October 1985
Volume XXI, No. 3 Price: $1.50
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Radical Individualism Debunked Editor's Column
The il/ea of the lone individl/al 10118 has been a pari of the America" mystique, all(i in IIIlIIly respects I/O olle embodies Ihm RIPON fOR~M image more today tl/(I/I emrepre"el/r T. Boone Pickens. lr. BI/I el"ell Pickens has been forced 10 /il't' lI';th;n Ihe cOllfines of Edilo...J Column l comml/llilY, (111(1, whether he realizes il or not, has actllally strenglhellell the bonds of communilY, How, ),011 sa)'? Through ProflII'5 li nd f\or$pt'cth1':5: J his re/Jeated attemplS 10 wkeol't'r a major oil company, which A Co n.~n.a l io n ..-ilh T. Hooot l'icktns. Jr. hm"e ill 111m benefited !IIlmy stockholders and forced Ihe !IIa chillery of Ihe markelplace 10 rim more smoothly. /t is odd, of Lint'- Ilem \'1'10: A Challenge 7 cour.fe, Ihal W/ emreprelleur like Pickens wouM e"hallce our 10 Rt!publican Ikliers: setae of commullity. becclUse lIulI'ericks II:mally hare lill/e 10 do Micke)' Ed"lI:rds wilh Ihe lIeells of the Irhole. Ediluria l: South Arrica: 8 rllal tension between indivilllwlism and community i.~ ex A Tlm(' ror Aclion plorell elsewhere ill this Foru m, lM' editorial botlrd member Alfrell W. ](I/e reviews sociologist Robert N. Belll/h'.f book From St ll ~rs to lIoyt'l"!i: Changes In 12 Habits of the Heart: Individualism :md Commitment in Ameri II l'IlIIlh Cllrt': 1\ lichat'l i>. Urombl.'rg a nd Thomas G. Good..-i n can Life, anti argues Ihat radical i"dil'idualism hlls Ihe I)Olellli(l1 10 undermine American democracy. Bill we shoultln' tforgelillm Opportu ni ~ m on Ihe Right : An IS Ihe Re/JUbliClIll Party is rOOlell ill the freellom of the iflllil'idual, Un holy All ianCt' Ke,'isited: alld con.fen!(llil'e Congressman Mickey Edwards argiles 111lI1 by Ken Ru berg provil/ing the /)residem wilh the power of the Ii"e-item l'elO. lir(ll II rre'il Whallht' News Media 1511 '( 16 freedom could be seriously challenged. Gill' branch of 801'('''' Telling You Aooul Tnmds in the lIIe1ll just shouldn'tlulI"e tlull much power. IUpublican I'lIrty: Dale Curtis Of cOllrse, Ihe tellsioll be/ll"eell indil"idllalism and COli/mil/ill 1- ism wiff alll'ays be with liS. As Bellah says, "individllalislll is a Me,'it .. s: Robcrt N. ~ lI a h . Hubi's oj 19 the IItan: J mJi~UJuQJum and /JOsitil,(! feature of the American clwraCler and culfllre," bllt it COmmitmf'n' in Amtriciln Lift'.' also hlls "deslruc/il'e polemia/" II'he" ilneg/ects the needs of AI'red W. Tate the whole.
The C hairm:m's CorMr: Cargo 12 I'r'l:feren<:e: A Scandal Made in - Bill McKenzie Co ngrtS5: Jim Luch
6 Li brary Court Z3 The Ripon Educational Fund is now accepting ap Washinalon Noles a nd Quotes plications for scholarships for the Mark O. Hatfield Scholarship Fund. Scholarships will begin in the spring or summer of 1986. and recipients will be RIPON FOR\lM expected to: Editor: William P. McKenzie Editorial Board: Daniel J. Swiltinger Gem E. Meyer Allred W. Tate Dale Curtis PRODUCE A PAPER OF Jayroe A, Han Sleven Klinsky PUBLISHABLE QUALITY Art DifecIor: Robey GrapOics Ci:M:Ir: Terrenoe O"SuNivan AND
THE RIPON FORUM USN 003S-SS26) is published l)i.lTIO(Ithiy in 1985. PURSUE INTERESTS WHICH REFLECT THE SPIRIT AND In the p,IbIicaIjon the Society hopes to provide a forum for flBSh ideas, weQ researched proposafs. and a spirit of Cfe3\IYe 0'iticisITI and inncMibon in the INTERESTS OF SENATOR MARK O. AepubIican Party. Menu$Criptt and 1Iho'ograph& are soIiciIed. but do not repwsenI HATFIELD. THIS INCLUDES WORK IN !he views of !he Society unless so Slated THE AREAS OF ARMS CONTROL, Contents are mpyrighIed 1985 by !he A4JOII Soc>eIy, Inc., 6libfary Court S E .. CIVIL LIBERTIES, THE WashingtOn, D.C. 20003. ENVIRONMENT AND THE NATURE Second dass postaOe and lees paid at Washington. D.C. and additional mailing OF GOVERNMENT. offioes. Postmaster: Send address changes 10 Ripon Forum. 6libfary Court, S.E., WashinglOfl. D.C. 20003. If interested, please send research proposals, writing Sub&:fipton rilles: $25 pel' year. $t7.5O lor students. S8fVicemen. Paace Corps. VISta and OIhef YOIunteers. 0YeI"se • . add $6. Please allow five weeks lor address samples, and curriculum vitae to: HATFIELD FELLOWSHIP The Ripon SOciety Inc: .. Kennelil GlQSSbergef. president, is a Repubtican research RIPON EDUCATIONAL FUND ""-and polley organization whose memberS are business, academic. and professional men and women . It Is helldquartlfOO in WashinglOn. D.C.. willl 6 LIBRARY COURT SE National Associate member. throughout the United States. The Society is WASHINGTON, D.C. 20003 supported by chapter dues. individual contributions. and revenues lrom its publications.
2 RIPON FORUM Profiles and Perspectives Profiles and Perspectives Profiles and Perspectives Profiles and Perspectives Profiles and Perspectives Profiles and Perspectives Profiles and Perspectives Profiles and Perspectives Profiles and Perspectives ProfIles and Perspectives A Conversation with T. Boone Pickens, Jr.
Bill Moyers once said ,IIm Te:wl' politics is rhe art of persona! persuasion, and if Ihm is trlle then All/Griffo oilmal/ T Boone Picke/l s, Jr. miglll .wllleda), make all olftst(ll1(fing Texas politi cian. Where the medium· sized mall with the giam-sized ambi tions has made his real mark recently. hOll'e\'f:r, is in corporate America. wllere his compan)'. Mesa Petro/emil. has come into prominence throllgh ils repemed (l/lemIJ/s to take owr s//ch energy conglomerates (I S GI/If Oil and Phillips Pelroleum, AI thollgh Pickens, Mesa'.'. chairman. has 110/ been !iIlCces.iful ill seizing control 0/ a nwjor oil comp(lIIY, he has/arced man)' Big Oil corpomte chie/toins to rethillk mallagement practices. While some cOllsider Pickem· a pirllte in (/ Ihree-{Jiece suit. thai challenge to corporate chieftains has 11'011 /zim IJraise from mriOlls corners. W/zatel'er Pickens has (lone, he has IIot suffered f rom IlYInt a/personality, Hisewy-goillg mallner stems/rom the Texall's sense 0/ extellded/amily, where 110 one is considered (I strallger. {//ul is combillul with (I deadly seriousness which could {"Ol"e all unbeatable mixture shollld he enter politics. In th is imerview with Forum c(/itOr /Jill McKenzie. Pickell.f dis cusses that IJOssibility. along with a nllmber 0/ other isslles sllch (IS emrCf"encllrialism, corporatc bureallcraL)'. the/wllre a/the oil industry, and Ihe state o/Texas.
Ripon Forum: Corporatc takeovcr specialist Carl lcahn says the crap table and says " hand me the dice. " I don 't see myself or that "Unfortu nately, many oftoday'schief executives have spent our management like that. At a crap table, your odds are 50-50. the first 20 or 30 years of their business careers studyi ng how to We operate with much better odds than that. please their boards rather than concentrating on how to increase Ripon .'orum: You've argued that Big Oil is mismanaged, and their corporati on's profitability.·' In an age of corporate giant that the executives of some energy giants " have no more feeling ism, has risk-taki ng become passe? for the average stockholder than they do for baboons in Africa." If this is true, to what extent is it due to the fact that some energy tiRisk.taking is related to the management of a executives are minimal shareholders in their companies, and to what extent is it due to the nature of corporate structure? company." Pickens: I don't think there 's any doubt , even among the chie f executive officers (CEOs) of major oil companies, that those Pickens: Risk.taki ng is related to the personality of a company 's companies are bureaucracies, Some are more efficient than management. We certai nl y don't think it has become passe at (){ hers, but they're sti ll bureaucratic in structure. There is no Mesa, and I think our record proves that. On the other hand , if question that increased ownership will cause ma nagements to be yo u look at the deals we ' ve made , we·ve asessed risk very well . more sensi ti ve to stockholders's interests. The more ownership A lot of times I'm characterized as a person who just steps up to man:lgements and boards of di rectors have , the more they will
OCTOBER 1985 3 try to maximize stockh older values. I've said many times that I States is stuck with a bureaucracy and can 't really make work for our stockholders. That's who pays mc. I am an cm changes. That's wrong. Wc 've already seen that. We see a man ployee and proud of it . making changes continually. It all comes from one concept: I knO\V from experience that the CEOs and directors of major leadership. oil companies generall y feci th at they have taken care of the Ripon Forum: So what wou ld you do if you were in charge of an stockholders with a dividend. Many managements have not energy giant? accepted the fact that they are also responsible for the price of the Pickens: The firs t thing I'd do is cut out the insulation around stock, although we have made some inroads in that respect the so-cal led decision-makers. I'd force them to make decisions through our takeovcr attempts. in a timely man ncr. People become tired of waiting to get Ripon Forum: Let's return to the idea of ri sk-taking. What decisions. That's what happens to so many of these companies, makes an entrepreneur? What creates the entrepreneurial spirit? they fail because they can't get timely solutions to their prob lems. I still give a 9O-minute orientation to new employees at Mesa. The first thing I tell them is that the stockholders come '~n entreprenellr is someone who doesn't need first. and the employees and management wi ll do just fine if they seven pieces tojigllre out a seven-piece puzzle. " perform well for stockholders. If we don't perform welL then we're vulnerable to a lot of things: losing our jobs. being taken Pickens: You can't imagine how many yo ung people have asked over, going bankrupt or whatever. I also tell them all employees me. "How do I know if I'm an entrepreneur?" An entrepreneur should want to own more stock. Ninety-five percent of Mesa's is someone who doesn't need seven pieces 10 figure out a seven employees are stockholde rs, and nincty percent of my net worth piece puzzle. There arc some people who just need two pieces, is in Mesa. People sometimes say to me, " I've got a drill ing ri g. and they know where the other fi ve should go. I' ll cut yo u in for a hal f interest if we can do business with lt is my fee ling that there are only a few entrepreneurs in the Mesa ." We've never done that . It's incredible the temptations legal profess ion, the accounting profession and the engineering managements have. You 've got to decide at an earl y stage that profession. The reason is that their education imposes a certain )O U will not submit to temptation. discipline on them. They have to have almost everything in place Ripon Forum: You 'd cut insulation, give more of a personal before they decide to make a deal. But there are exceptions. touch to employees, and increase employee stock ownership. Hugh Liedtke, Pcnnzoil's CEO. is a true entrepreneur, and he's a What else wou ld )Ou do? lawyer. David Batchelder, Mesa's chief financial officer, is an Pickens: I believe that everything will fall into pl ace once you accountant and one of the best ent repreneu rs in the country. The get the momentum goi ng. list goes on. Ripon Forum: You've made the argument that the oil industry Ripon Forum: Does modem corporate structu re encourage needs res tructu ring. What is the 1'. Boone Pickens plan for doing entrepreneuriali Sol? this? Pickens: No, because it's bureaucratic in design. Even in my own orga ni zati on, it has been hard wo rk. We operated for a long HThe oil industry isfaced with poorfundamentals , time wi th people who were good . solid pcrfomlers. but not First, the price ofoil is IIncertain, Second, entrepreneurs. Today, we have a more aggressive group. We started in 1956 with $2 .500 paid in capital, and went public in successful exploration today is likely to involve 1964 with less than $2 mill ion in assets. We have assets today of natural gas illstead of oi/. " more than $4 billion. In the 1970s. some of the major oil companies were kicked out Pickens: The oil industry is faced wi th poor fund amentals. of foreign countries. They we re forccd to come back home and First, the price of oil is uncertain. Second, successful ex plora compete, so they decided to see how the independents were tion today is likely 10 involve natu ral gas instead of oil. Most of operating. Tex aco became a partner of ours in 1980. They the oil in the United States has been found. That 's terribly wanted to find out how we operated, if there was something to be