Rebuke for Gallegly’s Report from Washington

In the Carter Library in Atlanta, one can read a letter from John Wayne, the movie actor, to Ronald Reagan in which Mr. Wayne rebukes Ronald Reagan for dealing in misinformation, of being obtuse and lacking comprehension.

I received a Washington Report from Rep. Elton Gallegly, who represents the 21st District, and that report also deserves a John Wayne letter of rebuke.

The congressman complains of excess spending in Washington and, as an example of his sincerity, he turns around and votes for a raise in congressmen’s salary to $92,000 per year. But he does not tell us exactly where and in what amounts he would make cuts in the many important issues of the day. He plays it safe by making broad, general, meaningless statements so his constituents do not really know what their congressman really stands for.

The congressman in his report tells us that inflation was only 1% in 1986--sheer lunacy, unless, of course, you lived in a tent in a wilderness, did not see a doctor or a dentist, bought no medication, made no auto repairs, bought no clothing and lived on milk alone.

The congressman further tells us that unemployment is only 6%. Poppycock. The Reagan Administration has a weird way of compiling statistics. They consider a person fully employed regardless of whether he works 1 or 2 or 5 or 20 hours a week. Before the Reagan era, if one worked less than 40 hours per week, he was considered only partially employed. But you should know Ronald by now and his brand of misinformation.

Let us hope that, in his next report from Washington, the good congressman will tell us that he voted against appropriations for the latest raise for congressmen as a show of good faith.

MARTIN DELAFIELD

Camarillo