Become a member, a Patron, and Subscriber: Become a Patron!
News-April-301977.mp3
A busy week on Capitol Hill, this last day of April in 1977.
A milestone of sorts; the first 100 days of Jimmy Carter's term as President. Assessments ran the gamut, but most agreed it was no frills, Hard-driving and self disciplined. Hard-nosed and reluctant to compromise; Aggressive and moralistic in foreign affairs. A pinch-penny with the taxpayers' money. A media manipulator who uses it so frequently and skillfully that he is never far from the public consciousness.
There had been some carping that Carter had been all style and no substance, but to knock his style was to knock success. The history books may pay scant attention to Carter's first 100 days, but the public support that he had built in that period may well shape the history that is written. One body of opinion in the White House holds, moreover, that symbolism is substance; that Carter altered fundamentally the perception of the presidency among skeptical Americans weary of the Vietnam War, Watergate and the imperiousness of Richard Nixon.
On the subject of Health; Jimmy Carter's new hospital cost controls proposed as a preliminary step toward national health insurance could be described with biblical directness: "Hospitals thou shall not raise prices more than 9 per cent" It's as simple as that The plan wouldn't require hospitals to close departments or charge less for specific operations or cut employees' salaries or install fewer fancy machines Hospitals could make up their own minds what to cut but cut they would have to because the Carter plan says to the insurance companies that pay people's medical bills: When you pay the hospitals give 'em per cent more than they got last year and not a penny more This is understandably chilling to the 6000 community hospitals that would be affected Without the 9 per cent lid their revenues would grow 15 per cent Health Education and Welfare Secretary Joseph A Califano Jr said It is also chilling to the rest of the medical establishment which fears that it is a simple and painful preview of Jimmy Carter's eventual national health insurance plan.
And the ongoing situation in the Middle East - After President Anwar Sadat visited Washington earlier in the week, Egypt looked more favorably toward Carter, but other Arabs expressed misgivings. Saudi Arabia's government had shown some dismay about Carter's Middle East policy and Crown Prince Fahd was quoted as saying this month that another Arab-Israeli war was likely if momentum toward a peace settlement is frozen. "Carter still lacks clear Middle East vision," said a spokesman for the Palestine Liberation Organization. "All he has been doing so far is to put out trial balloons to help him formulate definite U.S. policy on the Arab-Israeli conflict." The newspaper Al-dostour of Jordan commented: "As leader who professes deep religious convictions and defends human rights, Carter has been facing real test with the Palestinian question.
So far, Carter's words have been encouraging." A Syrian government official said: "All powers In the world have defined their position regarding the Middle East problem, but Carter has not".
And that's just a small sampling of the goings on, this week ending on April 30, 1977 as reported by CBS Radio's Washington Week In Review and The World This Week.
No comments:
Post a Comment