Masonry Magazine April 1992 Page. 43
More reductions in defense spending to finance the cuts. Even Bush is considering a suspension of the law on a one time only basis.
OVERHAUL OF THE HEALTH CARE
Overhaul of the health care system will be a big election year topic. Congress and the President acknowledge that health care is a dominant issue. There are some 34-million Americans who are not covered by health insurance, most of them employed by small businesses that can't afford to pay premiums.
Meanwhile, costs of health care continue rising at a rapid rate. Americans spent $670-billion on health care in 1991.
BUT THERE'S NOT YET A CONSENSUS
But there's not yet a consensus on how to solve the massive problem. Some lawmakers argue that the U.S. should adopt national health insurance, based on the Canadian model whereby citizens would be taxed to pay the government administered health insurance system-a kind of super Medicare. This is by far the most radical departure from the current American system.
Others favor a "pay or play" approach to resolving the health problem, in which employers are forced to provide insurance or pay a seven percent payroll tax. Unions and big firms support this idea.
THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION FAVORS
The Bush administration favors what is called an "incremental" plan, filling gaps in the present health care system, but not mandating coverage. But it's very unlikely that health legislation will be approved this year. So enormous are the current problems and so diverse the potential
Two Percent Gain in December
Construction Contracting
December's two percent gain in the value of newly started construction nudged the fourth quarter's rate of new construction contracting to its highest level in 1991, for an annual total of $226.8-billion, it was reported by the F.W. Dodge Division of McGraw-Hill's Construction Information Group.
The seasonally adjusted Dodge index of construction contract value, which uses 1982 as its 100 base, climbed to 148 in last year's final month after slipping back to 145 in November. Averaging 148 for the closing quarter as a whole, the Index barely topped the third quarter's 147.
"The year long recovery of the depressed construction sector was in danger of stalling out in the closing months of 1991 when home building leveled off after regaining the one-million unit rate," said George A. Christie, Dodge's chief economist. "Two December events-the Fed's full point cut of its discount rate and the enactment of the new six year transportation program-should help to restore construction's momentum by Spring."
December's gain did little more than recoup some of the losses of the previous month when contracting declined four percent. Nonresidential building rebounded three percent in December as strength in institutional building offset continued weakness in commercial projects. Housing was essentially flat in the final month of 1991, but public works construction rose four percent with double digit gains in highway and water supply projects.
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MASONRY-MARCH/APRIL, 1992 43