Editorials
Tuesday, December 8, 1998

Cayetano’s second
inaugural address

FOUR years ago when Ben Cayetano took the oath of office as governor of Hawaii, the largest budget shortfall in state history and the weak economy were foremost in his concerns and in his inaugural remarks. Yesterday, at his second inaugural, the governor mentioned neither, as if the problems no longer existed. Few would agree. State revenues are still tight although he claims a surplus. The economy is barely growing.

Cayetano looked back only to observe that "we made some tough decisions and we have made excellent progress." He called for unity in the wake of the hard-fought election campaign, telling those who did not support him that he would welcome their ideas.

Cayetano then addressed messages to the children, to the business community, "to all who care about Hawaii's environment," and to the Hawaiian community.

To the children he pledged "to continue making their education my number one priority."

To the business community he pledged "to build on the improvements made over the past four years in reducing the high costs of business, the burden of regulations and taxes."

To environmentalists he renewed his pledge of four years ago that he "would not seek economic development at the expense of the environment."

To Hawaiians he pledged to "continue the pace we set for placing a record number of Hawaiian homesteaders on the 'aina' " and to settle the dispute with OHA over ceded lands revenues.

Those are all laudable pledges and we wish the governor well in fulfilling them. However, there was no mention of the need to restore the health of the economy, which was the overriding concern of his first term and the main issue in the last election. Without a strong economy it will be difficult, perhaps impossible, to improve public education, protect the environment and provide more benefits for Hawaiians.

Taiwan elections

THE threat of a military showdown between China and Taiwan has diminished as a result of the elections Saturday in Taiwan. The ruling Nationalist Party or Kuomintang (KMT) expanded its legislative majority in island-wide elections and won the key Taipei mayoral race. Its chief rival, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), is pledged to independence for the island, a policy that Beijing has warned could lead to invasion.

In the capital of Taipei, the Nationalist candidate for mayor, Ma Ying-jeo, defeated opposition leader and incumbent Mayor Chen Shui-bian. Ma and Chen are considered rising stars -- both are in their late 40s -- and could clash again as their parties' candidates in the presidential election in 2000.

The defeats in the mayoral and legislative elections have left the DPP humbled just 15 months before a new president is chosen to succeed Lee Teng-hui. In the 225-seat legislature, KMT candidates won 123 seats. In Taipei, the KMT's Ma received 51.1 percent of the vote, to the DPP's Chen's 45.9 percent.

The KMT takes the position that Taiwan is part of China but resists reunification with the Communist regime on the mainland until it institutes true democracy. That in effect defers reunification to the distant future, a position that the Chinese Communists seem willing to accept.

The Beijing regime has sometimes taken a hostile line toward the current Taiwan government and continues to try to isolate it diplomatically, but has been willing to deal with the KMT leadership on a restricted basis.

Many of Taiwan's people regard the mainland as backward and repressive and have no desire to be absorbed into a greater China. This is the basis of the appeal of the opposition's stand for full independence. However, election of a DPP government could end the current Chinese policy of limited tolerance of Taiwan and force an armed showdown. That prospect makes everyone concerned about stability in Asia very nervous.

Medicare fraud

AN audit of the Medicare program conducted earlier this year revealed massive fraud and overpayments. A legislative package proposed by President Clinton would help the Health Care Financing Administration combat wasteful and abusive practices in the system.

Much of the abuse has occurred because of outdated computer systems that were unable to detect erroneous payments. A contract for a new computer system that was promoted as a way to speed customer service and combat fraud in Medicare was terminated in September. GTE, the main contractor, apparently was overwhelmed by problems in the current system, run by 72 private insurance companies.

An audit by the Department of Health and Human Services' inspector general found that 22 drugs had been marked up by hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Investigators found that Medicare paid more than twice the average wholesale price for certain drugs, and in one case 10 times the wholesale price.

The audit determined that the government overpaid hospitals, doctors and other health-care providers last year by $23 billion, 14 percent of all the money spent on Medicare.

Clinton's proposal includes empowering new "fraud hunters" to spot overpayments and prevent crooked providers from entering the Medicare system. It also would prevent private insurers from billing Medicare for services that were not given or were provided to only a few patients.

Clinton says the legislation would save $2 billion in waste and fraud over the next five years. That is a fraction of what needs to be done to strengthen the system for the day fast approaching that baby boomers will begin relying on Medicare in their retirement. But it's a start on a problem of staggering dimensions.

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Rupert E. Phillips, CEO

John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher

David Shapiro, Managing Editor

Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor

Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors

A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor