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NORTHWEST HERALD Section B Monday, August 12,1905 Pag* 3 Opinion Airport debate rages on Beach wmfrjiwa; ' copier savs Sepvica It is seldom that an issue creates widespread controversy and elicit^ overwhelming public opinion. This year we have seen it hap­ pen with the various school tax referenda, landfill applications, the hijacking in Lebanon, a pro­ posed state highway bypass, and now, the site selection of the new McHenry County airport. Volumes of mail have poured into our offices, regarding this up­ coming decision. Everyone seems to have an opinion on it. As well they should. The decision on the selection of a site will greatly af­ fect the entire area. Not simply the final selection site and its nearby residents, nor even just McHenry County. This decision is of monumental importance. The debate over this issue is essential and healthy. Opinions should be heard and encouraged. However, writing letters to our newspapers should not be the end of a concerned person's efforts to have his/her opinion heard. A pub­ lic meeting with county officials discussing the site selection is scheduled for 7 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 14, at McHenry County College. Those truly interested in having their voices heard should attend that meeting. Budget woes continue When President Reagan submit­ ted his proposed budget to Con­ gress last February, the Washing­ t o n p r e s s c o r p s g l e e f u l l y pronounced it "dead on arrival" at Capitol Hill. Six months later, the members of Congress have at last agreed on a substitute budget and departed on their summer vaca­ tions, and a taste for symmetry impels me to point out that their substitute is "dead on departure." WILLIAM A. RUSHER Mr. Reagan's budget died be­ cause Congress killed it, but the congressional substitute was born dead. It is proof positive that Con­ gress is utterly incapable of mak­ ing serious reductions in these ri­ diculous and dangerous federal deficits. It purports to cut expendi­ tures for the coming fiscal year by $55 billion, but the Congressional Budget Office has already stated that much of this is eyewash; the true savings are more like $39 bil­ lion. And not even these are cer­ tain: The cuts approved in this budget merely declare what Con­ gress allegedly intends to do; the actual appropriations must still be voted on in the months to come, and they may well be higher. The "savings" projected for the years ahead are even phonier, be­ ing based on revenue estimates that are precarious in any case (since they are mere guesses) and probably wildly optimistic. The real intention of Congress is revealed by what this budget does about domestic spending pro­ grams of all sorts -- the "benefits" that Congress insisted on confer­ ring on the voters year after year. Mr. Reagan's budget proposed simply closing down many of these. The Republican-dominated Senate managed to pass a budget that would at least ended 11 of them. But the Democrat-controlled House forced a compromise that, with the sole exception of revenue- sharing (which was scheduled to end in a couple of years anyway), lovingly preserves every single giveaway program ever enacted into law by Congress. Most, to be sure, will have their appropria­ tions reduced from recent levels, but the cuts are often largely cos­ metic. And anyway, which do you think a bureaucrat in charge of one of these boondoggles would prefer -- the shutdown of his oper­ ation altogether, or a 15 percent cut next year in the money he has to play with? Sen. Daniel Moynihan charged that Mr. Reagan's budget director, David Stockman, told him that the president had deliberately allowed the deficits to swell simply as a means of scaring the House Demo­ crats into serious budget cuts, but that this strategy "got out of h a n d " a n d r e s u l t e d i n d e f i c i t s f a r bigger than Mr. Reagan ever an­ ticipated. (Stockman, incidentally, denies saying any such thing.) But it seems at least as likely that Tip O'Neill and the other Democratic leaders, having piously registered their dismay over the deficit, are themselves deliberately "playing chicken" -- refusing to make seri­ ous cuts on the bet that Mr. Rea­ gan's sense of fiscal responsibility will sooner or later force trtm to agree to a tax hike. If they are wrong, they can still % they hope -- blame him for the deficits. Cyni­ cism that reckless is so breathtak­ ing that a certain grandeur creeps into it. What all this demonstrates is