidates advocate retraining as extraordinarily valuable to U.S. workers, but many workers ... are unable to cover the accompanying cost. Expanded federal retraining programs offer prospects of a "new century workforce" (so they say) and, without them, the American workforce will falter and the country will continue on the road of economic decline. ... Some truly disadvantaged Americans do deserve help from their compatriots, but it does not follow that the broad sweep of U.S. workers - especially highly paid autoworkers - should be the object of additional federal largess. If retraining is so valuable, then workers or their employers ... (depending on who benefits) should eagerly cover the cost. If reasonably well-paid workers refuse to retrain themselves, it is probably because the cost exceeds the return. ... Washington already will spend over $35 billion on education and retraining in 1993. Does anyone believe a few more billion will have the ballyhooed effect or will quell calls for more? VOICES ACROSS THE NATION ON BILL CLINTON AVOIDING SERVICE: SOS, Miss., John M. Adams, 41, senior pastor: The commander in chief of the military forces of the USA needs to be someone who has been actively involved in military service. When the demand is before our president, he needs to have had active experience and, for that reason, I could not vote for Clinton. CHICAGO, Ill., Carol Gifford, 32, public relations rep.: No, I don't hold it against him or think voters should. The political climate was so different back then. It was a very isolated incident in an isolated time. I certainly don't think it's something that represents his character or his commitment to the country. DENTON, Texas, Jimmy Gales, 50, basketball coach: No, not in the least. I didn't serve in Vietnam either, and I was a prime candidate. There are some good people who have not served in the armed forces. It won't affect my vote one way or the other. IRVINE, CALIF., Pete Snetsinger, 55, high school teacher: While I commend those who did serve, it has little effect on today's problems: jobs, health care and education. While moral issues are a factor, the economic issues are of such overwhelming importance that our future and our children's future are at stake. HILLSDALE, N.J., Maria Triantafillou, 36, sales manager: What Bill Clinton did 23 years ago about Vietnam does not affect me. Plus, I agree with what he did. I am a strong supporter of Clinton. I believe in him as a strong, trustworthy candidate. TOPIC - COLLEGE FUNDING: C. Peter Magrath, president of National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, was interviewed by USA TODAY's Debbie Malo. IS THE ECONOMY PINCHING PUBLIC COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES ANY MORE? It's the worst I've ever seen in 20 to 25 years of being involved as a university president. It's probably the toughest fiscal situation that we've had since the Great Depression. WHAT STATES ARE HAVING SERIOUS PROBLEMS? California has one of the worst situations. Universities have had reduction after reduction. I'm told that the University of California system may have to take as much as a 10% reduction in base operating budgets. Ohio has terrible, persistent problems. WHERE ELSE ARE THERE PROBLEMS? Maryland apparently faces a $500 million deficit, and officials are looking at higher education for about $200 million of that. Funding for public universities is very dependent on state appropriations and the money from tuition, which is increasing dramatically. Issues & Debate Editor: Kate Coughlin. (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