important and often lost in discussions of industry conditions. learned. But I don't think you can just say, "Let's go sec how Unfortunately, our natural gas markets are severel y curtailed. somebody else does something and do it that way. ,. That doesn't Mesa is currently producing about 250 mi llion cubic feet of gas always work . per day. We are capable of deli vering 500 mi llion cubic feet. Probably all of us in America have some degree of ent repre That is severe curtailment. It doesn't lend itself to aggressive neurshi p. In some, it may be JUSt a slight nicker, but in others, it ex ploration, since "success" probably would be another shut-in might be a roaring fire . Where people land will determine what gas well. they'll do. The person with the roaring fire probably wi1i not last The larger companies have huge cash flows, bOl they have ve ry lo ng unless he lands in an environment that promotes limited investment opportunities. If you are going 10 produce entrepreneurial ism. And the nicker in someone else may be more oil and gas than you replace. then you need to place the snuffed out in a short time if it isn't nurtured. assets within the most effi cient structu re to deplete them. Ripon Forum: Let's assume that you become chaim13n of an Ripon Forum: And what would that be? energy giant. What wou ld you do differently? Pickens: A master limited partnership allows you to distribute Pickens: I love that question . About 15 years ago. a friend who cash flow to shareholde rs while fundame ntals are poor, but it was in line to ascend to the top of Gu lf Oil remarked that he leaves you with a flex ible structure in case the industry comes probably would not be able to make any meaningful changes in back. the company because by the time he succeeded , he would be 60 Ripon Forum: ... Wh y do you th ink the oil industry will come or 62 years old . Quick changes would just not be possible. he back ? though t. I guarantee you that if)Ou are the CEO of a company Pickens: Because we 'll have shortages again, probably after and you want to make a change, )Ou can make it. I' ve heard 1990. But I don', wa nt to endure fi ve or six years of very remarks, and you have tOO , that the president of the United stagnant conditions and deplete our reserves in the poorest
4 RIPON FORUM possible structure. I'd rather deplete them within a master force considembly in one year. He asked what effect I thought it limited partnership, which will maximize values for stock had on his production. I said I bet it WoIS off 10 percent. No. he holders. said, it was up 50 percent. The point is, it pays to work with a Ripon Forum: Some people make the argument that mergers force of people that are fully occupied and challenged. and acq uisitions have become a relatively rout ine part of Ameri Ripon Forum: John Y. Brown, the Kentucky Fried Chicken can business. But do they really create new jobs? Do they really executi ve who later became governor of Kentucky, once made expand the economy? And perhaps more importantl y, given our the claim that "everything lends itself to business analysis.-' trade deficit , do they make us more competitive with fore ign Can }UU really run a government like a business'? companies? Pickens: I believe they do. Dr. Gregg Jarrell , the Securities and U[GovernmentJ is like business, The taxpayers are Exchange Commission's chief economist. and Michael Jensen. a professor at the Harvard Business School, have done studies like stockholders . . . it makes no sense to hear demonstrating that mergers and acq uisitions make management politicians tell constituents that they'll give them more accountable. If )Qu can build effi ciencies into the system . something. Politicians shouldn't be allowed to give then it will be good for the consumer and the economy. anything. "
"The total merger proceeds of[Gulf and Chevron] Pickens: Sure )QU can. It's a business to start with . Taxpayers are like stockholders, and both are entitled 10 a full day's work were $13 billion, and that went into the hands of for a full day's pay. For a dollarspent, taxpayers ought to receive 400,000 stockholders." a dollar back in value. It bothers me to hear politicians tell constituents that they will give them something. Politicians shouldn't be allowed to give away anything. Some managements have become concerned that their com Ripon Forum: But let's compare the dynamics of political and mon stocks are selling at huge discounts to their underl ying business decision-making. In a democracy, there are many value. They realize they are vulnerable, and they are trying very competing voices which make the process of making a decision hard to enhance market prices. Th is is beneficial, because slow and tedious. There are a whole host of people, from increasing market values makes money for the owners. lei me enviro nmentalists to business lobbyists, who make their pres give)Qu an example. When we fi rst tried to take over Gulf Oil, ence known on Capitol Hill . So how can }Uu expect to run a their price was $37 per share. During the preceding twelve government like a business? years, Gulfhad nol replaced its oil reserves. During the preced Pickens: You can if}Uu adopt the philosophy that the funds are ing five years, it had lost the equi valent of 634 million barrels going to be used for projects that make economic sense. You from its reserve base. It was being liquidated at a pretty fast clip. mentioned environmentalists. ,'m not for producing something The stock had hit an all time high of$53. and we didn 't think the in an irresponsible fash ion j ust because it makes economic price would ever go above $40 again, even if the price of oil sense. That would be very shortsighted because the environment recovered. Just think about the add itional losses shareholders should always be protected. would have suffered if Gulf had proceeded on the same disas I come from a very frugal background. My mother, aunt and trous descent. Shareholders would never have received the $80 maternal grandmolher were all very fruga l people. I believe that per share offered by Chevron. If)Qu assume that the average all of us have to be accountable, and I think the same principle purchase price paid by all stockholders was $40 per share, should apply to government. which I'm told is probably conservati ve, then another $40 per Ripon Forum: But my point is that the accountability you can share was made as a resu lt of the merger with Chevron. That exercise as chainnan of Mesa Petroleum is different than what represents $6.5 billion in profits for the stockholders of Gulf. )QU could as, say, governor of Texas. The tolal merger proceeds of $13 billion wen t into the hands of 400,000 stockholders. That $13 bi llion went directly back into the economy. Of the $6.5 billion in profits. over $2 billion was "The governor ofT exas can't fire everyone in an paid in federa l income taxes. Ripon Forum: But take }Uur attempted takeover of Cities agency because they didn't handle the taxpayers's Service. Before:you tried tobuy it out , Cities Service had 18,000 money in the way he'd like . . . But through employees. Then Occidental Petroleum came in , bought Cities leadership a lot ofthings can happen." Service, and reduced the number of employees to 5,000. The Cities Service stockholders might have made good on the deal, but what about its employees? Pickens: I agree with thaI. You don't have nearly as much Pickens: I don't remember the Ci ti es Service employment control in government. Thc governor of Texas can't fi re every figures , but let's consider the Phillips and Gu lf deals. Gulf had one in an agency because they didn 't handle the taxpayers's already eliminted 15,000 employees before we showed up as a money the way they should have. But he can slart an investiga stockholder. Phillips had eliminated about 10,000 before we tion and cause some th ings to happen. became involved. Due to the industry'S deteriorating fundamen Through leadership, a lot of things can happen. At Mesa, for tals, these companies were overstaffed. Look also at Arco. They example, we have no company cars. We did until January I. just put into early retirement more than 6.000 people, and it had 1985, bUI with tax changes it was not prudent to contin ue to have nothing to do with a takeover attempt. company cars. We never have had a hu nting camp or fishing Bycombining Occidental and Cities Serviee, a more efficient lodge to entertain ourselves or others. It just isn't part of our operati on was created. I don't want to see the oil industry going philosophy. By selling an example and exercisi ng leadership, I the way of the steel industry. After Ian MacG regor took over think }Uu can establish the same accoun tability in business as British Steel a few years ago. he told me that they cui their work we ll as in government.
OCTOBER 1985 5 Ripon Forum: Why is it that morc business leaders don't make men!. We shouldn 't pollute anythingjusl for the sake of making the transition from business into pol itics? money. We don't have that ri ght , There's always a responsi bility Pickens: Most busi ness leaders arc private people, They don't to society for what we do. On the other hand , \I,e have to look wa nt the exposure required by government service. I' ve been after lhe stockholders's interests. more willing than most CEOs to be questioned by the press Ripon Forum: You haven't discouraged rumors that someday because I believe that you should be willing to answcrquestions you may run for office. Why would )OU wa nt to enter politics? if you are going to get out front. Also. some business leaders And what sort of politi cal vision do you have? would not like to contend wi th the disclosure laws, I( s notlhat Pickens: I think I have a prett y good fee l for how things lit they have anything that would be embarrassing. They just feel together, and I' ve been able to predict a lot of things well in it's not anyone else's business, Disclosure doesn't bother me, advance. This has enabled me todo well as a CEO. Our record is The deals that I have been in have been full y investigated, There quite good at Mesa. not only in enhancing the value of our stock have been full,time detectives from the other side going around but also in building an unusual cadre of people. I' m vc ry checking me out. If I entered politics, they couldn't ask any sensitive to our employees. They al so know I expect a good job, more picrcing questions than I'm as ked now, and that they wi ll be rewarded for providing it. Ripon .'orum: But why would yo u want to enter politics? IJi ckcns: If I thought I could contribute someth ing, I had no "M osl busi"ess leaders are pri yate people. They interest in getting into pol iti cs in 1986 because I fc lt like I had an do,,'t want th e exposure reqllired by goyernme1lt unlinishedjob at Mesa. It was easy to make that decision. I don't know what wi ll happen betwcen 1986 and 1990. service. "
Ripon Forum: Is there a way to draw business people out into " I had 110 interest i" gettillg illlo politics ill 1986, . the public arena? I don't know whal will happell between 1986 and Pickens: Encourage them. I think I have caused some business 1990, " people to be more responsive 10 the press. The press has an obvious distrust of corporate executi ves because the insulation is too thick and they can't get access 10 them. One reporter told me Ripon Forum: Let"s assume that you do become govern or of he had to send a list of questions to an executive. who then told Texas. What wou ld you want to accomplish? the reporter which questi ons he could ask and how long the IJickens: Texas is facing some very tough problems. When the interview would last . Naturally. that gave the reponer an uneasy price of oil increased during the 19705 . the state had a budget feelin g. surplus. But during the 1984 special session. the Legislature Ripon Forum: Busi ness people understand the workings of passed the biggest tax increase ever, We've almost gone fu ll capitalism then . but not necessaril y the workings of democracy? circle to the 1960s. when every legislative session addressed taxes, Some real leadership is goi ng to have to surface to solve these problems, For example, ..",e've got a huge water problem. " It's interesting to me that some bllsiness people will both in the mctropolitan and rural areas. Higher education is tell yOll about tlre/ree enterprise system ulltil goi ng to have to be cha nged because it's become 100 expensive someone acquires a large block o/tlreir slock, /I for the taxpayers. Efliciencies need to be developed throughout the system. and even the educators are aware of it.
