(00:00:00) With news from Minnesota Public Radio. I'm Stephen John Medtronic announced this morning. Its CEO Bill. George will be replaced by second-in-command Art Collins Minnesota public radio's Carl Goldstein reports in the 10 years Bill. George has run Fridley based Medtronic its annual sales have increased fivefold to five billion dollars employment has grown from about 7,500 to 25,000. The stock market has taken note medtronic's share price has soared nearly fourteen hundred percent in recent years. George has led the company on a dizzying pace of Acquisitions. The Firm has gone from near total Reliance on pacemakers to a diversified maker of implantable medical devices Medtronic also made a big bet on the internet. The company has launched a number of joint ventures with medical providers and other organizations aimed at building online networks between doctors and patients art Collins whose 52 years old has been Chief Operating Officer since 1994 and And since 96 he'll become CEO on May 1st Carl Goldstein, Minnesota Public Radio a Synchro. I River commission recommends that boat speeds should be limited to 40 miles per hour during the day and 20 miles per hour after dark on a stretch of the river between Stillwater and Prescott. If the restrictions hold up in hearings in both, Minnesota and Wisconsin, they would take effect in the spring of 2002 currently. There is no speed limit on the Synchro River except for no-wake zones the forecast for the region calling for partly to mostly sunny conditions a slight chance of a shower or thunderstorm in the Northwest this morning highs should range in the 80s for the Twin Cities a bit muggy a high around 85 light East to northeasterly winds right now partly sunny conditions 70 degrees in the Twin Cities 70 in International Falls 75 in Rochester. That's news I'm Steven John programming on Minnesota Public Radio is supported by Lloyds barbecue presenting the barbecue and blues bash at the Grand Casino Amphitheatre. 27 featuring BB King and Buddy Guy (00:02:13) Morning, and welcome to midday on Minnesota Public Radio. I'm Gary eichten. The Minnesota State Fair is underway. This is the first day of the 10-day run and we're broadcasting today from the Minnesota Public Radio booth at the corner of Judson and Nelson here at the fair. If you're out at the fair make sure you stop by will be doing several programs from the fair this year. We have goodies at the booth that you might want to take a look at so do stop by. You'll find us about midway between the haunted house in the Coliseum were right across from the new Major League Baseball exhibit so you can come by and take some swings in the batting cage. Also, make sure you check out the state fair section of our website, Minnesota Public Radio dot-org lots lots more on the Minnesota State Fair course, the fair has a long storied political tradition. This is always been a great place for candidates and voters to get together and in keeping with that tradition our first guests here at the fair as Minnesota Republican. Senator Rod Graham Senator Graham's is For re-election this fall and while he has only token opposition in next month's primary. It looks like the general election in November is going to be pretty Lively and probably pretty close as well. According to the latest poll. Senator Graham's is leading all of his Challengers, but not by all that much. Well Senator Graham's is come by to talk about his campaign and those of you here in our audience. If you've got a question for Senator Graham's all you have to do is step up to our microphone those of you listening on the radio. Give us a call and our call in line and that number is six five one two, two seven six thousand 6512276 thousand if you're calling from outside the Twin Cities 1-800 to for 228286512276 thousand or one eight hundred two, four two two eight two eight Our Guest this our Minnesota Republican. Senator Rod Graham Senator Graham's thanks for coming by Gary. It's my pleasure. Did you get a chance to have a Pronto pup yet this morning? Not yet. I'm holding back because of all the days. I'm going to be at the fair I said, well, you know a couple of days isn't going to hurt your diet at all. But when you look at all those good mini Donuts out. You're on the Pronto pops and everything else the corn dogs. You got to ration it a little bit but you're never going to escape the fair without having some of that now we should note that you're going to have to kind of leave us a little earlier because you're meeting with the Israeli Ambassador in Sanford. That's right at noon over in Minneapolis for a quick lunch. So we're going to have to leave about 11:30 or so, but we hope to pick it up on the car phone as we're driving over there. So, you know, if anybody has any more questions, we'd sure like the opportunity to answer those the another midday first here at the fair. Well, you know provides, you know, you can absolutely the dfl ours are getting all the attention. They have a four-way primary pretty hot contest now, I would imagine it's great for you in the sense that you don't have a primary opponent. You can save some money and get out and do some campaigning 121, but nonetheless, I would think it's a real Advantage for them because they're getting all the media attention and coming out of September 12th. Whoever wins that primary, you know, it's going to be very well known by that time and well-funded so we know That coming out of the Chute. We've got a race on our hands. So we've done the best we could up until now we're preparing and you know, we've done many things we've been in about a hundred parades around the state. We've been at dozens and dozens of county fairs and other meetings and other events, but right into we really know who our opponent is going to be and like you say a lot of attention is being paid there because it is a very hot race in an important race and I have a lot of respect for those candidates that are running. So we just know that coming out of the 12th primary that we need to be ready. And and that's what we are and we plan on winning this race Gary now, we had the dfl candidates on a couple of weeks ago and one of the questions a caller asked was ask the Democrats as well. Give us two things that you think Senator Graham's is done. Well in the six years he's been in office and they all seem to agree that you did good work on getting the $500 per child tax credit pass. They all said, well, that's it. That's the only thing you've done in six years. You putting on your resume for boaters. What are you going to tell voters beyond that what we've done a lot of other things Gary like in the area of Agriculture. We were really spearheading the effort to get the crop insurance reform a Mary major part of the freedom to farm bill. We authored a bill three years ago. It became the platform for the bill that was passed and signed by the president this year. We worked very hard to improve and make senior housing even safer. We work very closely with the state Paul housing authority and others to get that bill passed. We really were them spearheading the efforts on