Correspondence

Policy Review, Nov/Dec 1996

To the Editor:

The title of Frederica MathewesGreen's "Pro-Life Dilemma" (July-August 1996) misses the point. t's no dilemma for pro-lie people when they are confronted with the choice of a mother aborting her pregnancy or going on welfare. For pro-life people, the first decision ends a life and the second gives a child a chance.

A better title for the piece would have been "Pro-Life Challenge," because that's Mathewes-Green's valid point: Why aren't more crisis-pregnancy centers talking about adoption? We have worked to adapt our curriculum to train counselors about offering adoption choices more effectively. But the major problem is that the message has not been heard by-or at least has not registered with-those concerned about rising levels of teenage pregnancy and abortion. And as for the federal government, the emphasis there, as with most of the social-work and child-welfare community, is on "family preservation."

There are steps that can be taken to promote adoption, and the crisis-pregnancy centers are one place to start. But let's not blame those overwhelmed, underfunded operations for a broader failure by the cast of characters who should have long known the benefits of adoption.

William Pierce President National Council for Adoption Washington, D.C.

Long-Term Approach

To the Editor:

It is unfortunate that Chris Garcia's article "Atlanta's Other Olympians" (July-August 1996) depicts The Atlanta Project (TAP) as a bungled effort after only four years, contradicting his own premise that urban pathologies take time-"one person, one family, one neighborhood at a time."

In 1993, TAP coordinated the largest childhood-immunization campaign in America's history, immunizing nearly 16,000 children in one week. A multi-county computer database was then developed to track the health and immunization records of all youth in metropolitan Atlanta. In 1994, we whittled 64 pages of individual federal assistance applications down to eight, a savings of more than $1.1 million in tax revenue for every 100,000 applicants in Georgia. In July, TAP introduced a new health and safety "passport" for the parents of all newborns in Georgia.

These efforts are improving the lives of many Atlanta residents. There are no easy answers, but the only sure failure would be not to try.

Jane Smith The Atlanta Project Atlanta, Ga.

Lay off the Corporations

To the Editor:

Adam Meyerson's "Corporate Upsizers" (July-August 1996) is absolutely right. While all the other developed nations express their envy over the long-term ability of the U.S. economy to create jobs, Americans hear a steady drumbeat of negative reports. Part of the problem is the media, which treats bad economic news as newsworthy and good economic news with a "ho hum" attitude.

A large portion of the responsibility, however, can be traced back to Congress. A 1988 law requires companies to announce every large layoff. Those who do not face severe penalties. So do employers that underestimate the number of people to be laid off (there's no penalty for overestimating).

By contrast, Congress, of course, does not require firms to announce new hiring, nor should it. But the public certainly gets the wrong impression of what is happening in American labor markets. Once again, the unintended consequences of regulation are awesome.

Murray Weidenbaum Center for the Study of American Business St. Louis, Mo.

Driving Forces

To the Editor:

From Tyce Palmaffy's article on the 55 m.p.h. National Maximum Speed Limit (NMSL) ("Don't Brake for Big Government" SeptemberOctober 1996), the casual reader might infer that the American Automobile Association (AAA) played a role in the repeal of the NMSL in 1995.

Our organization, the National Motorists Association (NMA), has campaigned and lobbied for 15 years for the repeal of the NMSL. It was also the NMA that led the fight for raising the speed limit to 65 mph in 1987.

The AAA was never active in any of these legislative battles, except prior to 1987 when it actively supported retention of the 55 m.p.h. NMSL. There were other organizations that supported our efforts to repeal the NMSL, but the AAA was most assuredly not one of them.

James J. Baxter President National Motorists Association Dane, Wis.

To the Editor:

Tyce Palmaffy suggests that traffic engineers should set speed limits at the 85th percentile speed of traffic, and that traveling at this speed is safest. Traffic engineering publications suggest that the 85th percentile reflects "the maximum speed considered to be safe and reasonable," not the safest speed to travel. The misguided notion that motorists are safest traveling at the 85th percentile speed is based on limited research conducted in the 1950s on rural, primarily two-lane, undivided roads, and is not applicable to modern highway facilities.

Palmaffy's statement that enforcement of 55 m.p.h. speed limits threatens rather than improves safety is simply wrong. The National Academy of Sciences estimated that in 1974 alone, the 55 m.p.h. national speed limit prevented between 3,000 and 5,000 fatalities. And studies show that increasing speed limits to 65 m.p.h. in 1987 resulted in about 20 percent more fatalities.