Pickens: It 's interesting to me that some busi ness people will praise the free enterprise system until someone acquires II large " Texas is/acing some really 101lgh problems, , , block of their stock. That's when they start crying foul. Their corporate empire is being shaken, and that makes them ex Some real leadership is going 10 haye to sur/ace, . tremely uncomforlllble. The power syndrome is the biggest Yet Texas is also blessed wilh more elltrepreneurs problem in corporate bure:lUcracies, thall allY place illlhe world . , . It will reboulld, " When you asked earlier whether executives play up to boards of directors, I didn 't respond . I don 't see that very often. What I see more freq uently is that directors are beholden to the chair Let me cite a statistic that will surprise you. The last time the man , because the chairnlan selected them. When I look at a list state of Texas replaced its oil reserves was in 1955 , If we had IlOI of the membersofa board ofdireclOrs. I always check to see how had the OPEC oil price increases of the 19705. the state and the much sloek they own. That's important. The lowest ownership oil companies wou ld have been in terrible shape before now. among Mesa's directors is about IO ,QtX) shares, Not counting Another interesting statistic is that in 1972, the state of Texas mine. the fi gure increases to more than 500,000 shares. produced three times as much oil as il did in 1984 . The implica Ripon Forum: But is there an awareness in the business com tions of these statistics on future state linances is substantial . munity of the different dynamics between private and public Yet Texas is also blessed wilh more enlrepreneurs than any decision-making. such as the pluralism of constituencies and the place in the wo rld . That's not something)Ou necessarily have 10 glare of the press'! encourage, You just have to be sure that you don't develop a Pickens: I don 't see thntllluch differe nce. detrimental atmosphere. People are willing to stick their nccks Ripon Forum: It's been said that too many business people out and put their moncy up and take their chances, They'll be ignore the social impl ications of their actions. Is there a soci al there if you give thelll the right kind of business climate. Texas is responsibi lity in the creating of wealth? an exciting pillce, and unusual in the way it rebounds. And Pickens: Social responsib il ity is ak in to protecting the envi ron- rebound it wi ll . • • RtPON FORUM Line-Item Veto: A Challenge to Republican Beliefs
by Mickey Edwards
O n September 3, meeting beh ind closed doors with mem To the casual observer, there is a vast political distance be bers of his Cabinet. President Reagan ex pressed his growing tween the Ripon Society and the American Conservative Union. frustration over the increased reluctance by members of his own and there's no question that on a wide range of issues the pany to support presidential initiatives. differences are vast and real. But there are common threads, the "Now's the lime 10 go along. and be Republicans." he said . most important centering on a belief in the necessity of restrain ing government to protect human liberties. While there are great differences of opinion in " Republican" political circles as to '~ re there transcendent issues which go to the heart how useful government can be, there is substantial agreement of our common Republican identification and that it poses great potential for suppression of individual free which unite Republicans within the Ripon Society doms-a shared concern which has its antecedents in the con with Republicans within the American Conservative stitutional deliberations of the nlllion's founders. That concern , which is expressed in a carefully drawn system Union?" of separated powers, and an intricate web of checks and bal ances, not only placed great powcr in the presidency--command of the armed forces. the power to appoi nt the jUdiciary. the His complaint raises a serious question . of course. To what power to appoint the heads of every federal department and extenl should we , as Republicans, feel obligated to support the agency- but it deliberately withheld power as well . Most nota initiati ves of a Republican president-cspcciall y one who has bly. the Constitution, in its very fi rst sentence, placed alllegisla been twice elected by sizable margins and has the clear support tive power in a separate branch of government. Only after much of a majority of the American people? Are there transcendent deliberation was the presidcnt granted any veto power at all. issues which go to the heart of our common Republican identifi That carefully crafted balance is now threatened by President cation and which not onl y unite Republicans within the Ripon Reagan's vigorous campaign to place unprecedented new legis Society with Republicans within the Ameri can Conservative lat ive power in his own hands through the usc of the so-callcd Union (w hich J chaired for nearl y five years)? Are there issues line-item ve to. which may require us, in order to be true to Republican princi How much wou ld the line-item veto shift the balance of ples, to oppose part of the president's legislative program? power? Uniting Republicans
Clearly there are. Conservatives like myself have used our own understanding of Republican principles to reach positions which differ from the president's on the question of sanctions "The line-item veto would bring about what the against South Africa. certain changes in the tax code, and the nation's founders mostfeared-a ,roll-hereditary need to institute refonns at the Pentagon. monarchy. " I believe one of those issue~ne of those fundamental concerns which unite Republicans. whether Ripon Republicans or ACU Republicans, requi re us to oppose. as well. the presi dent's altemptto transfer to the executive branch of government (to himself, that is). powers speci fi cally denied the president by Today, members of Congress. representing varying philoso the Founding Fathers. phies and di verse regions of the country. come to agreement. to consensus, on legislation whic h a majority of them believe to be consistent with their own views and the best interests of their u ., thosefutldamental concerns require us to constituents-in other words. a consensus which benefits the oppose the president's allemptto transfer power to majority of the popu lation. If one more than half of the members present and voting in each chamber of the Congress wants the the executive branch ofthe government (to himself, legislation to pass, it does. that is), powers specifically denied the president by The president has the power to veto these bills, and sometimes the Founding Fathers." presidents veto entire appropriations bi lls: Jimmy Carter did; Ronald Reagan has. But because the representatives and sena tors who put the legislative packages together are loath to unravel them, it is harder for a president to gain suffic ient Mickey £dlll/rds is a member ofColIgres.ffrom Oklahoma alld support to sustain his veto. Thus the majority will of the Con- former chairmall of rh e American COllserl'llrive UniOIl. ('omilllled 011 page 10
OCTOBER 1985 7 Editorial:
South Africa: A Time for Action
Like Australia. or even Texas, South Africa is a land marked South Africa the rdle is only 12 dcaths per I,(XX); andsomc shelters by wide open spaces and wild territory, a land that James Michener are no more than one room metal huts without floors or ceilings. once called " magnificient but brutal." That a dichotomy exists Such discrimination is no( limited to the homelands either. In the within a country so filled with nature's pcM'Cr is perhaps what urban areas of "white" South Africa, for example, blacks are makes its internal tumloil so bitter. A mystical sense of place is forced to live in govcrnment-owned residences, the shortage of created by V.lstness, but when it is tom apart by hatred, anguish which has forced many to li ve in lean-tos or junkyards. And while becomes acute over what could be but isn't. " This is a tremendous moving about urban areas, blacks still have to carry passes to avoid count ry." South African Angli can Bishop Desmond Tutu said begin jailed, despitc proposals to the conrrary. The segregation also recently. " It doesn't need to go that way." ex tends to the educational sphere, where separate goyernment minislries for education arc maintained, and where seven times as much money is spent on education for whites as for blacks. The result should not be too surprising: less than 50 percent of black "That a dichotomy exists within a country so filled South African }OOths finish high school. with nature's power is perhaps what makes South Africa's turmoil so biller." 11:te Yootb
It is the }OOng, perhaps, that should give us the most concern. The ··w.ly" to which Bishop Tutu refers. ofcourse, is the rending After helping quell a }OOth-led dernonsn-dlion during a IX>litical of South Africa's social fabric by the policy of apartheid, or funeml this summer, Desmond Tutu said this: '1be:se children "sepamte development. " The official scpamtion of that country's actually scare me. Most of them believe they will die. It's not that races began in 1948 when the National P.rrt y took the Afrikaner they have a death wish, but they believe !ha's toN they will getthcir belief in segregati on and implemented a series of laws to protect the freedom. They are willing to die." And Steve Mocbechane, 31, a white minority IX>pulat ion from black majority uprisings. In 1950, black minister in Oavcyton, one of the 36citics and toWns the white for instance , the Pretorian government denied blacks the right to government put under a stale of emergency last July. claimed: " To buy whitc-held land by passing the Group Areas Act. TIle govern many of them IDaveyton's )OWlg) the Soviet Unim becomes the ment also created "homelands" to which over 10 million blacks only possible alternative. All other avenues h;noc been closed to have been "resettled " si nce 1948. them, and Marxism becomes a passage out ~ this oppression. So The alleged purpose of the homelands was to give blacks inde when the government says the unrest is cornmunisI-inspired, all we pendence, but the real motives ....'e re to strip the white government say is, ' What else do )OU expect?''' of its resIX>nsibil it y towards blacks and to create an official white majority in South Africa. In many respects, thai policy has been successful. if one can use that word without any moral connotation. " It is the young that should give us tlu most While 19 percent of the federal budget goes towards the homelands, concern. Ifthe hearts and minds ofyoung blacks the assistance is categorized as "foreign aid ." And upon entering are lost, then who knows where South Africa will South Africa. homcland citizens are now considered " legal al head. ., Iens. The plight for blacks, of course, remains deplorable. Many live on un workable land, have dismal health care, and reside in squalor. Fifty percent of the blacks living in homclands are unemployed; the Politics cannot be lrCated with bity, Enason said, and the infant monality rate is nearly 240 deaths per UXX) (in "white" sentiments of Tutu and Mochechane make the gravity of the South • RIPON FORUM African situation clear. If the hems and the minds of )QUng blacks Although a number of white South Africans recognize the are lost. then who knows where that country will head. Perhaps in double entendre of apartheid's language. the leader of the opposi the long run to the Marxists, who oversaw the demhs of more than tion Progressive Federal Party. Frederik van Zyl Siabben. contends 6,0CX) Zimbabweans last year. In the short-run, however, one that President Bdha's statements contain no duplicity. " He has American observer predicts that blacks might begin a campaign of alw.tys been straightforwardly honest in saying that he is nOl random violence, picking whites on the fringe as targets. Unfortu scrapping any ofhis pany's basic principles." Siabbert says. "The nately, recent headline.... seem to confinn that prediction. trouble is that people just don't believe him. They keep reading into While violoence on any level is not acceptable, it may be what he says intentions that arc nOl there. They don't take the man at understandable. Black South Africans have been basically peaceful face value." for seventy years. But now they are tired. and their }OUng are Some Americans, hooNever, have read intentions into Mr. BOlha's willing to pick up anns. "Every aclUal state is corrupt."' Emerson statements, and this includes President Reagan. While the president also wroce, and South Africa's )'OlIng blacks are living out this has imposed economic sanctions on South Africa . those limitations maxim: "good men must not obey the laws too well. ,. If Sooth are mild and , like his support for the extension of the Voting Righ ts African policymakers don't recognize how deeply )OUng black Act in this country, they \O.1:re enacted after much pressure from Sooth Africans hold this sentiment. then a peaceful resolution to Congress. In fact , only a few "ttks before imposing sanctions the their crisis will never be reached . president called the Botha administration "reroonist." and said that "they have eliminated the segregation that we once had in our own The Language of Apartheid eountry-that has all been eliminated."' Likewise. the Reverend Jerry F.llwel l. following a "fact-finding"' mission to South Africa. Unfortunately, many key policymakers have not recognized that claimed thilt. "refonn is the policy of the government. " And fact. Instead . they continue to use language which has duplicit speaking of our own experience with racism. Mr. Falwell said: meaning. Consider South African President P. W. Botha's statement "Thank God the world was patient with us."' that political rights will be granted to blac ks "' to decide on their own affairs up to the highest level."' While one might assume that this means representation in the national P.uiiamcm. like that afforded t}4,s a followup to tire economic sancliolls, lire the country's Asians and Coloreds {mixed races). il does not. As the United States should push for a conference belween WashinglOn Post's Allister Sparks notes. "the key to the code in this the BOlha governmelJl and all recognized black case lies in the phrase 'own affairs . .,· Blacks allegedly will be given a national body that will have legisl ati ve authority over the 10 leaders, including Nelsoll Mandella. JJ mi ll ion blacks who do nOllive in a homeland. Thut body. h()Y.'Cver. wi ll not be an official pan of P.uliament. nor will it have a say in Although the United States has had a long, dark struggle with issues that affect the Olhcr "peoples" of South Africa. As Sparks racism. that docsn't mean. as Reverend Rllwell seems to imply. that says: "That is the most the BOlha manifesto envisions for the black "1: should be patient wilh discrimination , whether our O\Vn or majority in the way of political rights ." someone else·s. To do so would be an abrogation of a great poYJCr's Even the use of the word "apanheid"' is deceptive. Originally it responsibilit y. As a foll()Y{Up to the economic sanctions. then. the meant "white mastery," now it means "scparate development." Uni ted States should push for a conference between the 80Iha And the government agency which oversees the country's 23 government and all recognized blac k leaders. including Nelson million blacks has changed from the Department of Native Affairs. Mandella. Although the imprisoned African Nalional Congress to the Depanment of Bantu AdminiSIr.Uion and Development. to (ANC) leader has not eschewed guerri lla struggle. his freedom after the Department of Plural Relations. to the Department of Coopera 21 years of political prisoners hip would reflect the white govern tion and Development. ment 's intent on real progress. " His release," Desmond Tutu says. "has come to symbolize the libemtion (black South Africans] are longi ng for." Mandella's freedom might even be in the white government's interest . As Lucas Mangope. president of the home "Mr. Botha claims that 'white' South Africa is a land of Bophuthatswana. claims: "Freeing Mandella uncondi 'stable center. ' But what;s so stable about a tcenter' tionally would make it possible for the government 10 unban the that last year witnessed the deatlrs of 600 blacks, ANC and stan negOliating with it. " Additional steps should include and si"ce July 21 has seen the arrest of more than gmming cilizenship rights to all South Africans. and as an inter 2 ,000 blacks?" mediary step towards a full P-.trl iament.the political ri ghts ofblacks should be e~te ndcd to representation in a separdle chamber.
