Detroit Free Press du lieu suivant : Detroit, Michigan • Page 10

8A DETROIT FREE PRESSSATURDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 1992 Detroit 4frcc Stress AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER 321 W. Lafayette, Detroit, Mich. 48226 (313) 222-6400 It's not enough to be a crowd pleaser KNIGHT in A Knight JOHN S. KNIGHT (1894-1981) JOE H. STROUD Editor MARTHA A.

CLAUS Managing EditorFeatures and Business ROBERT Managing NEAL G. McGRUDER EditorNews WILLOW RUN No easy answers, but there are kssons to karri around the corner." the "who lost Willow Run?" debate has been essentially unproductive, there certainly is a case for looking at Michigan's approach to economic de velopment and job retention. Unfortunately, much of the debate since this week's Willow Run plant closing announcement has shed more heat than light. Ultimately, General Motors Corp. itself "lost" Willow Run.

We're not sure presidents or governors or senators or local officials could have helped save GM from its own mistakes in the 1980s, or from what it is having to do now to try to correct what it did wrong then. The corporation lost market share throughout the past decade, ignored for a long time the warning signs about its excess capacity, and then found itself, in 1991 and 1992, having to do radical surgery to try to get its costs under control. That process has been bloody and deeply hurtful to many people who show up for work every day and who were not responsible for the decisions that brought GM to this brutal adjustment. GM's strategy of playing one plant against other of letting the general announcement of cutbacks be followed by weeks of speculation and anxiety in Willow Run and Arlington may strengthen management's hand. But the company plainly has damaged its reputation for concern for its employees, The theories proposed as explanations of why Willow Run will be closed and Arlington kept open run the risk of diverting us.

Was the Mexican connection a strong factor on behalf of Arlington? Perhaps, but we're convinced that those who have such an appetite for trade restrictions as the answer to the loss of American jobs aren't offering much of an answer. We're also convinced that the laissez-faire argument that all we have to do to prosper is cut taxes and other business costs looks at only part of the puzzle. Everything is relevant: taxes, regulation, economic management, labor attitudes and practices, trade issues. But we can make some real mistakes if we grab onto conspiracy theories too readily. Isn't it time, though, for a fresh look'at i RJDDf.R Ridder Newspaper LEE HILLS Publisher Emeritus SHINE Publisher HEATH MERIWETHER Executive Editor JACQUELINE THOMAS Associate Editor Michigan's economic development strategy? We're not talking about more tax abatements or concessions, but about atti tudes and approaches.

In fact, we're disillu sioned with the exceptions-and-exclusions approach to development. We think there's a case for trying to deal with basic problems rather than patching things together. We do need to reduce property taxes, we do need to make education a higher priority, we do need to work harder and faster to get our economic house in order. But it is misleading to suggest that Texas won over Michigan simply because it is a low-tax state. In fact, Willow Run apparent ly could hold its own in cost comparisons.

What we saw from Texas, though, was not just a program of concessions, but a full- court press to find out what the state could do to influence GM's decision. We heard of calls from Texas Gov. Ann Richards' office to people in Michigan, asking whether there could be some kind of deal involving natural gas-driven trucks, for instance. The Texas congressional delegation applied every bit of weight it could to affect the decision. The judgment about how it compared to Michigan's activities is ultimately subjective.

We have the impression that the Texans went flat-out to protect the Arlington plant, while too much of Michigan's effort involved trying to play defense. Again, we don't know that the best leadership in the world could have tilted the decision in Willow Run's favor, although the Michigan site seemed to have some built-in advantages. But when the politi cians get through pointing fingers all over the place, they might look at their own performance. Did Gov. John Engler and the congres sional delegation "lose" Willow Run? Not in any absolute sense.

Can our officials learn from this episode? We think they should. Can we get less cant and humbug about either trade or laissez-faire philosophy, and more of a strategy in which government, business and labor work together to see that Michigan does not come out second-best in any such future competitioa' We certainly hope so. HERMAN T. ALLENDetrolt Free Press city's longstanding commitment before a merger can occur. A new Free Press poll shows substantial public support, in the city and suburbs, for a regional transit tax to operate a merged system.

The mayor's offer to have DOT absorb SMART is less helpful, given the city's own budget problems and provision of deficient services. The need remains for an indepen mt g9'- This is the first presidential election in which I am eligible to vote. Until a few weeks ago, I had no intention of voting bothering with what seemed a lost cause. For most of my life, the president has been Ronald Reagan or George Bush. Although these men have pleasant stage presence and good debating skills, I've never felt inspired by them.

They've never given me hope for my future. They've never shown concern for a planet about which I care deeply. They haven't made me feel anything. The political leaders of my lifetime have been vague, insincere crowd pleasers. They lie, smile when we're in trouble, and spend too much time trying to be liked.