financial modernization and that is to you know, give people better opportunities when it comes to the banking opportunity Securities or Insurance to make those services cheaper and also the be able to have more services offered to them. So these aren't the kind of bills that get big headlines and to do press conferences on but they're very important work that is going to show up in you know for our constituents in Minnesota also like the dollar coin. I introduced that bill back in Five worked very hard to get that approved. And as you know right now the new Sacagawea dollar coin is in production and being circulated replacing the Susan be so those are just a few of the things but I mean we've done many other things dealing with other issues. I think in this last Congress alone, we have authored and submitted something like sixty three pieces of legislation and co-authored over 270 others. So we've been very active in supporting. You know, many many different issues Health Care seems to be big issue this year what needs to be done. What should be done. If anything about the fact that something on the order of 44 million Americans don't have health insurance coverage, but we got to try to continue to offer Alternatives or ways for people to be able to buy and afford insurance and one, you know, I've had a bill out that would have provide full deductibility for health care costs now right now for many of our farmers are self-employed. They don't get the same Advantage as the big companies who provide health care for their employees and Don't get the full deductibility. It would be more affordable for them. If they could we've done that and I'm pushing very strongly to support that medical savings accounts reforming that system. And right now we did get a pilot program through a medical savings accounts in the statistics show us that a third of the people that bought msas never had Insurance before so this makes it even more affordable. And also we've got to work on plans and programs for those who just can't afford it to make sure that they have coverage whether it means through government support or not. So we're doing a lot of things that we can to try bring this in but one thing I don't want to do and have not supported and that is National Healthcare Universal Health Care is some will call it but that is government-controlled of healthcare and to tell you a big problem right now and what we could look forward to is right now is talking to a hospital group yesterday morning who are not going to get reimbursed for the next three months on Medicare because of computer change overs or something with hickville. So they're being asked to hold those costs. They're also going to get a reduced payment of the reduced payment. They're already getting because that's what the government is offering to pay them. So that's not I don't think the kind of Health Care System. We want in this country. We want the best and right now, you know America has the best health care System. We've just got to make sure that it's affordable and accessible to all Americans and we're working to try to do you think it really you think that problem can be addressed in a kind of piecemeal fashion a little bit of this and a little bit of that don't you need some kind of overall program while we're working right now in the patient's Bill of Rights plus that we have passed that would take a lot of the inequities out of the system and a lot of the abuses that you've heard about, you know, dealing with hmos and others try to get rid of that. Also trying to have more medical savings accounts included. So are you going to you know solve every problem with this bill? Probably not but it's an important piece of legislation and I think we need to pass this patient's Bill of Rights plus before the end of the year and and then move on medical prescription drugs for instance is another important issue. I introduced a bill two years ago. I know you The ads running on the television right now saying that Rod grams doesn't support that I sided with the big pharmaceutical companies. That's not true. I voted against that one bill they're talking about because it was added in the middle of the debate by Senator Chuck Robb of Virginia as a non germane amendment, by the way, it was a bad Amendment because it was the president's prescription drug plan, which we have rejected but they didn't tell you in the ad that I have voted at least five times for other prescription drug plans. And in fact offered my own bill over well nearly two years ago now called meds and that is Medicare ensuring prescriptions for seniors. So we have been very strongly supporting it. So bottom line does Rod grams support prescription drugs for seniors very much and we're going to work to make sure we get a bill done before the end of this year said Arad grams is our guests today. If you're just tuning in this is midday, and we're broadcasting live from the Minnesota State Fair our booth here at the fair Judson and Nelson basically where we're at and if you come out to the fair make sure you stop by our Our booth meanwhile, if you've got a question for Senator Graham's those of you here in the audience, come on up to the mic. If you're on the phone, give us a call six five one two, two seven six thousand or one eight hundred two, four two two eight two eight and let's go to our first caller here Cathy. Go ahead, please. (00:11:28) My name is Kathy West. Thanks for taking my call. I'm calling from Minneapolis Senator. Graham's given your present stance on Healthcare. I have a question as to why you put a secret. Hold on the Kennedy kassebaum bill in 1996, which enables people to carry their insurance from one job to the other as I understand it you were one of the Senators that actually put a secret hold on it. I will take excuse me. I'll take your answer off the line. Thank you. (00:11:56) All right Kathy. Well, you know, you can't put secret holds anymore in the Senate and I've never tried to put a secret. Hold on any Bill and I've always said that if I ever did I always try to make it public now in the Kennedy Cason bomb bill, you know this now you're going back about four or five years and I can't remember the Details, but do I support portability of insurance from one employer to another? Yes, I do. I very strongly supported that now if there was some language in the Kennedy Cason bomb bill or was it being brought to the floor before it had a chance to go through committees? There might be other reasons for that. But bottom line if you're asking do I support portability? Yes, I've said many times, you know, you can move from one job to another and you don't have to give up your car insurance. Why should you have to give up your health care insurance and we can have a system and that would be part of the reforms that we need, but I do support that because I think people need to be more in control of their health care dollars where they spent who is their provider and they should have a say in that and if they do change jobs which you know Americans today more so than ever in history changed different jobs. So I would