Conclusion Cooperation and development? Hardly. "Destroy white South Africa and our influence. " President BOlha said recentl y, "and this Because of their love of the land . son'll! black Americans did nOl country will drift into faction. strife. chaos and poveny." More leave the American South after the Civil War. Similarly. many black over. Mr. BOlha claims. "white"' South Africa is a "stable center. " South Africans are flO( going to leave their native soil. They have But what is so stable about a "center" that last year witnessed the suffered on it. and emotionally it is theirs. From exile. poet Dennis deaths of 600 blacks, and since July 21 has seen the arrest of more Brutus. a Rhodesian who lived in South Africa from childhood. than 2. OCTOBER 1985 , Line- Item Veto from page 7 thing about the national debt. and a successful track record in the gress prevails more often than noc- which is what the Founding 43 states which give their governors line-item veto aut hority. Fathers intended. Rebutting Proponents Presidential Lel'erage There are two answers to the first point. The first is made A presidem with the power of the line-item veto. however. most effectively by Senator Mark Hatfield. chairnlan of the gains an enormous advantage over the Congress in detennining Senme Appropriations Committee. Hatfield points out, cor the legislative agenda. [n maki ng th is argument to conserva rectl y, that so much of federal spending is outside the regular tives, I suggest that the line-item velocould be used to eliminate appropriations process (something like 45 percent of all feder.ll such mi litary hardware as Ihe B-1 and the MX. but the point is spending is spent on earmarked entitlement programs, for ex equall y lrue in reverse. am ple, and another 12 percent or so is earmarked to pay the Suppose a president ....'Cre to appoint as director of the Office interest on the national debt) that e ·'en extensive use of the line of Management and Budget a budget-slashing conservative like item veto. while it would remove priority- maki ng authority David Stockman. and, guided by such a force, that ad ministra· from the Congress. would nOl achieve Ihe balanced budget tion proposed the elimination of subsidi1..ed legal assistance for which its advocates dream. the poor, or studem loans, or school lunch programs. The second argument is more philosophical: gr.l nt ed thaI the Imagine that the su pporters of those programs then launched a accumulated debt is a major national problem. the Constitution nat ionwide campaign to save them. Under pressure from con provided a specific means for dealing wi th it- and with other stituents, the House (which is both less conservati ve than the problems of congressional mismanagement or inaction-con· Senate and more responsive to immediate constituent concem) gressional elections every two years . votes 435·0 to preserve the programs. And the Senate votes To those who argue that the political process is too slow, and nearly two-to-one to conti nue the programs . Who wi ns? doesn't work . I point 10 two elections which prove otherwise. In The president. his OMS director and a smal l band of conser 1980, frustrated by Ji mmy Caner and eager for a change in vatives in the Senate wou ld prevail. It 's not a matter of consen direction, the Ameri can people sent to Washington with Presi· sus, it's a matter of as little as 6% of the 535 members of the dent Reagan a Republican majority in the Senate and enough House and Senate having the i>O"'er. with the president. to Republ icans to form a worki ng majority wit h conservati ve determine the legislative priorities for the country and overrule Democrats in the 1·lousc. the other 94%. That wou ld obviously be a complete inversion of the system envisioned by the Founding Fathers. And this con centration of power is the opposite of th e decentralizalion which is fundamental to Republican beliefs. " Worst 0/all, it would place all enormous potential The president, who is commander in chief of the arnlcd to blackmail ill the hands 0/a president. " forces. appoints the Supreme Coun , appoints every federal judge. appoi ntsdepanment heads and agency heads and ambas sadors and members of the Feder.ll Reserve Board. now would have, in addition. vi rlual cont rol over the legislative and spend In 1982. concern ed Ihat the new administration and Repub[i ing decisions of the federal government. canS had read too much into the 1980 " mandate." and had gone Thus, the line-item vcto would bring about what the nation's tOO far. the voters shifted th e Congress sli ghtl y toward its founders most feared- a non·hered itary monarchy. The presi pre·1980 configul"dtion. It is ad mitted ly harder. more time dent of the United States already has more poy,'cr than many consuming, more expensive. more tedious to change things kings have had. and with !'he added abi lity to cont rol the legis[a th rough the political process. and . voters having their own tive and spending agendas. he could become, potentiall y. opinions. the results might not always be what one wa nts. But among the most poy,'erful rulers in ..... orld history, It was pre it's far prefer.lble to abando ning our unique form of government cisely this concentration of power the republic·s founde rs la and opening the door to futu re presidents who might not have the bored so hard to avoid. internal strength. or the inclination. to resist use of major new p 10 RIPON FORUM not for the assurance a governor would use his veto to "save " the taxpayers money the legislators never intended to spend); it "The line-item veto wOlildflindamental/y shift the won 't seriously reduce federal spending (Hatfield poi nts out balance ofpower in America and change, at its that, because of non-appropriated spending, giant programs could be wiped out and we'd still have $ IOO-bill ion deficits), roots, our form ofgove rnment. " and , worst of all, it would place an enormous potemial to blackmail in the hands of a president ("if yo u don't support my Ronald Reagan is correct. It's time to be Republicans. For program, 1"11 vcto highway fund s for your district"). most of us- whether .....'C belong 10 the Ripon Society or 10 the What the line-item veto wo uld do is fundamcmall y shift the ranks of more conservati ve Republic:ms--"being Rcpublican" balancc of power in Americaand change, at its roots, our form of sometimes means saying "no" to presidems who should never government . gel all the power they want. • Keep Track of the Candidates' Track Records •• • • • Political Profiles, Inc. is on the '86 cam and congressional district data. Political paign trail covering the Senate, House and Profiles will be interviewing All the gubernatori al contests. Senate challengers and All the candi Political Profiles provides consulting tai dates for governor next year. We will also lored to your individual needs. We special be interviewing the contestants in the ize in issues resea rch. more exciting House ra ces, Political Profil es is establ ishing a data For the insi de, in-depth and inSightful base on the '86 candidates and all the '88 look at the '86 election races write or give possibilities. us a ca ll: Political Profiles provides our clients with information on challengers' stands Political Profiles, Inc. on the iss ues, incumbents' voting records, Project '86 Department biographies, key staffers, ratings, fund 209 C. Street, NE ra ising, endorsements, media and polling Washington, DC 20002 advisers, poll results, PAC contributors, phone (202) 544-3833 A Salute to Proceeds from the dinner will go to the Ripon Society and its Mark O. Hatfield Scholarship Fund. This Fund SENATOR JACOB K. JAVITS will enable a select number of promising young stu dents from a nationwide arena to further their public Come join the Ripon Society and its Congressional policy training while studying and working in the Na Advisory Board in honoring Senator Jacob K. Javits tion 's Capitol. for his distinguished service in the United States Senate and for his efforts to promote the principles of The Ripon Society is a Republican nonprofit, public rights and opportunity throughout his long public ca policy research organization. The Society is not an reer. The "Salute to Senator Jacob K. Javits" will take FEC-regulated political committee and may, there fore, accept corporate, individual or political action place: committee funds. Monday, November 25, 1985 All checks should be made payable to The Ripon The Tower Suite Society, 6 Library Court, SE, Washington, D.C, 30 Rockefeller Center 20003. If you have any questions, please call: New York, N,Y, 202-546-1292. OCTOBER 1985 11 From Sellers to Buyers: Changes in Health Care by Michlle/ D. Bromberg, Esq. ami TllOI/IllS G. Goodwill T he health care "revoIUlion" now raging across America is ieal controversies, as what traditionally has been regarded as a a remarkable. if predictable. phenomenon. "service" evolves into an " induslry"---or, as some put ii, Ihc One need not be an expert in Ihc field to recognize the "medical/induslrial complex ." startling and unprecedented changes that are taking place: the sudden ex plosion of alternative heallh deli very programs; the Recent Trends growth of multi -institution health care "systems:" the emer gence of "storefront" clinics: the combi nmion of health insur How did we get here? And where are we going? It is undenia ance with thc ac tual delivery of care by a single provider: and a ble that the health care "revolution" is a war against costs, host of innovative market-oriented developments such as pre fought on the banlcfield of competition. with the stakes being viously-unheard-of hospital advertising, luxury accommoda the preservati on of Qu ality health care. Generally speaking, the tions, gourmet meals and (was it onl y a matter of time?) the use roots of the revolution can be traced back 20 years or so, to the of credit cards as payment for treatment . enac tment of Medicare and Medicaid. Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" meant. for health care, a national commitment to provide quality medical services for all Americans. regardless of their ability to pay. In economic tenns, " ,. a gap in the delivery olhealth care . .. it was both supply- and demand-side. The enactment of Medi increasingly is being filled by the private sector. " care and Medicaid resulted in dramatically increased demand for health services, while programs such as the (now defunct) Hill-Burton hospital constru ction fund offered an incentive for the growth of institutions. All these activities stem from the fact that our health care The subsequent perception that health care was not onl y free system has for the first time in recent years become imbued with but also in abundant supply fostered great waste in services and the competitive spirit of the "marketplace." This is an inevita soon forced the real costs of health care through the roof. ble result of the national perception that medical costs are unacceptably high, coupled with our government's inexorable withdrawal from its support of public's health. This governmental withdrawal is exhi bited by the demise of " Presidelll ReagalJ has presided oyer the federal support for hospital construction and renovation. reduc remarkable change illihe way federal Medicare tions in funding for Medicare and Medicaid, and a national paymetJls--approachillg 40% ofth e nalion's aversion to new taxes to support public health care programs. hospital bill--are made." Not surprisingly. it has fostered a gap in the delivery of health care which increasingly is bei ng filled by the private sector. Thi s development has generated equally unsurprising new ph ilosoph- Richard Nixon's price controls effort in the 1970s had the effect of all such controls: they depress prices artificiall y, and only for as long as they are in place, after which prices ri se Michael D. Bromberg ha.f beel! the execwil'e director of th e dramatically 10 keep pace with inflation. Certificate-of-need Federalion of American Hospitals. which represellfs the na legislation served onl y to slow bed construct ion while increas tion's 1.200 illl'estor-owne(J hospitals, since 1969. Thomas G. ing new services. In the late 1970s. Jimmy Carter's hospital cost Goodwin is the Fe(Jeration's director of public affairs. control plan failed in Congress, and a voluntary effort by 12 RIPON FORUM hospitals themselves to rein in soaring costs was successful for those employees who keep their annual health costs below a pre two years but then fell victim to double-digit inflation in the set ceiling. general economy. As of this writing nearly one-half of the lOp "Fortunc 5(Xr' By 1980, the problem of rising costs had become acu te, companies are self·insured. and many alhers have enrolled with especially in relation to other industrialized nations. America's HMOs or preferred provider organi zations (PPOs). which pro health bill was nearly $1,500 per capita, and topped 10% of the vide spec ilied levels of care at specified instit ut ions for specified Gross Nat ional Product: compared with about $900 in West prices. Gennany, S800 in France. $500 in Japan. and S400 in Britain. According to pol1ster Louis Harris. alternative delivcry sys tems such as HMOs are doubling their membership every fi ve Reagan Reforms years, are now used by nine percent of the nation's households and could capture 35% of the market by the late 1990s. There arc Comes now the Reagan Administration to attempt another some 325 different HMOs in the U.S. approach. that of octuall y decreasi ng demand for health ser vices. In addition to enacting repeated budget reductions in Medicare and Medicaid throughout the 1980s, President Reagan has presided over the remarkable change in the way federal "Medicare adopted another program that some Medicare payments--approaching 40% of the nation 's hospital believe may eclipse the prospective paymellt system bill- are made. ill its impact Oil public health cosls: the HMO For nearly twenty years, Medicare had reimbursed hospital s for the treatment of our elderly on a "cost" basis in which the Optioll. " hospital's "allowable" Medicare costs, whatever they might be. were paid by the government. Under the new "prospective payment system" enacted by Congress in April 1983 . Medicare sets in advance the payment rate (adjusted regionally and demo But HMOs are j ust part of the new face of health caredclivery. graphicall y in a complex formula). Hospitals that can treat More than 2,000 free-standing "slOrefront" cli nics, emergency Medicare patients for less than the fixed rate may keep the medical centers and outpatient surgery facilities now dot the difference; hospitals exceeding the fixed rate must make up the landscape. and analysts expect that number to grow to more than difference . 