The country that would elect them is embarrassing. Doesn't anyone have the guts to demand quality? The '80s were a decade of materialism, greed, crime, waste and despair. Why can't we be better than this? Are we so lazy and self-centered that we don't care what happens to the country as long as it looks good and doesn't hurt us too much? I recently saw a candidate on television who gave me hope. He didn't smile a lot or scream at me. In his pensive manner, he spoke of serious problems with difficult, but not impossible, permanent solutions.

He has an impressive history of efforts to conserve my planet. He exhibited sincerity and concern for not leaving an unpayable debt to my generation. He has expectations for America about which I can be proud and excited. Let me be proud of my country. Let my generation have something left.

Let Paul Tsongas give us a chance. Mary Graham Augusta Bush knows what's best President George Bush clearly enunciated his vision for the future of our country in his State of the Union Address. It was of America as the trusted leader in a new world order, a strong advocate of human dignity and freedom, a proponent of democracy, yet wary of violent change and chaos, a believer in individual responsibility and in peace through strength. His budget message reflected that vision. Believing in the greatness of America and that the present recession is transitory, hyped out of proportion by the media and Democratic opposition, Bush urged a series of modest proposals intended to stimulate short-term recovery without threatening long-term disaster.

Louis R. Ward Sault Ste. Marie Pizza misrated Your Feb. 14 article about which of the largest carryout pizzerias in metropolitan Detroit has the best pizza rates below Pizza Hut despite was not only harmful to, but contemptuous of, Papa Romano's reputation. Papa Romano has its niche, which is Sewer project Your Feb.

22 report on the Western Townships Utilities Authority's sewer project, "Sewer costs swamp three townships," misstated a number of facts about the project, its environmental importance to the Rouge River, and its ability to save our homeowners thousands of dollars over the next 30 years. Your premise that Northville, Plymouth and Canton Townships could have received the same services we are going to get from WTUA if we had stayed with the Wayne County-Detroit sewer system is wrong. When WTUA completes its project in 1994, our citizens will be assured of reliable, efficient, environmentally sound sewage disposal for years to come. By sending our sewage to the Ypsilanti Communities Utilities Authority (YCUA) plant, we will be the first communities in Wayne County to comply with the Rouge River Remedial Action Plan. Super Sewer communities still will pollute the Rouge River whenever it rains, through combined sewer overflows (CSO), as well as the Great Lakes, through the overtaxed Detroit Waste Water Treatment Plant, considered by the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency one of the major sources of lakes pollution. Correcting those problems will cost in the neighborhood of $2.7 billion. U.S. Reps. John Dingell and William Ford, are trying to obtain federal money to cover some of that bill, but homeowners in the Super Sewer system will foot most of it.

WTUA users won't be hit with those bills. That's why forward-looking leaders from several communities are contacting WTUA today, trying to join our system. You also made a number of factual errors: You say WTUA started with a Sir-million project. As of mid-1985 more than a year before WTUA was formed there were preliminary construction cost estimates of $47 million just to deal with Canton and Plymouth Townships. After that, Northville Township was added, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources requested changes adding significant costs, and capacity was added.

Our township officials always have known the costs were going to be much higher than $17 million and well worth it Saving smart Duggan faces immediate crisis, long-term challenge "Prosperity is just making a quality product. We don't sell two pizzas for the price of one. We don't have 30-minute delivery. We don't claim to be America's best value. We don't sell production pizza cooked in conveyer ovens.

We are beating two of the three major players on their home turf. We are the fastest-growing pizza chain in metropolitan Detroit, and we have never had a store fail. Our advertising budget is a fraction of what the major competitors spend in this area. Yet we continue to gain market share and open more outlets. We have done this by making the best product available.

I believe Papa Romano's was used as a pawn in this soncalled contest, so your paper could toot the horns of the big boys with the big advertising budgets who are able to spend big dollars for ads in your paper. An awful lot of good, hardworking young men and women were wrongfully portrayed in this article. Daniel J. Morelli General Manager Papa Romano's Inc. Livonia Courageous troopers Two Michigan state policemen lost their lives recently in a car-train accident scheduled for 2 troopers," Feb.

4). In a few seconds, they had to decide will serve three Put It In Writing Send your letters to the Editor, Detroit Free Press, 321 W. Lafayette, Detroit 48226. They must be signed and include the writer's full home address and day and evening telephone numbers. Because of space limitations, letters should be 200 words or less; all letters are subject to editing.

Although we are able to use only a small percentage of the letters we receive, we value the views of those who take the time to send us their comments. for what we were going to get. Our sewer rates are not "at least twice as high as those of the 12 communities tied into Super Sewer." Our citizens who now use the Wayne County-Detroit system pay between $9.50 and $11.30 per 1,000 cubic feet of water used, depending on where they live. People using the Ypsilanti plant, where we will send our sewage, are paying $12.62. Our costs are in line with Super Sewer community rates today Dearborn Heights at $13.10, Northville at $10.62, Westland at $8.75.