how right President Reagan has been all along to insist that only a constitutional amendment flatly requiring a balanced budget will ever produce one. And he is equal­ ly right about the desirability of giving presidents a "line-item veto," i.e. the right (now enjoyed, incidentally, by some 43 gover­ nors) to veto specific items in an appropriation bill without having to veto it all. But-the latter reform would limit the power of Congress to force its will upon presidents, so it is unlikely to pass as long as the voters insist on choosing a presi­ dent of one party and a Congress -- or a House -- of the other. (William Rusher is a columnist for N e w s p a p e r E m t e r p r i s e Association) SME5A. 'i. « NORTHWEST HERALD " C h a r a c t e r a n d personal force are the only investments t h a t a r e w o r t h anything." Walt Whitman ROBERTA. SHAW . Editor and Publisher LEONARD M. INGRASSIA Executive Editor STEVEN H. HUNTER Marketing Director MICHAEL E. MORSCH News Editor/Regional DENNISM. McNAMARA Editorial Page Editor RONALD L. STANLEY Circulation Director J OOFf! pmjjl USHH' ' & 4^ Deciphering the 'Budget Game' WASHINGTON -- Before they fled to the hills last Thursday night, members of the House and Senate reached agreement on a budget for the fiscal year that be­ gins October 1. They had engaged in six months of sound and fury. It is not fair to say that this was an agreement signifying nothing, but it signified very little. In the view of William Gray, chairman of the House Budget Committee, the only real winners of the prolonged affray were a group of House Republicans. They announced in February that they would not vote for a tax increase and they would not tinker with Social Security. Then they shut up. Behold the conference agreement: no increase, no tinkering. Such Re­ publicans as Jack Kemp, Trent Lott, Newt Gingrich and Robert Michel emerged without a scratch. In the popular perception, Presi­ dent Reagan suffered what the pundits described as a "major de­ feat" or even a "humiliating de­ feat." It was said that his Febru­ ary budget was dead on arrival. In point of fact, the only major defeat the president suffered was in his request for national defense. Rea­ gan asked in February for outlays of $286 billion. «The August agree­ ment gave him $267 billion. Not to worry. The Pentagon has more bil­ lions in its pipelines than it possi­ bly can spend efficiently. Put the reduction in defense spending to one side, and let us see how the president fared. Reagan proposed outlays in 1986 of $974 billion. The agreement gave him $968 billion. (Kindly supply the word "billion" as we go along.) After national defense, the largest item is Social Security. Reagan asked $202; he got $201. The pro­ grams known as "income securi­ ty," including food stamps, unem­ ployment compensation, public housing and child nutrition, add up to another big ticket. Reagan asked $116. The agreement raised him to $119. For Medicare Reagan asked $67; the conferees agreed on $69. Before your eyes glaze over, consider a few more figures. The president proposed $9.2 billion for science and technology; the agree­ ment gives him $9.1. He asked $4.6 lames J. Kilpatrick !)>U / for energy; he got $5.5. He asked $7.3 for community development; the conferees made it $8. Reagan proposed to spend $29.2 on educa­ tion; the agreement raised him to $30.8. Outlays for transportation ($25.8) and health ($34.9) are ex­ actly in line with the president's original budget. Two points. The first is that ex­ cept for national defense, the dif­ ferences between proposed outlays and finally budgeted outlays are generally minute. The second is that these minute differences add­ ed up to a series of minor defeats for the president. They are philo­ sophically important. By way of example, the presi­ dent asked in February for an end to the program of "urban develop­ ment action grants." These UDAGs, as they are known, consti­ tute subsidies to local govern­ ments seeking to attract business and industry. As Reagan said, the grants "distort the economic deci­ sions of firms and individuals." They give the local governments all the pleasure of spending money without the pain of raising it. Of course these grants should be ter­ minated -- but the conferees agreed to keep the program going. The Small Business Administra­ tion should have been terminated also, just as Reagan requested; but the conferees agreed to only 4 to­ ken reduction of 25 percent. Jhe president wanted to stop federal grants for urban mass transit