support the opportunity for them to be able to move it and to have that type of portability education another big issue. Apparently this fall. What is the proper? Roll roll in education, I think education for elementary and secondary should be left at the state and local level. I want have our teachers our school boards are parents to have the loudest voice in the education of their children at that level. Now, the federal government has come in provides about seven percent of the budget. And by the way, they also demand over 50% of the paperwork. You can ask teachers they spend more time filling out paperwork for the federal government than anybody else and they could be using that valuable time in the classroom. But you know, the government the federal government is providing things like for Head Start and those type of programs and I support that we need to be able to have those services available no matter which school district you're in but for the federal government to start taking more control from Washington to dictate, you know, what we're going to do at the local level. I don't support that when it comes to education in the federal government. I think their biggest asset or contribution can be at the level of higher education and that is in the forms of Grants or loans to students trying to get into college. So To have accessibility and affordability for them to be able to take college classes. I think that's where we should do it, especially when you look back at what we did like with the GI Bill a good example of where the government should be able to provide that kind of help for those who can't and whether it's loans or grants, but I would rather see the government put its emphasis on that rule while supporting Elementary and secondary education, but not having Washington control it that's my biggest concern Clinton Administration has talked about spending a lot more money on school construction. No help school districts build new buildings. And also hire more teachers new support that not out of Washington again, that should be left at the local level. Where is Washington going to get the money to build the buildings or hire the teachers they're going to have to come into your communities to do it. So in other words, they're going to take more tax dollars away from you on a federal level to bring it into Washington launder it through the bricks and mortar and bureaucracy of Washington and then hand you back maybe three out of the five dollars or less, but then with a lot of strings attached You were can you build this building? How is it going to be? Who are you going to hire? What does that teacher going to do? So I'd rather leave those decisions at a local level. Leave the money at the local level. So control can stay there. You know, it sounds good that the Washington bureaucrats want to do that that somehow these are free gifts from Washington. They're trying to bribe you with your own money and at the same time taking away options and other accountability from local stands of government, whether it's the parent school boards are teachers so know it might sound good Gary but I don't support that. I want to keep those decisions at the local level and let's have the federal government cutter taxes if there's not enough money they're available. So the local people if they need to raise those taxes to do that. Let them do it there. Don't be shy those of you here in the audience. If you got a question for Senator Graham's come on up to the mic. Meanwhile, let's go back to the phones George your question, please. (00:16:01) Yes. Dr. Graham's. Good morning. Good morning. Yeah. I'm from a small town in one of the poorest counties in the state. So it probably is It's just too bad here isn't as in some countries, but why are drunk drivers with 5 10 and 15 convictions still on our roads and highways now that young lady killed yesterday. Is that really necessary? I mean if that's what your wife or daughter you might maybe you could do a little more about it what has been done. (00:16:36) We strongly support, you know, the enforcement of those laws and those people who have committed those, you know infractions if you had DWIs or DUIs in the past and you've lost your license, you shouldn't be allowed to drive but there are always times when some of those will get behind the wheel and do things that they're not supposed to do we can't be with everybody every minute of the day, but I think our law enforcement officials are sheriffs and police do the best job they can and our courts to make sure that you know, we tried to protect the roadways but as you know, when people like this will continue to drive when they've lost their license. You can't be with them every day, but we strongly support the enforcement of those laws and when they're broken, you know, they should be treated very harshly in the courts Linda are question, please. Hello. Yes your honor. Hello, (00:17:24) Linda. What do you estimate to be the federal dollar cost for the Whitewater investigation the impeachment special prosecutors and other costs related to investigating the clintons. (00:17:37) I just saw a recent article in the paper that it just finally it's something around 55 million dollars which now just eclipse the cost of the Walsh investigations of Iran-Contra of the President Reagan administration. So this has now become the most costly probe in our country's history. So but it's been very expensive. No doubt about it. You think Al Gore should be held responsible for the the problems. The Clinton Administration said, well, he's been a part of it. You can't separate Al Gore from Bill Clinton. He's been a part of this Administration. The president has called him one of his most trusted advisors and other words been in on most of these major decisions. He's done more than any vice president in history according to the president. So yes, he has been in the room and he has been there when these decisions have been made and I assume he's had very strong input on what those final decisions should be now if you're talking about the conduct of the president nobody is responsible for that except the president himself, but when you talk about the Lucy's of this Administration. Yes, Al Gore has been a major part of that and you know, some people might think that's a plus others might think it's not a plus back to the phones Ken's on the line with the question for Senator Graham's Ken. Yes. (00:18:49) Thank you Senator Graham's your proposal to privatize Social Security indicates that you seem not to understand that the primary function of Social Security in our country is to provide both the safety net and a progressive transfer of income from the high-income people to the lowest income people. The lowest paid workers in our country do not have private pensions. So the current system provides the biggest return in a very high return for the lowest paid workers. The only way to maintain that is to preserve the collective nature of our social security system. If you want to benefit from the private markets we can invest the Surplus from Social Security in the fund currently in