THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 4, 1996 TAG: 9602020173
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 07 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: On the Street
SOURCE: Bill Reed
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
The post holiday blahs definitely are here.
The eyes are bleary, the nose is runny, the disposition is as fragile as a vial of nitro on a runaway buckboard.
Bills are piling up and the wallet has been empty for so long that a family of moths moved in and moved out again for plusher quarters.
Then there are the state and federal income taxes looming in two months and Congress and the president dithering over tax reforms and budget balancing that could save millions of dollars for you and others like you.
Of course a lot of smaller irritants arise each day to fray your patience a strand shy of the breaking point. They can be things like those supper time interruptions from telemarketers hawking magazine subscriptions and financial planning services, college alumni associations seeking donations for the annual building fund or the Friends of Your Local Police Association, wanting you to buy a rack of spices for only $39.99.
If that doesn't push your patience to extremes, nightly TV newscasts or morning newspapers will. They offer fascinating, if unwelcome, insights into the cold-eyed, bottom-line mentality that passes for business and government employment and ethical practices these days.
A case in point: AT&T's announcement recently that it plans to drop 40,000 employees so the corporation can fatten up its already secure profit margin and score big on the stock market. Meanwhile, the message is, the unfortunate 40,000 can fend for themselves.
Another item guaranteed to make your blood pressure skyrocket: The National Reconnaissance Office lost then found $2 billion - billion not million - in government appropriations. The NRO is a super spook federal agency that designs high tech spy satellites to snoop on Uncle Sam's neighbors worldwide. Until recently it has been immune to accountability rules that apply to other government agencies. Reason: national security. Musn't touch.
Somehow the NRO lost track of its money over the course of a few years, but it finally reappeared in separate and hidden accounts after CIA director John Deutch ordered an audit.
While the NRO didn't know that its $2 billion stash was lost, the agency somehow knew where to find $300 million to build lavish headquarters in Northern Virginia without the knowledge of the Senate Intelligence Committee, the supposed watchdog panel for the agency.
Another illustration of wasteful government spending is the news that the CIA hired, for a mere $20 million, a group of psychics to find out things your average street-smart punk could ascertain at half the cost and effort.
Then there's the firing of the White House travel office staff members by the Clintons and their replacement by a bunch of Clinton cronies. This fits in nicely with the mean season theme.
Testimony at recent Congressional committee hearings revealed that former travel office director Billy R. Dale was not only summarily fired but was hounded by the FBI and brought up on embezzlement charges that later were proven baseless. Dale was acquitted, but he had to spend $500,000 of his own money to defend himself. Now he's flat broke and out of a job.
So, if the post holiday blahs seem to be getting you down, Bunky, take my advice. Hibernate. Take a steam bath. Watch ACC basketball. Pray for an early spring. by CNB