sys­ tems. These never have been a proper responsibility of1 tb* federal government, but the House and Senate agreed to contttfue them next year at 85 percent of project­ ed outlays. The ineffective Job Corps will hang on. The strategic petroleum reserve, which Reagan had down for zero, will get $400 million. So it goes. The budget resolution fixes ceilings that are supposed to be respected when actual appro­ priations come along. The ceilings finally agreed upon are makeshift things. They have no air of perma­ nence about them. In theory, the conferees have cut $280 billion diat otherwise would be spent over 'the next three fiscal years, but beyond 1986 it is all blue smoke and mir­ rors. A year hence the president will have to try again. (James Kilpatrick is a columnist for Universal Press Syndicate). Reader Forum Airport site To the Editor: Woodstock has been chosen as the #1 site for a" proposed airport in McHenry County. A just-released report recommends that a minimum of 800 acres of prime farmland on the west side of town be converted into a regional airport. As a lifelong resi­ dent of Woodstock, I am adamantly opposed to an airport being built in this area. First, I doubt the majority of McHenry County residents believe there is a need for a regional airport in the county. The Federal Aviation Administration has money to spend and they have decided to spend this money to build an unwanted airport in the county. Although a few wealthy individuals or a few corporations might benefit by having a place to land their jets, the majority of residents will only be Guest Columnists The guest opinion column ap­ pearing in The Herald is prepared by writers with expertise and ex­ perience in specific areas. Their participation in our Opinion page is welcomed when their comments ,m«; or current Interest. Guest columns should be no longer than two pages of double-spaced, typewritten copy. Prospective writers are ask­ ed to call 815-45*4040, e*t> to make arrangements. affected by an increase in noise, widened roads, increased traffic and, most likely, an increase in popula­ tion. I am afraid that these effects will change Woodstock from a mid­ size rural community to a communi­ ty like Schaumburg or Naperville. In addition, county taxes will have to be raised if the airport is not self- supporting. I don't understand all of the im­ plications in a regional airport being built on the outskirts of town. I strongly believe, however, that the residents of McHenry County deserve to have their questions answered and concerns addressed before an airport is approved. For in­ stance, when trains were traveling through Woodstock at a high rate of speed and creating a lot of noice, the r e s i d e n t s s c c e s s f u l l y b a n d e d together and slowed the trains. The noise made by the jets will be tremendous when compared to the trains. T h e r e f o r e , I s t r o n g l y u r g e everyone to attend the public hearing which is going to be held at McHenry County College on Wednesday, Aug. 14, at 7 p.m. Woodstock's future is in­ deed in our hands, and we deserve to be heard. Please remember to attend this public hearing. Chester W. Peterson Woodstock Comunity needs To The Editor: - When answers to community pro­ blems are needed; when real down to earth answers are wanted, find the places where citizens in all walk$'of life, menial, business and profes­ sional hold their "coffee klatsch," where the pros and cons of a subject are discussed and narrowed down like this opinion of the proposed niw county airport. An additional airport is not needed with its related maintenance ex­ penses and the noise and discomfort created by the larger ships; let O'Hare keep them. The Gait and Dacy airports have and wil! meet tfye community requirements until there is an industrial explosion in the coun­ ty- Expressed was the opinion this fun­ ding is a waste of taxpayer money and nothing but a real estate agents "boon doggie." The F B directors decision that the "investment is not merited" is an excellent evaluation- Also expressed with "tongue in cheek" and facetiously; a subway from Chicago to the county would be a better investment, and it may be at that. Albert S. Malecki Harvard Write us! $ Send letters to Reader Forufnl The Herald, 7803 Pyott Rodd; »t,al4aKe4L600|4. Letters must N^'#f^e^ie^author's ad; dress and telephone number for the editor's reference. We recommend letters of 300 words or less. All let­ t e r s a r e s u b j e c t t o e d i t i n g f o r c l a r i ­ ty and brevity.