the private Equity markets, but Collective nature any attempt to privatize Social Security destroys the collective and income transfer nature of it which was designed to provide assistance for those workers who have no private pensions. Those are the lowest paid workers. Well, I (00:19:56) understand very well with Social Security was intended to do when it passed and I don't agree with your assessment of that. It was only supposed to be a transfer of wealth from high-income to low-income and to provide this type of retirement. Everybody is contributed to it. And by the way, if you think Social Security Now pays good retirement benefits When the average male retires with about eight hundred and forty dollars a month in a check in the average female $621. This is not the kind of retirement system. I want to pass on to my kids or my grandchildren and I don't know if anybody else wants to pass that kind of retirement on onto theirs. But when you say this is not just a retirement plan. That's true. It was also supposed to be an insurance. Policy a safety net and the privatization plan that I have offered for consideration provides the same kind of safety nets that Social Security provides and that is for death benefits and also survivors benefit. So it does provide that safety net but also by being able to invest into the markets right now, if you're retiring today under Social Security, you will basically get less than a 2% return on your investment into the program. If you're 50 years old or younger when you retire you'll actually get a negative now, even if you could take your Social Security when you say it's supposed to be there for retirement we agree with you and if you would take that money instead of putting it into Social Security even put it into a passbook savings account at three and a half percent you would get three times more at retirement than you would under Social Security. So my plan looks at a plan to offer better benefits provide the same Securities and safety nets as our current retirement program does but not be such a big This burden on our children and grandchildren and if you look out just 25 years from now our children's FICA tax will not be if we're going to keep the current system as it is and pay the same level benefits as we want to pay today. The FICA tax is going to have to go from 15.3% to at least 22 and a half maybe as high as 28 percent. So you're going to ask our children and grandchildren to Bear a more heavy financial burden in order to maintain this system. And I don't know if many parents out there or grandparents want to impoverish their children to do this. We can work out a plan that is better and why not put it on the table and debate it rather than trying to keep a system by the way, you know, the current system. It's the demographics that are killing Social Security in 1940. There was a hundred workers for every retiree today. There's just over two and a half for every retiree and in 25 years will be less than 2 so if we were going to design Social Security today, it would never be This system it would have to be something different. And by the way, sir, the United States is trailing because 10 other countries in the world who had social security systems, like ours just like ours have now gone to private retirement accounts because their systems were going bankrupt just like ours is going so we're really kind of behind the curve and we shouldn't be out here trying to save just a system but we should be working to find a way that we can provide better retirement benefits and not be such a burden on the workers to pay those bills. Yes, sir. Go ahead, please. Hi Senator Graham's. I'm Bill Sullivan from Richfield. Hi Bill, and I'm concerned about the Arts. What about your support of the Arts in the past like public television and this public radio station. Where do you stand on that issue? Well, I have supported any a and I haven't been the strongest supporter, but I have supported it and never voted to eliminate the funding for it. Minnesota has been a leader in many of the Arts and if there's a good argument to support it, it would be because Minnesota, this is probably the only Line item in the budget. We're minnesotans get back more than they pay in when we divide up the pot for the Nea we get back something like two dollars and fifty cents for every dollar we put in but the rest of the budget we get about 74 cents back for every dollar we put in so we're a contributing State. We're not you know, we're a donor State we don't benefit from most of the taxes. They go other places, but I think Arts are important. I'm just you know, I haven't been a supporter where I want to expand the program, but I haven't voted to eliminate it either Senator Serrano pretty soon here. We're going to have to let you go. And then we're going to try something different here on. Midday. We're going to have Senator Graham's hopefully continue the program on the phone and route to Minneapolis where he's meeting today with res really Ambassador, but I wanted to ask you before you before you take off here. What is the proper u.s. Role in the Middle East? Should we be prepared if necessary to send a large amount of money in to try to get the get a peace agreement worked out perhaps some troops to keep Apiece hands off Arrangement, what should be our roller? Well our role in the past has been we do provide a lot of foreign aid to both Israel and Egypt and it has made it stabilize the area but it is the problems over by no means so it has been very expensive. But when you look at what we put into Bosnia right now we put in about five billion dollars, maybe six billion between Egypt and Israel, but just in the little area of Bosnia in our peacekeeping efforts there it's over four and a half billion. So by keeping peace in the Middle East has been very important and it cost saver as well. But more than that. I think when it comes to the peace talks themselves, the United States should have been there to help facilitate and create the environment for these talks to go on. Should we be imposing conditions on the tox? I don't believe we should that has to come between the Palestinians and the Israelis. They have to work out an agreement that they both can accept and live with not something that the u.s. Imposes on them. I know in some of the past talks over the past six eight ten months the United States has been I think more pushy at the table and trying to get them to accept terms that we thought were good. And I have opposed our government doing that. I think we should facilitate the talks and if it does come with a cost, we've got a really way that and there were many of us concerned. We don't know what was going on behind the doors at Camp David just recently and what kind of commitments President Clinton was making Dollar Wise and we wanted him to very much talk with Congress so we could set a level because it's going to be you know, something that Congress is going to have to approve and that we should have a ballpark figure of what our commitment is going to be to maintain peace in the Middle East now President Clinton went