5,400 by 1991 . Most frequentl y, these clinics and centers are run by hospital s or physici an groups as less COS Il y, but more accessi ble, alternatives to inpatient hospital care. Some experts see this outpalient market reaching as much as $10 billion annual1y by the end of the decade. "A lthough the prospective paymellt still is ill relative The home health care market is expected to boom as ,",,-cll . The ill/alley, there are already some genuinely positive government suggests that expenditures for home health care will results. " grow from $3.4 billion in 1984 10 $5.4 billion in 1987. with the potential for an $18 billion market by 1994! We can also expect a dramatic increase in the number of surgical procedures perfonned on an outpatient basis, especially Thus. with one stroke of a presidential pen only 17 short when one considers that approximately 60% of all surgery can months ago. our health care system entered the realm of the now be perfonned outside the hospital setting. "marketplace." and a new era of competition was ushered in as the nation 's hospitals instituted management and marketing Marketing Health Services techniques to battle for patients. Although the prospective payment system still is in relative Marketing is another aspect of the revolution that is foreign to traditional medical practice. Unheard of as little as two years infancy. there are already some genu inely posi tive results: hos ago, adve rtisements for hospitals and health clinics now seem pital cost increases, for example. at 17% in 1982 . fellt04.5% in ubiquitous. A sales technique. a gimm ick? Yes, but far more 1984 and are hovering in that range thus far this year. Patient importantly, marketing increasingly must be employed for sur admissions, growing 2.7% annually in 1983. actually declined 2. 1% in 1984. Patient [engths-{lf-stay dropped from 7.2 days in vival in the new health marketplace. Providers cannOllose sight 1983 to 6.9 days in 1984. The number of staffed hospital beds of the fact that they must be prepared to offer their customer. the fell one percent in 1984 , as did the number of people employed patient. good reasons why that patient shoul d utilize thei r ser vices instead of somebody elsc·s. by hospitals-the fi rs t such decline since World War II . Earlier this year, Medicare adopted anal her program that some believe may eclipse the prospective payment system in its impact on public health costs; the " HMO Option." By al lowing Medicare beneficiaries the opportunity to sign up with a Health "Marketillg is another aspect o/the revolution that Maintenance Organization that will provide all their care for a is /oreigll to traditiollal medical practice. " fixed price, the government expects to save billions of dollars over the next 15 years. But the action is not limited to the public sector. Private employers. astonished by the burgeoning cost of traditional Distasteful and uncontrollable though it seems on its facc. the employee health benefit premiums, are seeking alternati ves. marketing of health services is not an end unto itse lf. It will not Some companies are increasing the deductibles on their employ· attract patients unless it offers something they deem desirable: ees' insura nce pol icies: others are offering cash incentives to the best quality care at the most reasonable price. OCTOBER 1985 13 Perhaps the most interesting. and most eontroversial from a sl:ttes will be taking up legislation aimed at controlling hospital competitive standpoint. innovation of the health care revolution nltes; and some states and localities will :tllempt \0 create is the melding of the health insumnce function with the ac tual "pools" of hospital revenues to help pay for care of the indigent. delivery of medical care. Several large health care companies. This last issue undoubtedly will dominate the health care such as the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA). Humana agenda for some time to come. The administration's reductions Inc. and American Medical International are pioneering this in Medicare and Medicaid funding. coupled with a shrinking tax concept. base and cutbacks in support programs at state and loca! levets. Physici ans, unlike hospitals. have not yet felt the full impact have exacerbated the problem of indigent and uncompensated of the health "revolution." but they will. and soon. Doctors face care. a radically different and more difficult environment today. as To provide free medical care. we have built public hospitals. patients are more demanding of them: patie nts don't want to wait using tax dollars. But the competitive spirit of the health care forever in the reception area: they want access to the newest revolution has forced businesslike activity on hospitals of all technology; they wa nt minimum paperwork: they W'J.nt profi stripes with the unfortunate result that they cannot meet the ciency; and. as always. they want the "pcrsonal touch." growing demands of uncompensllted care without seeing :tn The revolution will insist that physicians modify their behav adverse impact on their ability to provide services. ior in ways previously thought impossible. In what is for the first " Free " medical care is free only to those who receive it. and time rapidly becoming a "buyer's" market. increasingly sophis we as a society are going to be faced with some hard choices ticated patient consumers are seeking a more ac tive role in about shouldering the burden equitably. health care decision-maki ng. And in a cost-conscious atmos phere. doctors are being pressured to more carefully review their Ensuring Q uali ty admissions practices and diagnostic test orders. The traditional relationship between doctors and hospitals. The bottom line in health care today. and for the future, is a always tenuous and arm's length. also is changing. The tradi blend of COS I consciousness with the demand for quality. All ti onal "Jines of business" are becoming less distinct. as hospi must play the game. Those who finance health care , and are th us tals move into free-standing care center markets to compete with .. ccountable for costs, must commit themselves to sharing re fcc-for-service physicians: and physicians perform more lab sponsibi lity with that all-important cost-generator: the provider. work and outpatient surgery that once was the exclusive be it physician or hospital . For example. an HMO that is based at province of the hospital. a hospital would not survive if its medical staff did nOl have al Clearly. some of the changes occurrinp: as part of the health least as strong an incentive as the hospital itsclf to minimize care revolution arc influencing physician behavior. For exam unneccssary ulilizntion and improve productivity. ple. the prospective payment system. 1·IMOs and other alterna For this reason, we can expect more and more physicians to tive delivery systems all share the common objective of reduc join with larger. multi .hospit:t! systems 10 obtain much-needed ing utilizations and services which are ordered . after all. by help in such arcas as finance. insurance. capital equipment physicians. acquisition and evaluation. and marketing. For their part. hospitals will devise ways to involve physi "Some people view the revolutioll as a threat to the cians more deepl y in the process of managi ng the health c:tre iudepe" dellce ofphysiciolls. Perhaps so: agai". the system so thaI physicians can better understand tooay's COSI transf er ofp ower isfrom sellers to buyers. " pressures and so that hospital management can bener under stand ways to offer a high quality of care. Some people view the revolution as a threat to the indepen The trends of recent months all tell the same story : to survi ve dence of physicians. Perhaps so: again. the transfer of power is in the health care "business." the providers of care must control from se llers to buyers. The shift to the " ma rk etplace" means not only costs. bUI the mechan ism through which patients are that for the first time. prol'iders and insurers have the burden of fun neled illlo health care channels. Be)Und simple survi val. to proof with respect to both the quality and price of their services. thrive in the new environment will require health providers to The new marketplace won't be operating in a regulatory offer a full mnge of services themselves. or through contracts vacuum. however. At all levels of government we can anticipate with other insti tutions or groups. They must control the costs of further :tttempts at re gulmion. particularly in the are .. of cost their benefits packages. "out-market" other hospita ls or pro cont:tinment. For example. the federal govern ment is consider viders and. above all. maintain the quality of c .. re. ing whether to :tdopt a prospective p:tyment system such as the Indeed. whether we like itornot. Yo'C are .. 11 now witness to the one...... now.. in.. .place.... .for.... hospitals...... and... .apply...... it to.. physici:tns...... Man.....y ....emergence...... of t...he ..medi...caU.....indu....strial..... co.mplex...... in...... America...... •. IF YOU ARE TIRED OF THE POLITICS OF EXTREMISM AND LOOKING FOR PRAGMATIC, INDEPENDENT THINKING, THEN YOU WANT THE RIPON FORUM. Don't conluse us with the likes 01 The Nation Of The American Please Sign me up fOf $25 as a National Associate Member of the Spectator. Or publications akin to The Progressive or National Re Ripon Society (includes magazine subscription~ view. We are a group 01 independent thinkers and we offer intoxicating ideas. Name ______Why? To torce you-as well as ourselves-to think beyond traditional means. Uyou don't want to be challenged. then don't read on-we are Address ______nolthe magazine for you. City/StatelZip ______But if you appreciate Iresh th inking and disparate opinions. then you may never be the same after reading the Ripon Forum. Please sign me up lor a one-year, $15 subscription to the Ripon Make checks payable to the Ripon Society and return to: The Ripon Forum. Society. 6 Li brary Ct. $E, Washington. DC 20003. 14 RtPON FORUM ------ Opportunism on the Right: An Unholy Alliance Revisited by Kell Ruberg " P ower tends locorrupt.·· 18th century British hiSlOrian California Republican Youth Caucus. had solicited and accepted Lord Acton once wrotc. but many of loday's New R igh! leaders, a $5.000 contribUlion from CAUSA, Moon's principal anli· more concerned with making history thlln observing its lessons, commun ist effort. Three months later. San Francisco public appear eager to ignore his warning as they seek allies in a contest telcvison station KQED broadcast a program oUilining the Uni for political influence. fication Church's political presence in Latin America. and can· As background, in 1983 the Ripon Society released a report cluded thai "Reverend Moon has aligned himsel f with the New entitled "Theocracy on the Right: Reverend Sun Myung Moon Right on two issues: anti-communism and tax exemptions ac and the American Political Process." The report revealed sub corded to religious organizations. . il seems that Reverend stantial evidence of an emerging alliance bet\\.'CCn New Right Moon will continue in his attempts 10 innuencc the New Ri ght political leaders and Reverend Sun Myung Moon's deservedl y and other conservati ve American organizations." controversial Unification Church. Having relied excl usively on public news reports, legal research and interviews wi th a few courageous conservatives, the report's authors felt at the time ", . , leaders o/the New Right could be at that they'd only revealed the "tip of the iceberg"-an iceberg something 0/ a loss to explain their close associaJioll which today appears to be ·Iitanic-sized. with the Ullification Church to the conservative The 1983 report disclosed that New Right direct mail Americans who support them, " fundmiser Richard Viguerie was marketing the Moonie-owned Wa shillglOlI Times to uns uspecting conservatives across th e country. and earning hundreds of thousands of dollars in the Events followed a bizarre course in July of 1984 when former process, New Right politicians and elected officials endorsed Times editor James Whelan, who h3d earli er attacked Ripon's the Times, a daily newspaper of right-wing editorial opinions in report as charges made by a "discredited leftist sect." declared which Unification Church-controlled organizlIIions arc now es that "the Washillgton Times has become a ' Moonic' news timated to have invested more than $125 million. On another paper." More important revelations of Unification Church pol il front. the article carried serious allegations of financial and icallies to Ihe New Ri ght came in September, however. when the political cooperation betwcen Church allies and the College Washillgtoll Post published two lengthy articles on the alliance. Republican National Committee (CRNC}-lI possibility that The Post articles indicated Ihal "the Unification Church ... doesn't reflect much on the Republican Part y at large given thc is spending millions or dollars a year on a broad range of cultural fact that the CRNC relates to Republicans in much thc same way and political programs:" that "the church also is using its vast as barnacles relate to boats. Also revealed were numerous exam financial resources to fosler a budding alliance with the New pIes of cooperation in joumalistic. academic and foreign policy Ri ght and conservati ve political leaders." and Ihat "it also has endea"ors of importance to boch conservative politicians and the contributed $500,000 to finance an anticommunist lobbying Unification Church. campaign headed by Terry Dolan, ehainnan of the NatioOll1 Some conservatives attended a Ripon Society press confer Conservative Pol itical Action Committee." Followi ng the Pm·t ence held to make these charges public. and disrupted it by articles and an NBC television program along similar lines, one vocally asserting their innocence. In the days immediatcly fol of Dolan's spokesmen responded by attacking the existe nce of lowing the report's release, the Society WdS threatened with an American media campaign in support of communism. lawsuits and polilical rctalilliion. Yet it's increasingly clear as It's frightening to note that o nl y a rew leaders on the Ri ghi Ihe nation's press begins to investigate the matter Ihat all too seem inclined to publicly question the propriety of cooperntion many New RighI leaders are committed to working wilh well between evangelical "pro...family" conservatives and a quas i financed. politically interested Unification Church members to religious