Comparing the rate homeowners pay YCUA ($12.62) with the rate Wayne County charges cities ($4.77) is comparing a retail cost to a wholesale cost. Once Super Sewer cities have to deal with CSO problems and the Detroit plant upgrade, their rates will head higher faster. WTUA city rates will have to increase at about the rate of inflation to cover our costs. You say Wayne County wanted to charge our communities $25.5 million to join Super Sewer. Costs would have been that low only if we had received federal grants to cover 55 percent of the costs.

Ask the people of Van Buren Township about those grants. County officials told them they could get one if they joined Super Sewer. They joined, but didn't get a grant. There was a very good chance our communities wouldn't have received grants, either. The real cost of Super Sewer to our communities would have been $60 million.

whether to wait for a train to pass or get to 1 the scene of a fellow officer in trouble. They chose the latter, and unfortunately were killed. No other persons at the site were injured. 1 These officers displayed courage above 1 and beyond their duty and deserve to be awarded medals of honor. 1 Kenneth J.

Forster Saginaw Valuable medical asset Because breast cancer has been in the news lately, perhaps it is a good time to identify the Breast Care Center at the University of Michigan as an appropriate place for referrals and second opinions. My wife recently decided she should have a second opinion before a possible mastectomy. Her surgeon mentioned the Breast Care Center as the place for such an opinion. A call resulted in an almost immediate appointment. The Breast Care Center uses a team approach; we were able to see a surgeon and a radiologist.

A pathologist was available to read mammograms and slides we brought. After each member of the team does his or her job, the team meets with the patient and discusses and agrees on treatment. Pearl and Hal Cafone Pontiac townships well You say we would have received capacity of 52.35 million gallons a day in the Super Sewer system. With the current system, any effort to shove that amount of raw sewage into the pipes would have meant that a huge portion would end up in the Rouge River. Such an overflow on a regular basis is illegal.

The DNR slapped our communities with a construction ban to try to limit our share of Rouge River sewage overflow before we set up WTUA. In 1986, the supervisors of Northville, Plymouth and Canton Townships all of whom have moved on decided it made sense to pay a little more for a regional sewer system that dealt with all pollution problems, was environmentally sound, provided adequate capacity, and would protect us from the huge bills that lurk in the Wayne County-Detroit system. In taking care of our constituents, we angered some powerful individuals. They wanted to hogtie us into Detroit's sewer system, with its long history of mismanagement, high costs and refusal to introduce state-of-the-art sewage treatment techniques, forcing our citizens to pay exorbitant rates to clean up other communities' problems. That may be good for Detroit, but it's not good for our citizens.

We found a better solution. We await your return in five years to verify WTUA's value. Thomas J. Yack Canton Township Supervisor WTUA Chairman Gerald H. Law Plymouth Township Supervisor WTUA Treasurer Betty M.

Lennox Northville Township Supervisor WTUA Secretary Costly mismanagement Congratulations to the Free Press for investigating the WTUA scandal, a classic example of cronyism, mismanagement and disregard for fiscal responsibility. Voters in the affected communities should be raising hell, as they'll be paying for this fiasco for generations. Keep up the pressure. Al Larese Livonia The most immediate public transportation issue in southeastern Michigan is not merging the Detroit and suburban bus systems, or finding a certain tax source for metropolitan transit operations, as crucial as both objectives are in the mid-to-long term. Rather, the instant matter confronting Michael Duggan, SMART'S new general manager, is finding a way to keep the deficit-plagued suburban authority's large buses rolling past next month's threatened shutdown, in a manner that involves more than creative bookkeeping.

We're not quite as confident as Mr. Duggan is that his new role at SMART won't conflict with his job as deputy Wayne County executive. Still, Mr. Duggan has shown a talent for getting things done. If he can work with SMART'S unions to cut costs, and finally persuade Lansing to take ah interest in Detroit's transit dilemma, he will justify his unorthodox appointment Once the immediate crisis is surmounted, Mr.

Duggan and Detroit Mayor Coleman Young who have butted heads on the issue of a new Tiger Stadium will have to talk seriously about combining the operations of SMART and the city Department of Transportation. Mayor Young's position, reiterated this week, is sound that suburban governments must show a will ingness to fund mass transit to match the Blue suede 'Zoo ostal officials are wasting the public's time and money with a mail-in ballot on how Elvis Presley ought to look on a commemorative stamp. To judge by the supermarket tabloids, the government should just ask the Kalamazoo housewives who see him most. dent, regional transit authority, with a dedicated source of revenues to supplement rider fares and dwindling state and federal subsidies. Gov.

John Engler could advance the process by dropping his shortsighted opposition to a modest increase in the state gasoline tax. Metro Detroit needs comprehensive, regional public transportation. The libertarian notion that the private sector can do the job ignores the fact that SMART'S predecessor, SEMTA, was formed precisely because isolated private companies qouldn't meet mobility demands. The let-'em-walk school of thought that equates mass transit with the private automobile is a cruel joke on elderly, disabled, unemployed and young local residents who have no such access. Overcoming these antiquated attitudes won't be easy.

Mr. Duggan will gain credibility in that process to the extent that he identifies honestly funded ways to maintain current SMART service. 'l..