on radio in the Middle East and took Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to task basically for not being cooperative enough not making the kind of concessions that he believes are necessary make that was a good idea again. I don't know if our President should have been doing that but there has been a lot of concern or wonder that really Israel went. Either this time in the talks and they had ever gone before and yet it wasn't enough for Arafat. And so there are many who believed Arafat missed a golden opportunity to work out a peace agreement involving parts of Jerusalem. And you know, I'm not I'm trying to again to impose any kind of agreement on them. But there are those who believe maybe there was an opportunity missed and Arafat has been you know, thought the one who have missed this if the president, you know said that in very strong terms, I think it was a fact well known but whether the President should have been doing that. I'm not sure. Okay. Well, we'll let you go get harder. So hopefully you won't run into real bad traffic on the way. Okay Gary. Thanks very much. I'll talk to you in a minute Senator Rod grams joining us here at our state fair booth. Now again, as we said Senator Graham's is going to head off to Minneapolis for a meeting with the Israeli Ambassador. And what we're going to do is take a break for news and then if everything works the way it's supposed to Senator Graham's will be joining us on the phone and route to Minneapolis or will Able to get some more of your questions as well. So don't go away. This is midday coming to you from the Minnesota State Fair. And again, if you have a question for the senator, six, five, one two, two seven six thousand or one eight hundred two, four two two eight two eight and those of you in the audience you'll be able to get your questions in as well all of that coming up right after the news (00:27:56) programming on NPR is supported by Metropolitan State University dedicated to providing excellence in education for working adults glasses start, August 28. (00:28:07) There's something about the Minnesota State Fair that makes people saying so the Minnesota we are some I'm Dale Connolly Jim Ed cruel and I will host a celebration of state and fair songs this afternoon at two our guests will be an read Vern Sutton's Peter astrouski. Oh Ruth, Mackenzie and Charlie McGuire. Join us at the Minnesota Public Radio booth at Judson and Nelson or online (00:28:33) at Minnesota Public Radio (00:28:34) dot-org. An event with some great musical guests that you want to miss join jail and Jim Ed right here at our booth Judson and Nelson today at 2 o'clock right now. Some news headlines here Stephen Jones (00:28:51) Steven. Good morning, Gary early Nielsen results show about thirty fifty 1 million viewers watch last night's finale of the survivors show that makes it the most watched program this season after the Super Bowl the contestant Richard won the million dollar grand prize Tropical Storm. Debby has weakened significantly and has now been downgraded to an open tropical wave Debbie dropped heavy rains on Cuba where thousands had been evacuated in advance of the storm investigators from the United States and Europe head today to Bahrain to help in the probe of yesterday's Gulf Air crash the flight data and cockpit voice recorders have been recovered all 143 people on board were killed a new poll finds Al Gore ahead of George w-- Bush in Minnesota the poll conducted for the st. Paul Pioneer Press. Kare11 TV and Minnesota Public Radio Vines. Or favored by 48 percent of respondents compared with 40% for Bush previous polls found the presidential race of virtual Dead Heat in the state authorities in Rochester are calling a house fire suspicious. Fire Crews were called to the house in South East Rochester Rochester shortly after 6:30 last evening. Once the fire was extinguished Crews found guns and ammunition inside. No one was injured in spite of higher gas prices. AAA Minneapolis is projecting a five percent jump in Labor Day travel over last year. The auto club says Peak travel times will be next Thursday night and Friday morning gas prices are expected to be 25 cents a gallon higher than they were a year ago. The average price for a gallon of gas in Minnesota now stands at $1.46. The forecast calls for partly to mostly sunny conditions today a slight chance of a shower or thunderstorm in the Northwest this morning highs in the 80s for the Twin Cities right around 85 with partly sunny conditions light East to northeasterly winds in Bemidji 73°. This hour Marshall has 75 at 72 in Saint Cloud 74 degrees in the Twin Cities. Gary that's news. (00:30:48) All right, thank you Stephen. We are broadcasting live from the Minnesota State Fair today. Midday coming to you here on Minnesota Public Radio. And again, if you're out at the fair, make sure you stop by our booth Judson and Nelson pick up some literature in a get goodies to buy and newspapers and all kinds of things we get a reminder The Big Show with jail and Jim Ed coming up at two o'clock this afternoon right now. Senator Rod grams has joined us by phone on en route to Minneapolis in the meeting with the Israeli Ambassador. Hi Senator. (00:31:17) Hi Gary. How are you doing? I made the car. Okay, (00:31:19) great and why the traffic will be will be passable acceptable. We've got more question questions for you Senator our callers on the line. So let's get back to the caller's rush your question for Senator. Graham's place. (00:31:33) All right. Yes, my question has to do with taxes. I'm on Social Security which in my principal source of income. So when we talk about cutting income taxes that doesn't it doesn't it? Maybe because my total salary is not my total income is not high enough to pay income taxes. But as as you suggested Senator to get one of the income tax, which is a progressive tax and to replace it with a sales tax. That would hit me and what it really does. Is it switches switches taxes from those who pay income tax it can afford it to those who cannot the lowest income people. So it's a is to switch from Rich to poor. (00:32:19) All right. Thanks Russ Senator. Did you hear that question? (00:32:21) Yes, I did and the gentleman probably doesn't know it. But right now even without paying income taxes, you are paying a tremendous amount of taxes every year in that comes in the cost of the Hidden tax in every product that you buy like 45 or 31% of a loaf of bread is taxes about 45% of a car is taxes 27% of a restaurant meal is already Federal tax built into that plan or that others have had to pay along. The way consumers have had to pay our I mean if you're a worker or an employer and you pay property taxes and other taxes all the way through the system. So sir, when you when we look at our budget in Washington, we will collect this year about 950 billion dollars in income taxes. The question is then where does the other 950 us from the other taxes and that comes from you every time you purchase a Goods or service so our plan if you would take a national sales tax there would be none of that. So a loaf of bread wouldn't