movement which has been investigaled by the Con shape American politics. gress, which is attacked by parents as a cult and which is led by a In January of 1984, for example. the Los Angeles Times charismatic figure believed by his followers to be Ihe Messiah. published two articles indicating that a Los Angeles County For its part, the conservative Heritage Foundation has published Republican Party employee, in her capacity as treasurer of the an essay admitting that New Right supporters are ··in a rather uneasy position as Sun Myung Moon has come acourting" and suggesting that " the views of Ihe Unification Church might Kell RI4berg, an (xxasional contriblllor LO tilt!. Forum.is a cause discomfort for conservatives primarily concerned with /01111(/;"8 direcLOr 0/ MAINS/REAM, (I gnus roots political individual liberty." The Washington Post articles, indicating organiZlltion/or celllrist (lJI(I progressil'f! Re/Jllblicans. C:olllillued on page 18 OCTOBER 1985 15 Here's What the News Media Isn't Telling You About Trends in the Republican Party by Dale Curtis A s they say, there's good news and there's bad ncws. The If you want to, you can read all thi s cliched knowledge in other bad news is that if, like most Americans, you get the better part publications. But what you probably haven't read about is the of your political news from the usual national media outlets, you progressive movement's new energy and growing list of accom are missing a big part of what is going on in the never-ending plishments. Indeed. in the not-too-distan t future, we may look battle for the soul of the Repubican Party. back on the post-Dallas year as the turning point for moderatcl Judging from press covel".tge, one might guess that after li beral Republicanism. Nelson Rockefeller"s death, Gerald Ford's retirement. and Jacob Javits's defeat. the entire moderatelliberal wing of the GOP had Momentum mysteriously disappeared as ....'C II. The good news, as you know from reading the Ripon Forum , is that they have not . In fact. as The momentum was started, as a m.mer of fac t. in Dallas. the reporters have also missed, 1985 has been the most exciting Several dozen ac tivists organized there under the banner of year for moderate and progress ive Republicans si nce the tri Congressman Ji m Leach's Republican Mainstream Committee, umphs of 1966. What's goi ng on, you ask? and worked hard in making their respectful dissent known to hundreds of curious attendees. Even more important, the impact of Mainstream's Dallas operation upon progressive Republican activists themselves cannot be overstated. The heavy schedule UI" fact, as reporters have also missed, 1985 has of activities were the first organized, conscious efforts to pro beelt the most exciting year for moderate a"d mOle moderate Republicanism since the dawn of the Age of progressive Republicall s since the triumphs of Reagan. From leaders like Leac h, fomler Republican National Committee Chair Mary Louise Smith. and New York State 1966, " Senator Roy Goodman, on down to the college students and congressional aides who were an intcgral part of the effort , there emerged a clear- eyed understanding of where progressives stand , and an invigorating detennination to return in be tt er It see ms odd to cl aim unheard-of moderate Republican ad standing by 1988. va nces in the wa ke of Ronald Reagan's impressive 1984 per In the electi on campaign whic h followed, center-left Republi formance. The Dallas conve ntion was (even by Republican cans enjoyed the generally positive atmosphere for incum standards) unnervingly hannonious, more like a pcp rally than a bents---lhe only moderate/li beral Republican defeated in 1984 political pow-wow. And as observers from all sides of the was Senator Charles Percy, who fell in Ill inois by one percent political dialogue will point out. the president's victory was age point. In the House, Ripon Republicans picked up as least solid everywhere but in the most hard-core Democratic demo four new sympathetic members. including John Rowland in graphic groups. Connecticut, Jan Meyers in Kansas. Paul Henry in Gerald Ford's But it has also become commonpl ace to point out that Ameri old Michigan scat , and John Miller in Washington. can voters in 1984 seem to ha ve endorsed somethi ng other than A description of moderate ac ti vi ty during the campaign sea the president's conservative agenda. There was no conservative son wou ld not be complete wi thout mentioni ng MODRNPAC sweep of Congress, no Republican gains in the statehouses. and the New Leadership Fund. two political action committees Despite the clear choice offered to voters, there was less of an which funnel money directly to moderate Republ ican chal ideological edge to thi s election than in 1980. Instead, the lengers. In 1984, MODRNPAC contributed to 15 races, eight electorate expressed general sat isfaction with the president's wi nners among them, including Henry, Meyers, and Miller: the upbeat, can-do altitude. and the moderate (shall .... 'C say Ripon New Leadership Fund (N LF)endorsed six successful candidates like?) course produced by the clash between a conservative including Representatives Meyers. Henry, Miller, and Michael White House and a moderately li beral Congress. Strang of Colorado. Senator Mitch McConne ll of Kentucky, and Becky Morgan. a State Senate candidate in Cali fo rnia. MODRNPAC hopes to expand its circle of beneficiaries in 1986. as does NLF. which wi ll be circulating a newslett er this fall Dale Curtis is a member of tile Ripon Forum editorial board. giving early endorsements for 1986. 16 RtPON FORUM In Washington l1lc new optimism among modcrale and prog.ressi\'C Republi cans extends down to )OUng people taking their first slcpS iolo Afler the electio n and back in Washington, there have been the political woOd. The repeated news stories or)1JUllg peopk other encouraging developments this year. Foremost among joining the GOP out of admiration for right-wing C3ilISeS and tbem is in the Senate. where m OCTOBER 1985 17 educmion;11 system, long overdue and sorely needed in an ad direct function of the funding and membership ident ification vanced economy based on services and hi gh technology, has one can claim. and it is Impossible to develop a growing memo finally c:Lught the public's imagination. Equal rights and equal bership without large amounts of money. Moderates have been pay for women and minorities ofcompanlble abil ity has become successful at reviving their spirits and their detennination. but to the accepted standard. and will increasingly become the reality. continue on at this point requires that those qualities be trans And in a nation of great cultur.tl di versit y, where the post-196O's lated into cold . hard cash. And remember. it is the New Right gener.ttion holds so much power to shape national alii tudes, a and the cent ralized. inst itutional GOP that have set the new libertarian. toleram attitude is far more common among people standard for fundrai sing success. young and old than the mi ndset of the Moral Majority. Mai nstream's agenda for 1985-88 calls for raising enough In matters of foreign po licy. ....'C are witnessing an interesting money to support direct mail. candidate recruitment. political response to the postwar trends of nuclear proliferation. commu advertising, fundraisi ng events. a national political newsletter. nist expansionism. and Third World unrest. Political writers and a major national conference of moderate and liberal Repub have missed the fact the new consensus on forei gn policy licans in 1986. Despite the succesfu l dinner for Vice President mirrors the successfu l modcmte Repubican formula of big sticks Bush. Ripon still needs far more money for direct mai l and a allll soft words. The response to connic!s with Nicar.tgua or the new membership dri ve, chaptcr development . expanded staff Soviet Union show that Americans understand policies of mili and logistical costs, and an investment in upgmding th e F Orl/n! . tary buih.luporendless negotiation by themselves are ultimately MODRNPAC and the New Leadershi p Fund hope to signifi futil e. Progressive Republicans have always understood that the camly increase their support of Republican candidates in 1986. combinmion of miliary strength and serious, innovative, aggres The New Repu bli can Network hopes to offer a full -scale sched sive diplomacy is a powerfu l tool for ac hieving international ul e of activ ilies through the summer of 1986. and the Main hannony and progress. stream ColI~ge Federation may try 10 establish a national politi cal newsleller for )Qung leaders. T h(' Long Run These !mbitious plans underscore the need for fundrai si ng and a better effort to coordinate strategy among the vari ous There is, therefore, a great body of undernOliced evidence mooemte groups. There is no hope that Ri pon-style RepUblicans that aftcr lying stunned for several years, modcrate :L nd pro can immediately match the success of the right wing- years of gressive Republicans arc again breathing free ly and flexing constant effort on their part have produced a fonnidable network atrophied muscle. But the question remains. as it always has: do of leaders and organizations devoted to clear tac tical and philo moderate and liberal Republicans possess the stomach and sophical goals. For the most part these groups work well to stamina necessary to keep the momentum going over the long gether, and the results arc quite obvious. We would do well to haul?The new opt imism will be sorely challenged in the months emulate their aggressive ness and cohesion. to come. Most of the events described above have been noted in one way or another by newspapers. magazi nes. and even the televi sion netwo rks. Bul the big picture that is most newsworthy has been missed. The national news medi:. have fai led to reach out " /11 strategic terms, there are two primary beyond the standard '·progressive-Republ ieans·are-an-oddit y·· challenges: j lllldraisillg and coordination of stories to notice that there is a new si tuat ion of fe rment among effort. " and potential for center-left Republicans. If those Republicans can keep their eyes and hands focused on a steady path of philosophical and strategic advancement through 1986, 1988, In strategic ternlS, there arc two primary challenges: fundmis and on through to 1992, they could indeed someday say that ing and coordi nation of effort. In American politics, power is a 1985 was the las/ year they were ignored by the national press . • O pportunism on the Right Add to the mailer of fundi ng public reports that conse rvative comilll/ed/rum page 15 stalwarts Jeane Kirkpatrick and Wi ll iam Simon serve on the Fund 's board. while wel l-connected hard-liners like retired Gen that some New Right leaders fear a public backlash damaging to eral John Singlaub serve on CAUSA's advisory board. Even the conservati ve cause. cited a stronger warning by conservative Moral Majority leader Jerry Falwell . on the same day he tenned activist Neal Blair: " The Unification Churc h is trying to buy its Nobel Peace Prize winner and Anglican Bishop Desmond Tut u a way into the conservative movement. Moon says he's the son of "phony," iro nically found time to attend a press confe re nce to God and the savior of the world .. It's frighten ing . Se ldom say. " I think the president should pardon Reverend Moon . ,. have we had a group come into this country be fore and have this Politics does indeed make strange bedfellows. but I suspect much money to spend." that leaders of the New Ri ght could be at something of Ii loss to In fact. while it's impossible to ascribe motives precisely. it expl ai n their close association with the Unification Church to seems clear now that money must have much todo with the New the oonservative Americans who support them. They' ll un Ri ght 's general willingness to associate with Reverend Moon doubtedl y make excuses by citing the need to fight commu nism and therefore help legitimize his questionable agenda . A prime (the shared enemies approach) or by blaming the " Ii bcml me example is aid to the Nicaraguan contras. This issue. among the dia" (the conspiracy approach) or even by attacking the Ripon Right's highest priorities. was boosted tremendously last spring Society. but the fact rcmains that they' ve placed political e: 18 RtPON FORUM Re~Re~Re~Re~ Re~Re~Re~Re~ Tocqueville Redux or Which Way to Lake Wobegon? by Alfretl W. nile Habits of/he Heart: Jm/ividualism and Commilmel1l ill AmeriC(1/I Life. Robert N. Bellah, Ri chard Madsen, William M. Sull ivan, Ann Swidler, and Sleven M. Tipton. Berkele)': University ofCaliromia Press. 1985. A s a nation we pcrccivcourselves beset by forcignenemies . ness. a universal vice. and is an afniction peculiar to democ We sec communists. whether of Soviet. Cuban or Nicaraguan racies. In a democracy. each citizen tends to see themself as the stripe, lurking everywhere. awaiting only the smallest sign of equal of every other, thus ultimately neither dependent on nor weakness 10 fall upon us. Our so·cal1ed al lies uppcar to oureycs responsible for an}Qne other than themselves. This te ndency even morc invidious. seemingly inlent on burying us under a :lccounted for the instability of democracies. Tocqueville be mounlain of shoes. small cars and VCRs. came convinced. because the indifference to the proble ms of For such a collective siege mentality it is casy to forgel Ihat society it fostered made nedgling attempts at self-government Ihc source of the most serious thrcatlo our way of life was once vulnerable to being taken over by despols. who indulged it by thought to be do mestic. As a people we arc not much given to encouraging citizens to tend their own gard en. as it were. and to introspection, and the possibility that there might be something leave the messy work of governing to them. about the American experience that has shaped our character in such a way as 10 undemline the conditions which make democ racy work is difficult to accept. Yet this is precisely what the UTocqueville believed two specific traditions au thors of Habits of the Heart would have us believe. They have molded the characters of the first generations of met the enemy and. as Pogo put it. "they are us." Americans . . . Thefirst was Bible-based religion Tocqucville's Portrait The second was our tradition of republican government. " The book is the outgrowth of four research projects in the course of which over 200 Americans were asked to talk about Tocqueville identified a number of fac tors as contributing to themselves. their personal relationships. their work and their the longevity of democracy in North America. The absence of political involvement . As its authors acknowledge. however. the powerful ri vals in this hemisphere. the existence of a vast fron book is not simply a report of the content of these conversatio ns: ti er in the taming of which the ambitious could expend their it is. rather. a portr.l.it of contemporary America which uses for energies, the lack of a single dominant metropolitan cente r its outline observations on life in the Un ited States made 150 whose elite could aspire tOpCl\\'er. and the fac t that o ur revolution years ago by the French phi losopher Alex is de Tocqueville and was not preceded by centuries of aristocratic rule to heighten the publiShed in his classic Democracy in America . animosit y di viding people. all helped sustain democracy in this Tocqueville came to this country in 1831 to discover why O UT country. The balance of powers established by the Constitution revolution had achieved a stable democracy while France's had and its creation of an independent judiciary as a check against not . He concluded that a desire for equality underlies all demo the recesses of a poIentially tyrannous majorit y were even more cratic revoluti ons. but that o nce achieved this condition fosters a important in this regard. But according to Tocqueville the most pernicious vice that is its undoing. This vice he identified as important single factor 'nurturing de mocracy in Ame rica was ··i ndividualism." by which he meant a pro pensi ty "which what he found to be the sum lotal of its citizens's custo ms. disposes each member of the community to sever himself from mores. notions. numners. opinions and ide:lS "which constitute the mass of his fellows and to draw apaT! with his family and their characters of mind." their "habits of the heart." friends. so that after he has thus formed a liule circle of his own. Tocqueville believed two specific traditions molded the c h:lr he willingly leaves society at large to itself.