European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 19, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday june 19, 1992 the stars and stripes a Page 13 commentary gave focus to Earth Summit Robert Reno Bush at least we have to ask ourselves what would have happened if president Bush had Jaunted Down to Rio de Janeiro Brazil and with All the pomp and foolishness at the command of the White House publicity machine signed unrevised every treaty the environmentalists shoved in front of him. Ill Tell you what would have happened All the liberals All his detractors and tormentors would have denounced it As a cynical and hypocritical re election trick proving after All that the Rio Summit was nothing More than a glorified cocktail party. Put George Bush a name on a treaty to promote species survival and Given his record on the spotted owl alone everybody would have known it was a meaningless scrap of paper. An environmental Munich they a have called it. The japanese who moved into the vacuum left by Bush to pose As the Goody goodies of this Summit would have vastly lowered their huge pledges for world environmental Aid seeing in their Wisdom and shrewdness the futility of competing with the Bush propaganda juggernaut particularly in an american election year. The truth is and you can to take this away from him nothing in particular made the Rio Summit memorable but Bush a attempt to torpedo its spirit. Nothing in fact gave it a genuine spirit transcending the usual banality of these summits but the spectacle of the worlds greatest Power standing virtually alone against the nations of the Earth on the Issue of the Earth itself. We have to give him this. Only an unprincipled craving for re election would have allowed Bush to sign with his fingers crossed treaties so at variance with the consistency of the Bush environmental record. Having said that of course we must balance our Praise with the suspicion that the Bush position is not without calculation. We done to know with any degree of precision just How Many millions flow into the Campaign War Chest of a presidential candidate who can invariably be counted on to take the Side of Industry on environmental issues. Still history May someday record that George Bush for whatever reason gave the Summit a focus it might not otherwise have had. This May Well compensate for the Lack of focus on the real issues which had Little specifically to do with species survival and global warming but with overpopulation by a single species and with the Rich nations unwillingness to fully compensate the third world for the costs of forgoing Industrial development. As the prime minister of Malaysia put it a when the Rich chopped Down their own forests built their Poison belching factories and scoured the world for cheap resources the poor said  he thus enunciated an underlying Factor far More fundamentally divisive to the proceedings than Bush a rejection of a treaty. As for overpopulation by the human species an Issue scarcely dealt with in Rio Bush might have taken some political lessons from the prime minister of Catholic Spain Felipe Gonzales who even As the Vatican delegates tirelessly lobbied otherwise was one of the loudest voices in Rio for a sane world policy on birth control and Universal Access to the sort of scientific family planning denied to citizens in federally supported clinics of the worlds richest Power. C nowadays James j. Kilpatric balanced budget possible but it takes guts a Good Many months have passed since anyone last said a kind word about the House of representatives but a kind word is much in order now. Thank you House for the vote last thursday that killed the balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. With that misguided proposition thoroughly scuttled perhaps a few serious people in Congress can get seriously Back to work. It is not impossible to bring the Federal budget into rough balance. It could be done within five years. All it takes is the same kind of political courage demonstrated by the 153 members who voted a a not last week. It took guts for Many of the 153 to stand against a wave of Public opinion. Conservatives should be embarrassed to note that 150 of the 153 a a not votes came from democrats. On this Issue the republicans were the gutless ones. Anyhow it was a Tough a a not vote to cast. More than 70 percent of the people acco Ding to one poll favored the proposed amendment. President Bush was twisting arms to win support. In the end the Resolution failed by nine votes. Good riddance to bad rubbish. Our government is spending a billion dollars a Day More than it takes in. In theory at least everyone agrees that this Folly has to Stop. It could be stopped. Rep. Leon e. Panetta of California has offered three specific plans. The respected heritage foundation has put Forward a carefully detailed proposal. In february the congressional budget office published a 363-Page volume of options for cutting outlays and raising taxes. The heritage plan makes sense. If it were fully implemented its authors say it would achieve a balanced budget by 1997 a with no tax increases no defense cuts beyond those already proposed by the Bush administration Ana no cuts in major entitlement  on the income Side the heritage scholars would raise some existing fees and impose a few new ones. Users of the Inland waterway would pay the $400 million a year in maintenance costs that now the taxpayers pay. Those who visit National Parks and forests would pay the full Cost of keeping up the recreational facilities. Recipients of Federal Loans would pay a service fee for the privilege they now enjoy without charge. The heart of the heritage plan lies in the outgo Side where defense programs would be nicked and non defense programs would be slashed. The judiciary would escape the knife but Congress would be asked to Cut its own Budet severely. Legislative staffs would drop y half the mail franking privilege would go and private Industry would replace the government printing office. Department by department line by line the budget cutters would carve away the layers of fat that now envelop the Federal budget. They would abolish programs that have fed at the trough for years. Farmers miners artists unionized workers customers of the Tennessee Valley authority the governments of Israel Egypt and other nations a All these would be gradually dropped off the Gravy train. By 1998, the government would be Back to where it used to be with a deficit of Zero. The dream of a balanced budget could be realized. Its doable. Will it be done no it wont be done. The president who takes office in january will trim his budget with manicure scissors. Congress will polish it Down with a Nail file. The budget wont be balanced by 1997 or any other year because an irresponsible people will continue to elect an irresponsible Congress. This is representative government in its purest form. The people and their Congress deserve each other. Such extravagant ventures As space station Freedom and the Texas super accelerator Are luxuries. Western water subsidies Benefit relatively few individuals at great Cost to everyone else. Under the conservation Reserve fund we pay Farmers $1.6 billion not to raise crops. Upward of $6 billion could be saved Over the next five years by phasing out Federal Grants for Airport improvements. Will any of these economies e adopted done to be silly. If Congress and the incoming president began pushing for the heritage plan the resulting uproar would burst the National eardrums. From the Waterways of North Carolina to the irrigated Fields of California a mighty howl would arise. Congressional resolve would crumble and the deficits would Roll merrily on. Its not the Congress that is gutless. It s us.  Poss Syndicate