79-09-A6

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Transcript From time to time on these commentaries I've pointed out the shortcomings of CETA (the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act). This is the multi billion dollar program intended to train the unemployed for useful jobs. The main criticism is that it simply has been used by local governments all too often to put people on the public payroll. But now comes a new twist right there in the nation's capitol, exposed by the seven month effort of Nebraska's Congressman John Cavanaugh. The District of Columbia paid more than $200,000 last year in job training funds to 27 convicted felons at Lorton Reformatory . Now I realize it is desirable to rehabilitate prison inmates with the hope that they will turn to honest labor when they are released from prison but the District seems to have gone a little beyond that. One of the prisoners earned $9,858 as a plumber but he won't be released from prison until the year 2003. Three others received $11,066 each as laborer - warehousemen. Others were paid to work as clerks, cartographers, trade helpers, warehousemen and one as a dairy janitor. The District collects $2 a day from these working prisoners for room and board. This charge did not increase even though the prisoners received a five and a half percent cost of living pay raise. They also earned paid vacation time. The City of Washington official figures show 25,000 unemployed actively seeking work in the city. The prisoners were being paid to do prison tasks . Before I leave the District of Columbia here is a little cost item revealed by North Carolina's Senator Jesse Helms. The Federal Food and Drug Administration's budget is now 21 times as great as it was in 1960. And what do you think we're getting for that increase? Well in 1960 and before, an average of 43 new prescription drugs came into being each year. The average now is 13. It used to cost about a million dollars and about two years to develop a new prescription drug. Now thanks to FDA regulations the figures are $20 million and eight to ten years. That adds about 50 cents to the cost of every prescription written. One last item. You'll remember the Alaskan Pipeline was delayed several years and it's cost increased from $1 billion to more than $7 billion because of engineering changes to meet the demands of environmentalists mainly concerned about the migrating habits of Caribou. In a number of places the pipe had to be put under ground to create gates for the Caribou and special measures were taken to keep heat from the pipe melting the permafrost. All of this to keep the Caribou from being unhappy. Guess what? The Caribou have never been happier. They love the pipeline -- not the specially created gates etcetera. They enjoy it's warmth, sleep under the pipe and jump over it just for exercise. Do you ever get the feeling that nature is laughing at us? This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening.		Details Batch Number 79-09-A6 Production Date 06/29/1979 Book/Page Online PDF Audio Youtube? No
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