cost a dollar it would be 69 cents. Then you add on about a 20% tax which would be about 14 cents. So that loaf of bread would then cost you about 81 cents and not what you're paying now, so it wouldn't be an unfair shift of the tax burden from one class to another in fact assumed the more you would So if the wealthier bought more and consumed more they would continue to pay a higher rate of taxes. So it's not a shift. I think it would be a much more fair and Equitable way of how we're going to pay taxes because you pay taxes whether it's through income tax or other forms of taxes (00:34:04) Senator realistically scrapping the income tax and moving to a sales tax or what have you would be a huge change at realistically to think that's going to happen anytime soon. (00:34:16) Well Gary it really has to because it's such a complex complex system right now, you know, it's over 10,000 pages in the tax code. There's forty five thousand pages of rules and regulations and then another ninety thousand pages of instructions that even the people at the IRS and you know, the IRS gets a bad rap, but it's not the people at the IRS. It's the system that they are trying to operate under and it is so confusing that you know, it's been layer and layer and layer. Of new laws put into the tax codes over the years some contradict others. In fact, some people have told me if I abide by the law in one area of the code. I'm breaking the law in another but Gary it is such it's gotten to be so unfair. So complicated so expensive there's 88,000 IRS employees and it's so costly that we can do a better easier job, you know paying taxes is never easy it always hurts. So let's try make it as fair and is less painful and less costly as possible and changing the system I think is something we have to do because to go back and try to reform the code, you know line by line would be just too great at asking we'd never get it done (00:35:28) gentlemen here at the fair has a question for you Senator. Go ahead. Thank you. Good morning, Senator my morning from Minneapolis. I'm concerned about the trend of for instance, California spending more money on billing building prisons than on Education Centers, and I heard you comment earlier about the funding for higher education. Also coupled with that the two million people that we have in jail in this country bottom line. I think it's simply just a bad investment that we spend less money on funding education more money on building prisons two million people of are working adults who could be working interacting within the system paying taxes supporting our system. Don't you think it would behoove us like Jeremy Rifkin says to move to a 30 Hour Work Week by the Year 2006 work to get less people in prison and more of our poor and striving people into Education Centers so that they can take care of themselves in the fuser future and participate within our capitalistic system as opposed to bumping up against it and landing in jail. (00:36:27) All right. Well do I feel that there's too many people in jail. Yes, but when people break the law and the courts hand down the sentence that's what we have to do to carry that out. And when you talk about trying to offer people a hand up to get them the education they need that, you know, we've done that we have Programs out there that provide that kind of funding for Education job training and other things to try give people an opportunity to move from a low paying job to even a better paying job. So that's what we have to do. So and we do that in our budget now, can we do more? Well, you know budgets only allow you to do so much and if you're talking about going to a 30 hour work week right now, I don't see that being in the cards because of the cost and expenses that it would run to business and if it ran that cost of business who would you know, come down to the consumer that would drive up the cost of everything that we buy purchase use or any service as well. So I'm not sure where that's you know going to go but as far as trying to give people an education a hand up, yes are there too many people in prison? Yes, but at the same time we've got to enforce the laws to make sure that we protect society as a whole (00:37:38) whenever the issue of prison population comes up kind of a corollary of that is the argument that we need to Only change our approach to drug laws in this country admit that the so-called War on Drugs has failed. What's your thoughts on them? (00:37:56) Well, Gary, you know, there may be a lot of non-violent people that are in prison that maybe we could do other ways of, you know, imposing a penalty but when you talk about drugs, I mean this that is area of crime that has many negative impacts and violence imposed in our society. So in the war on crime, I mean are we going to War on Drugs? We just kind of throw up our hands and say we can't win this war and we've got to give in to it and it's going to be here. I don't think so. I think we've got to continue to try win this battle and to protect our young people and citizens at large from you know, the ravages that you know, the drugs bring our society. But as far as other General populations of our prisons, could we move maybe elderly inmates or not? Violent inmates and other ways and not have them clogging up our prison systems. That's maybe some area that we should look at as well. So I think you know and then also when when the gentleman said about being productive members, you know, we have supported many areas where prisoners be allowed to work to create a work ethic 24 good to provide goods and services to get a wage so they can help pay room and board and also have monies to send to their families. So I think there are things we can look at when it comes to our prison system today, but it would be a Utopia to think that we could just all of a sudden wish this problem away and we can't (00:39:26) Senator Rod grams is joined us today. We're broadcasting live from the Minnesota State Fair. This is midday on Minnesota Public Radio Senator. Graham's was here at our stage Judson and Nelson just a few minutes ago now he is en route to Minneapolis for a meeting with the Israeli Ambassador, but he's been good enough to join us by phone these last few minutes of our Midday program this hour. And if you have a question for the senator number to call six, five one two, two seven six thousand or one eight hundred two, four two two eight two eight. And of course those of you here in our audience, all you have to do is come on up to the mic Tom is calling from Brainerd with a question for the center. Go ahead Tom (00:40:03) Senator Graham's. I believe that out of respect for God our nation should both try to treat poorest in our nation, you know, as well as we can and also treat the planet with the good amount of respect. I read that you voted against raising what they call a cafe standards the corporate average fuel economy standards. It was a non-binding resolution that would have expressed the sense of the Senate that the freeze on raising mileage standards for vehicles coming from car manufacturers that that should And so they could