·· ac ters of the first generations of Americans in such a way as to Individualism thus understood is very different fro m selfish- inure them to the temptations of indi vidualism . The fi rst was the Bible-based religion which pervaded the United States in the first half of the 19th century. Citing as an example of its effect the Afjred W. Tate is a member of the Ri pon Forum ulitor;al life of John Winthrop. first governor of the Massachusetts Bay board. Colony. Tocqueville concluded their rel igiosity led Americans OCTOBER 1985 " to understand the liberty they had won to be the freedom to act and measure of value is not the accumulation of wealth and altruisticall y under the auspices of a transcendent deity, rather status, but the exploration and cultivation of the seemingly than the license to behave solely as self-interest dictated. Thus, infinite possibilities for expressing one's selfhlXld. although it taught the equality of all before God, religion sus tained democracy in this country by at the same time calling on each individual to put the concerns of neighbor and society ahead of those of self. " Habits of the Heart concludes that jndjllU/uaiism has trjumphed jn A merica," "The authors of Habits of the Heart see jn our history the delleiopment of a tendency toward two Habits of lh~ Heart concludes that individualism has tri related types of the jndjllU/ualism Tocquell jlle umphed in America and that these two related descriptions of warned agajnst. Thefirst they call 'utilitarian what life here is aU about have gained general acceptance as the sources of the only meaningful tenns under which meaning and jndjllUlualism ' . .. the second 'expressjlle value can be discussed. One reason given for this development jndjll jdualism. '" is the way in which religion has become an adjunct of psychol ogy and turned inward to focus on personal fu lli ll ment, while the natural and social sciences have taken over the ex planation and management of the world outside the self. In the process, The second element in our experience Tocqueville identified religion has gone from a check against to a positive reinforce as acting as an antidote to individualism was our tradition of ment for our tendencies toward indi vidualism. Further, as the republican government. He warned his European readers, how· problems we face as a society have become morecomplex, more ever, that our republic was not li ke those to which they were costly to solve as well as national and international in scope, accustomed, where a partisan few claimed to rule in the name of belief in the importance of local government has eroded. People the many. Ours he said was "founded upon the enlightened will no longer believe they can understand. much less effecti vely of the people," and represented "the tranquil rule of the major contribute to the solving of society's ills. Thus the influence of ity." This was true because from its first settlement to the time in our republican tradition in politics has waned and our govern which he was writi ng, the United States consisted of small , ance is increasingly given over to technocrats. relatively isolated oommunities, and the most important level of In arriving at this conclusion, Be llah and his co-authors find government in this country was, therefore, the local or munici that- in marked contrast to the 19th century in which the per pal level. Here citizen participation was direct and immediate sonal, fami lial , communal and wo rk dimensions of experience and the majority really did rule. For Americans the model of formed a more nearly integnlled and organic whole-the most governance was the participatory democracy of the town meet distinctive characteristic of contemporary society is its compart ing, and there, as they were in church , our citizens were edu mentalization. The impetus for this came in the transfonnation cated to act for the good of the community rather than simply for of work which took place with industrialization, and in the themselves. process of which, accord ing to Bellah, "the bureaucratic organi zation of the business corporation has become the dominant TWo Types of Individualism force in this century." As a result, while the image of the self-made entrepreneur is often held up to us as our ideal. the type much closcr to reality in Over against these two fonnative a~pec t s of our national America is that of the manager. The manager's task is to orga experience, the authors of Habits of th ~ H~art see in our history the development of a tendency toward two related types of the nize the human and material resources of the corporation to individualism Tocqueville warned against. Tbe first they call enhance its position in the marketplace. 1bc manager's sue " utilitarian individualism," and cite as its paradigm the Ben cess-and thus remuneration- is measured in tcnns of the ef jamin FrankJin of his Autobiography and Poor Richard's Alma fectiveness with which he or she manipulates these resources nac. Here any action or opportunity is evaluated in tenns of the and this in turn is measured in tenns of profit and loss on the degree to which it provides a boost to the individual's efforts to balance sheet. This is, as the popular idiom puts it, " the bottom get ahead. By extension, according to this way of thinking, that line." Thus of primary importance to the manager is the effi society is best-and therefore most productive of the good ciency of the process they oversee, not the ends that process which least hinders the individual's pursuitof his or her material serves. The manager must be concerned with how well that we ll-being. portion of the process they are responsible for functions. They Bellah and his co-authors callthcir second type "expressi ve cannot be ooncemed with the values it produces, thai is literally individualism" and identify as its exemplar the Wall Whitman of out of their hands. The counterpart of the image of the " manager" in personal ua~s of Grass and particularly Song ofM ys~Jf. Here the focus life is that of the " therapist." Like the former, the latter is an ideal type and in our SOCtcty health and maturity consists in the degree to which each of us assumes the role for ourselves. The "Bellah and his co-authors find thDl the most therapeutic seWs task is to organize the variety of identities we distjnctive characteristjc of contemporary socjety must assume at woric: and at home into a "lifestyle" thai is both is Us compartmentalizatjon," economically feasible and psychically bearable. Here success is measured in tenns of our ability to orchestrate our efforts to strike a balance between the demands placed on us as employee, spouse, friend , parent and child while meeting our own personal 20 RtPON FORU M needs as the unique and s ingularly worthwhile self we believo- this uncertainty is perh aps the realization that the science in or our culture tells us-we arc. which we have invested our hopes for the future can dissect and The therapeutic image of selfbood is essentially the pro explain our past and present but cannOt articulate a vision of that jection onto personal life of the contraclU rd l structure of the future capable of uniting us in ac tion toward its reali zation. At bureaucratic world of work in which the manager operates. any rate , the book's treatment of the history of the rise of Moreover, Bellah writes, " the therapist, like the ma nager, takes individualism and its description of the pass to which it has the ends as they are given: focus is upon the effectiveness of brought us rings true. Its efforts in the concluding chapters to means. " Questions of what if any larger good might be served point to how we might proceed remedying this situation are beyond self-aggrandizement and fulfi ll ment do not and cannQ( unclear and unconvi ncing. arise when personal life is seen as such a balancing act. The book's conclusion that the focus of religion in this coun The effccts of the triumph of individualism and the accep tryon personal1ife and the way in which the perceived irrele tancc ofthese models as guides in our work and personal li ves is vance of local government has undermined our republican tradi everywhere apparent in the conversations the authors of Habits tion of political involvement have combined to rob us of any of the Heart had with Americans. Perhaps the msot important shared vocabulary expressive of values transcending individual result is that where once we li ved as intcgral parts of organic ism also rings true. Unhappily, the book underlines this point by communities, we now find ourselves coming together in "life using a vocabulary which itself will be readi ly understandable style enclaves." Aceording to the book. these are collections of by onl y a small fraction of Americans. Most if not all of these ind ividuals who find themselves in proximity because they will be found in academic "enclaves," and it is highly unlikely sha re both a similar understanding of what makes up the de that anyone in a posilion of nalionalleadership will be capable of mands/needs equation the therapeutic se lf must try to balance the effort reading it requires. and, possess approximatley the same material resources for The final measure of the value of a book of this sort , however, doing so. is the degree to which it helps us better understand the predica Because these fac tors are different for "yuppies" and blue ment in which we fi nd ourselves . On this basis it can be coUar workers and change as we move from being single to recommended without reservation as we ll worth the struggle. being parents with school age children to retirement, our group ings are uniform in makeup and short-lived in duration. Our lives are th us diminished in two ways . Because we live with people like ourselves, we are denied a sense of life's fullness by "The greatest service the authors of Habits of the our isolation from exposure to the diversity of human experi Heart perform is in making unmistakably clear ence. Because we live with people of our own generation, we are the inherent contradiction in efforts to unify and denied a sense of life'sconnections through being cut off from a lead as diverse a nation as ours through an appeal meaningful past and purposeful future. to self-interest. " "This is a remarkable book, and what makes it so The greatest service the authors of Habits of the Heart per remarkable is the way in which its shortcomings form is in making unmistakably clear the inherent contradiction are themselves symptomatic of the societal ills the in efforts to unify and lead as diverse a nation as ours through an book attempts to explicate," appeal to self-interesl. Our national debt will soon pass two trillion dollars and we cannot come within S200 billion of balancing our budget for the next fi scal year because we lack the sense of larger purpose which would make worthwhile the Most troubli ng is the potential threat all this poses for the inevitable sacrifice cutting spending wou ld entail. Congress is future of our democracy. Radical indi vi dualism and the changes not at fault in th is situation. it merely reflects the inability of the it represents in the way we think about ourselvs and the nature of various" lifestyle enclave" its members represent 10 see beyond our relationships with and commitment to others provides no their own individual demands and needs. Efforts at substantive basis for the mu tual acceptance of the sort of broader values and tax reform will most certainly founder for the same reason. goals which, by transcending the parochial and transient con The perspective Habits of the Heart provides on the last cerns which bring us together in "lifestyle enclaves." make the presidential election is particul arly illuminating. In this light existence of a large. pluralistic society possible. We are, as the Walter Mondale was rejected by a majority of voters because he efforts 10 do so recorded in Habits of the Heart reveal , bereft of was perceived as lacking any larger vision and because he was even the vocabulary necessary to ar1iculate and debate the believed to appeal to the special interests of so many groups that questions of value and commitment on the resolution of which none of us could be reall y sure he had ours at hear!. From this our futu re as a nation depends. perspective President Reagan, on the other hand. can be seen as successfull y exploiting the fact that a majority of us so yeam for Shortcomings such a larger vision that we were wi lling to overlook the fact that hi s is expressed in a rhetoric so hackneyed as to be devoid of any This is a remarkable book, and what makes it so remarkable is connection with the complex reali ties we face as a nation. the way in which its shortcomings are themselves symptomatic In times like these one way of uniting a nation is to appeal to of the societal ills the book attempts to explicate. The authors of the real or imagined threat posed by external foes. The danger of Habits of the Heart are uncertain whether they are social scien doing so in a nuclear age is clear. Habits o/the Heart draws the ti sts. and thus engaged in explai ning us to ourselves, orphiloso lesson thai it is equally fool hardy to attempt to lead a society phers, and thus embarked on providing us a vision of the future such as ours through appeals to the very internal forces that are whic h will move us to form a more perfect union. Underlying threateni ng to undo it. _ OCTOBER 1985 21 The Chairman's Corner: Cargo Preference: A Scandal Made in Congress by Jim Leach W hile Americans are increasingly importing goods "Much ofth e impact of our humanitarian aid marked "Made in Japan:' a scandal "' Made in Congress"' is programs is being gutted by the political alld decreasing exports. No issue provides a more compelli ng case for campaign finance reform than does cargo preference. finallcial influence ofa lobby whose sole purpose The 1954 Cargo Preference Act mandates that at least 50 appears to be to protecl if not expand cargo percent of government-generated cargo must be transported on pref erence subsidies." American flag ships. thus adding $ 1. 53 to the cost of each bushel of eom and SI. 78 to the cost of each bushel of soybeans exported from our shores. Much of the impact of our humanitarian aid programs are maritime unions cannot be overstated. During the 1983-84 elec being gutted by the political and fin ancial influence of a lobby tion cycle, the three major maritime unions contributed whose sole purpose appears to be to protect if nOi expand cargo $2,443,910 to presidenti:tl and congressional candidates. or a preference subsidies. As the drought and starvation rage in East staggering average of approximately $4,(0) per seat in Con Africa, babies are dying because government is responding gress. inordinately to '-'"'C Il -healed special interests rather than profound This innuence is nOi new. In 1976. for example, maritime humanitarian concerns. interests contributed over S2oo.000 to the campaign of former Since the inception of the Food for Peace program. the De President Caner. A cynic would not consider it to be happen partment of Agriculture has paid approx imately $ 1.6 billion in stance that the Carter administration subsequentl y submitted a added shipping costs to a handful of American shipping compa bi ll to Congress agai nst the advice of the Departments of State nies . Last year alone. the--"'ocean freig ht diffcrential" - :ls it is and Defense that wo uld have required 20 percent of U.S. ocean tenned by the m;tritime industry. reduced the effectiveness of borne oil im ports to be carried on U.S. nag, U.S. built tankers. assistance programs by more than $ 131 million. This law. if it had passed. wou ld have boosted the cost of The American Soybean Association put into perspective last production for farmers and the cost of li ving for rural citizens spring the cost of cargo preference to a.'Isist the African emcr substantia ll y. furtunately. Congress was able to restrain the gency. In testimony before Congress. the Assoc iation reported Executive. that the cost is sufficient to land in Eth iopia or Sudan on foreign It is no wonder that these massive sums of money can be fl ag ships enough whem and soybean oil to provide over poured into political coffers when government payments for 480.000 people one pound of wheat ;md one ounce of soybean cargo preference and other marit ime subsidies result in pay oi l per day for one ye:lr. ments of $ 162.000 per worker on a typical U.S.-flag dry bulk Farm interests are nOi the only groups supporting the elimina carrier. ti on of cargo preference laws. The Grace Commission in its A classic example of the scandalous innuence of the maritime findings and the Congressional Budget Office have both recom unions occurred in May when in a Foreign Affairs Committee mended the immediate elimination of cargo preference for non markup of the Food for Peace program an amendment was military shipments with estimated cost s:lVings to the budget of offered to exempt PL480 shipments from cargo preference more than $1 billion over the next five years. requ irements. The amendment was quietly ru led out of order Moreover. :III serious congressional reform panels have rec and referred instead to the Merchant Marine and Fisheries ommended elim ination of the Merchant Marine and Fisheri es Committee--where it will never see the light of day. The fi nan Committee because its primary function is to protect a sick cial influence of the maritime industry not only impacts legisla industry in a sick way. Conflicts of interest have in fact been so tion but the legislative process as "'"'ell. rife that three of the last four chairmen of the committee have There have been a number of bills introduced in Congress in lost their seats, not to challengers. but to judges. Federal indict reaction to a recent distri ct court decision to apply cargo prefer ments have changed the membership but not the pro-industry ence requirements to the USDA 's blended credit export pro bias of the committee. gram. Other legislation goes substantially funher: it would The di sproportionate influence of the small but powerful exempt all agricultural exports and human itarian aid assistance from cargo preference requirements. Adoption of th is legislation would be an important step in balanci ng our trade deficit as "'"'ell as the fede ral bud get. It is time to get the big money out of politics and thus the big interests Jim Leach is a member o/Congress/rom 1011'0 and chairman 0/ out of the pockets of Icgisllttors who vote on single-issue sub the Ripoll Society. sidies of this nature . But it wi ll not be easy. • 22 RIPON FORUM I -4 ~ ~~ ~ f-~ I George Blish and Jim Leach at Ihe RilJOI! Society's 23rd (ll1l11wl Ma ry Lollise Smith alltl Mark Hatfield !'isit at Ripon (l1If1U(f1 dilmer. (lillller. Over 400 guests turned out on July 30 for the Ripon Society's ceived as being "mean-spirited toward the needy." Abt says he mOSI successful annual dinner, which honored Vice President wants to turn that image around. and that he is "interested in George Bush as the Society's " Republican of the Year." AI· leveling up. not leveling down." . though Nalional Conservative Political Action Comrnitleechair The battle wi thin the Texas GOP is not only for the 1986 man Terry Dolan complained that Bush's appearance "scared gubernatorial nod. which former governor William Clements. the hell out of him." the vice-president made C1ClIf his pol itical Representative Tom Loeffler, and former Deomcratic senatorial leanings at the outset. "1 am not here under any fal se colors. I aspirant Kent Hance arc seeking, but also for control of the Slale am a conservative." Bush told the gathering. But the vice Republican p.... rl y. The Fort Worth Swr-Telegram. for example. president went on 10 say that the Republican P'.lrty must encom reports that Texas Senator Phil Gramm. Ihe stale's top-ranking pass a wide variety of individuals. and that the Ripon Society Republican. may have overplayed his hand by "all but endors had contributed 10 the GOP's commitment to eq ual opportunity ing" Hance thi s spring when the former Democr... tic congress for minorities. That "open umbrella" concept must scare the Ru man joined the GOP. Should the front-running Clements capture Right, however, as they peppered publications like Ti,e Washing the nominati on. thc Star· Telegram reports. then Gmmm may ton Times with accusations thaI the vice-presidenl made a mis face a power struggle wilh the fornler parly head. take in appearing before the Ripon Society. But like congress Illinois GOP Governor James R. Thompson's announcement man Jack Ke mp. who has appeared twice before Ripon that he witl seek a fourth term came as no surprise to the state 's gatherings. the vice-president spoke of the need for the GOP to pol itical observers, but the annou ncement by Maine GOP Con lead by ideas. and said that the Mark Hatfie ld Scholarship Fund , gressman and Ripon Congressional Advisory Board member which the dinner benefited. was an important part of this task. Jock McKernan thaI he will seek the GOP gubernalOrial nomina Senator Hatfield also spoke at the dinner. and urged the Society tion did end months of speculation about Mc Kernan's plans. to maintain its commitment 10 scholarship and political activ After North Carolina Republican Senator John East an ism. nounced this summer that he wi ll not seek reelection. James Broyhill . a 23 year memlx:rof Congrcss with a conservative but Political News not hard-line voting reco rd. decided to e nter the GOP senatorial primary. Broyhill will face Davi d Funderburk. a fornler ambas Research executive Clark C. Abt has announced hi s can sador to Rumania who has been endorsed by Jesse Helm's didacy for Massachusetts's Eighth Congressional District, the Congressional Club. The race will pit a traditional conservative. scat now held by retiring Speaker of the House Tho mas P. (Tip) Broyhill. versus a Far Ri ght conservative. Funderburk . O'Neill. Jr. In his first foray into politics. the president of Abl Sources within the Hawaii GOP report that Patric ia Saiki. Associates. one of Ihe nation's largest research finns. claims state GOP chair. might consider running for governor. But if Ihat his task is " to be enough better qualified so that people wi ll Democratic Congressman Cecil Herlel decides to seck Ihe of say in this case the man and the issues are more important than fice. which would make him the favorite si nce the Slate remains party affi liation." There is good reason for that observation: a heavily Democratic, then Saiki might go after Heftc l"s congres dislricl poll by Richard Wi rlhlin shows that the GOP is per· sional scat. OCTOBER 1985 23 Washington Notes and Quotes The President's Second American Revolution-Part II Accurate political forecasts arc seldom easy, even less so president's popularity ratings and on September 5 the Washing when Congress is the subject. and early pre-publishing dead ton Post's lead headline read " Reagan Admonishes Resti ve lines expose the forecasts found here 10 a brutal test of time. Republicans. " Occasionally. however. even this Congress watcher stumbles But events in late September made it clear that Republican upon the truth, as evidenced in the last Forum when predictions legislators are maintaining their independence. During debate of of increasingly greaa.er independence among congressional Re· fann legislation on September 26, the House of Representatives publicans were made. voted to defeat two amendments aimed at further reducing dairy In tbe August Forum it was suggested that House and Senate and sugar price supports. Both amendments were supported by RepublK:ans would continue to show a dramatically decreasing the administration and Republican leadership; both were op inclination to march in step with White l-Iouse wishes. Addi posed by near or actual majorities of House Republicans mind tionally, it was noted thai this emerging mood of independence ful of a fann belt depression. doesn' t stem directly from any impending shift to the political The above-mentioned philosophical and political differences center by Republicans in the Congress. although the mood could between Republicans are the result offactors too numerous and help empower moderates who walk a tightrope in attempting to complex to discuss here, but it's clear that those differences wi ll balance philosophical integrity. constituent interests and loyalty be even more evidem in upcoming months. to the president. By the time you read this, Congress wil l have debated legisla In part because of inacti vit y on substantial legislation. the tion to increase the public debt limit- legislalion which may be nation's press paid a good dcal ofattention in recent weeks to the subject to amendments dealing with abortion, school prayer, the breach between administr.llion and congressional Republicans. line-item veto, tougher sanctions on South Afri ca and further Throughout July, news stories focused on the very real connict spending reductions, all of which divide Republicans philo between Republican senators and White House officials over sophicall y. Morover, it appears that Congress wi ll eventuall y budget c uts, particularly Social Security. After House passage debate fann credit , trade and tax reform initiatives, all of which of a tough South Africa sanctions bill in late July and South divide Republicans geographically. African rioting in August. the president was forced to move The point in highlighting current Republican di visions within away from a policy of "constructive engagement" and uni the Congress isn't to praise conflict, but to stress its growing laterally impose his own sanctions because of the realization that presence and to suggest that Republican philosophical diversity congressional Republicans would not uphold a presidential veto in Congress and throughout the party is and will be nothing less of legislation he opposed ... than an elemental influence throughout the remainder of the Ten senators, including Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole and president's second term and thereafter. Analyses which down four other Republicans, fil ed a friend-of-the-court brief with the play or ignore this factor, or which si mplistically attribute White Supreme Court in late August which argued that the admi nistra House-congressional friction to personality conflicts. miss the tioo's position in a North Carolina voting rights case was "ex poi nt . The key long-term question is whether competing Repub pressly rejccted by Congress" when it amended the Voting lican and conservati ve constituencies can successfull y co-exist Ri ghts Act in 1982. FordifTerent and more political reasons, the as the Republican Party ex pands in size. • Republican National Committee also filed a brief opposing the Justice Department's position ... Following a month-long recess during which legislators un doubtedly heard more about economic reality than about Repub lican realignment. 1·louse and Senate GOP leaders returned to Washington to warn that trade, fann and defi cit problems were In the next Forum, Congress's antipathy toward birth cont rol more politically important than the president 's priority- tax. (programs), and the reaction of congressional moderates to the reform. Soon after, the White House staff began publicizing the Geneva summit. 24 RIPON FORUM