so that the government could require that they manufactured vehicles that get better mileage and I've also read that cars and trucks and MIT 20% of United States global warming pollution in the form of carbon. Dioxide on the other (00:41:05) thing is our let's get the Senators comments on that Senator (00:41:09) when he talks about, you know, treating the poorest or less fortunate in our society with respect. We tried to do that in so many different ways in many programs. And again, we should emphasize an offering a hand up not a handout. We don't want to imprison these people in any kind of a system. But in other words give them Aid or assistance to move out of that situation and into a job and self-respect and productivity and contributions to society and help them do that. And I think that's what they want. And as far as protecting and helping the planet on the cafe, I never voted to end it but only to extend it to give more time. These type of new developments and Technologies to be implemented and not to come down with a hard edge sword when they're not there. So can we protect the environment? Yes, should we? Yes, but there are many out there that would say we've got a set aside the environment. We can't even walk in our Woods or national forest or Parks because somehow man is going to destroy them by stepping on them. I think we can have good safe protection of our environment and also have economic Prosperity at the same time. So there can be economic benefit and environmental and conservation efforts at the same time and I support those (00:42:25) gentlemen here at the fair has question for Senator Graham's go ahead and (00:42:27) Sir. Hi, my name is Larry Hammer grin, and I'm from Duluth, Minnesota. Understand the House of Representatives has passed a bill to reduce the income tax on social security certain taxable portion from 85 percent to 50 percent. Where do you stand on that? Well, Larry I have passed I offered the same Amendment on the Senate side and it was approved and so it's now pending the president however has threatened to veto that part if it comes before him in a bill, but I think it's very important that it would basically eradicate that 85% exposure that the president imposed in 1993 in his tax bill. My Amendment would roll it back to the 50% and really Larry. I think we should eliminated altogether because Social Security benefits have already been taxed once when they were taken from your checks when they were deducted from your income the government passed it and now they want to stand on the backside and tax it again again because Washington believes, it needs the money more than you do or that you can Without that money or less money and as long as Washington gets more so I strongly support that and we're going to work to make sure that's eliminated. The president has threatened to veto it. If he does we'll bring it back up again and we'll pass it next year because we have support in the house and the Senate to eliminate that very unfair tax on the benefits for senior citizens. Thank you (00:43:54) Senator. The Congress is either past or in the process of passing that reduction in the tax and Social Security benefits past the reduction or elimination rather in the estate tax change in the so-called marriage penalty. If you add those all together and then add in the big tax cut that presidential can't George w-- Bush is proposing. Can we afford that and still, you know pay off the debt take care of Social Security Medicare and all the rest. (00:44:28) One thing Gary is that when they're adding up these tax cuts on the president even said the other day if we we take all these tax cuts Republicans are proposing will lead up the whole Surplus. Well, I think that's what we should do. Bottom line is give the Surplus back. That's the overcharged that Washington is taken from Americans. It's like finding a wallet on the street. But this money in it, we should give it back not spend it. We tell our kids find the owner give the money back but yet Washington wants to spend it. But Gary a lot of these taxes together, they've double added those, you know, our our marriage penalty tax elimination getting rid of the death tax, you know, they had these a couple of times and says it amounts to more than what the Surplus is going to be. That's not true. What we need to do is make sure that we wolof Social Security Surplus is so it can be spent for nothing. But Social Security we're putting money aside to pay down the debt. We've got money aside to make sure that there is a growth in many of our programs that we anticipate but that still leaves more than a trillion dollars in projected surpluses unaccounted for and Basically what President Clinton wants to do is he wants Washington to spend it rather than giving it back to American workers to spend and so my bottom line is this money is going to be spent carry in the next 10 years. The question is who is going to spend it. Are we going to be able to give it back to workers families so they can spend it or do you want Washington to take control of it for you? I think we can do it and we should and this is not even cutting taxes Gary. This is only giving back the overcharged that Washington is now taking from you every week in your check. (00:46:01) Let's go back to the phone's. I think we've got time for at least one more caller here before we wrap up Carol your question for Senator Graham's place. (00:46:07) My question is is what would his opinion be of left of whether or not you know with his you know deduction for? Dependence I do believe that each parent needs a little more money for the deduction per child, but I'd like to propose something that's a little different. I guess I believe in zero population growth which is an old-fashioned idea. But nevertheless I would see that the first two children did have a bigger tax deduction. Hmm. The third child would have no tax deduction and the fourth child could be taxed. In other words. They're going to need more services. They're going to need you. No more attention. And on top of that they're building themselves into poverty. A lot of lot of people that are using their heads are limiting families and people should do that and but to have Government tried to impose those decisions on individuals. I don't support that. I mean, why are we going to penalize somebody in one area and not in another? And you're you know, the proposal, you know would say well Washington doesn't approve of what you're doing. So we're going to do this. I don't think that's the way we should be running the government trying to dictate what people's decisions are going to be by whether we're going to withhold their money or not. The government is out there to provide services not to really I think get inside a person's home and tell them what they're going to do. So let's let the government provide the services it needs to provide. The people are going to have to make the decision on how to support that (00:47:50) so under not a lot of time left, but I needed to ask you there are some people a fair number of people I guess who watch the Republican party's National Convention Democratic party's National Convention all the parties surrounding the parties conventions and said Gee both parties are up for sale. Is that true? (00:48:11) No, I don't. I don't buy that at all. You know, I've worked with a lot of senators over my time out there in the congressman and and Gary on either side of the aisle Democrats or Republicans. I believe they're there to do the best job they can for the people they represent and that we might have different ideas and we might differ on some of the policies but I've never known a Democrat or Republican put their vote on the table and say it's for sale and so there's been a lot of harsh criticism on that. It makes good political rhetoric but to work with these people and to know that they're there honestly working hard many days many hours a week in to say that they're there just to sell their vote in my opinion is not true. And so I don't think that you could say that these conventions were up for sale at all. It's a like I say good campaign literature good campaign rhetoric, but when it comes time to make the important decisions with their votes on the floor of the senate or the house, We take this very seriously, and there's no money or influence that's going to do what we think were changed to vote. What we think is going to be good for Americans as a whole (00:49:19) Center and 30 seconds. What I think is going to be the big issue than this Fall's campaign. (00:49:23) Well, I think there's a number of them Gary in my opinion may continue work on the issue of taxes. I think that's so important when we're taxed at the highest level bringing in all these surpluses. We need relief. If not now when Social Security is going to be a major part of this debate health care and prescription drugs. I support these we need to make sure we enact something before we leave education. We want the best in the world because to remain the leader in the world. It's going to take our kids to be having the best education they can and then of course to continue working on the farm crisis until we can eradicate that problem and farmers get good prices in the field. So those I think are going to be some of our top issues. Thank you Senator, and have a good meeting with the Israeli Ambassador Gary my pleasure. Thanks for the opportunity. Bye now, Minnesota Republican senator Rod grams joining us by (00:50:07) phone. And route to Minneapolis for a meeting with the Israeli Ambassador. We're broadcasting live from the Minnesota State Fair today Judson and Nelson, if you're out at the fair make sure you stop by and stay tuned Mark Seeley with weather quiz coming up just a few minutes when the news is serious. It can be alarming your money's not here when the news isn't serious. It's Dale Connolly reporting the Russian. Mafia is using it to produce bootleg vodka. We launched some of it to Johnny to set up the website where you can talk to real cowboy girls live a news program not to be believed Friday night at 11 Saturday afternoon at 2:00 on Minnesota Public Radio, Canada W. 91.1 FM out and said, oh he's so gloomy five minutes now before 12. (00:51:06) And here is the writers almanaque for Thursday the 24th of August 2000. (00:51:14) It was on this day in the year (00:51:16) 79 that Mount (00:51:18) Vesuvius erupted in the south of Italy and buried the city of Pompeii and other (00:51:23) cities under volcanic. Ash. It's the birthday of the poet who wrote Gather ye rosebuds while ye may old time is still a flying and the same flower that smiles today. Tomorrow will be dying Robert Herrick born London 1591. It's the birthday of novelist Gene risks born in the West Indies 1890 moved to Europe when she was young. She was a dancer model chorus girl in Paris and became famous for a series of novels and short stories about Bohemian life there the Left Bank and good morning midnight. It's the birthday in Belasco, Pennsylvania 1898 of Malcolm Crowley who lived in Paris in the 20s in a circle that included Hemingway and Fitzgerald and Faulkner Hart Crane Cummings Edmund Wilson. He knew them all hung out with them and when he came back to America, he chronicled the so-called lost generation of post World War One Riders. He worked as an editor at the new Republic later at Viking press. He was a great benefactor and supporter of William Faulkner. It was Malcolm Crowley who was credited with having discovered John cheever and later championed Jack Kerouac and Ken Kesey. It's the birthday in Buenos Aires 1899 of the Argentinian poet and short story writer Jorge Luis boys who was raised in a poor District learned English before he learned Spanish his Was English he made his living as a librarian? He was director of the national library and Buenos Aires, but in middle age, he suffered total blindness hereditary degenerative condition that had also Afflicted his father which forced him to give up writing long texts and to write short prose and poetry the book of imaginary beings the book of (00:53:32) sand the dream (00:53:33) tigers and others and it's the birthday in Sheffield England 1936 of novelist as byatt born Antonia Susan drabble the author of possession the book that won the booker prize in 1991. Here's a poem for today by Kenneth rexroth entitled coming. You are driving to the airport along the glittering Highway through the warm night humming to yourself the yellow rose buds that stood on the commode faded and fell two days ago last night the petals dropped from the Tulips on the dresser. The signs of your presence are leaving the house one by one. Being without you was almost more than I could bear. Now. The work is squared away. All the arrangements have been made all the delays are passed and I am 30,000 feet in the air over a dark lustrous see under a low Half Moon that makes the wings gleam like fish under water rushing South 400 miles down the California coast to your curving lips and your Ivory thighs. Poem entitled coming by Kenneth rexroth from his collection sacramental acts published by Copper Canyon, press That's the writers. Almanach for Thursday, August 24th made possible by 21 North Main.com where Book Lovers find more (00:55:31) than 10 million (00:55:32) used rare and antiquarian books on the web at 21 North Main.com production assistance from Tom. Kubasaki be well do good work and keep in touch. Regional broadcast of the writers Almanac are supported by market Banks your community bank offering a broad range of financial services for your business and personal needs (00:56:05) news headlines are next to than Mark. Seeley will be along with his annual weather quiz. Every week reporter Michael (00:56:13) coup listened to lunch with the governor. So you don't have to get the latest news all day and all night right here on Minnesota Public Radio KN o WF M 91.1 (00:56:29) We have a partly cloudy Sky 74 degrees at Kenner wfm 91.1 Minneapolis. And Saint Paul should be sunny. This afternoon should clear off with a high temperature reaching the mid 80s partly cloudy pretty muggy tonight with a low in the mid 60s and then partly cloudy and humid tomorrow, maybe a thunderstorm tomorrow as well.