Miss Daisy Needs a Driver

Arizona Daily Wildcat Eric E. Clingan

Unfortunately, the reality of this situation is more grim than the preceding pseudo-movie promotion. Indeed, Tucson receives more than its fair share of these winter visitors and, unlike birds of another feather, snowbirds are relatively conspicuous. A va riant species, they range from the Northeastern Bluehair to the Midwestern Balding variety.

They can be easily spotted behind the darkly tinted glass of their oversized Oldsmobiles, wearing industrial strength sun-goggles, as if simple light were a blue, butane-based, welder's flame from which their already dimming eyesight needs further protect ion. Often, they are cautious to a fault when driving, leading one to wonder if perhaps they employ some ridiculous mathematical equation as their guide, such as: If speed limit is less than age, then divide by two and proceed with paranoia.

Their turning signal is frequently announcing its perpetual presence: on and on and on and on and on. It seems as if the realization has not yet set in that the steering wheel is more than just a safety bar necessary to keep their hands from trembling.

Amazingly, the City of Tucson is often quick to tout the benefits derived from this annual migration. However, the resulting influx of money is rarely compared to the resources these same temporary travelers suck out of our community. Consider, for exampl e, that while the population experiences an immediate rise, the number of medical services providers remains relatively static. For evidence of this, one need only to visit an emergency room in January or February and compare the duration of their wait wi th that in July or August. Need an ambulance? There, too, one's wait could be a few precious minutes longer.

Additionally, while sales tax receipts undeniably increase, neither Tucson, nor the state of Arizona, is necessarily the recipient of any other tax payments from snowbirds. This means that the burden of local property taxes and state income taxes, which are used to finance public services, must be increased on Tucson's permanent residents in order to support these six month vacationers.

So the snowbirds, with their brand new Ford Crown Victorias financed by Social Security checks, which are, in turn, used to supplement their combined IRAs and 401Ks, enter Tucson and spend their dollars in eateries, among other places, which provide them with - a senior citizen's discount? Nowhere in this fine city can one discover a more illustrative example of the rich getting richer and the poor, well, you know.

Another resource which is affected by the burdensome presence of snowbirds is the safety and well-being of our roads and highways. For some of these snowbirds, it is unfortunate that when their children decided to help them into a home they opted for the mobile - over the nursing - variety. In fact, according to statistics obtained from The College of Insurance in New York, automobile accident rates are strikingly comparable between the age groups of those over 55 and those under 21, with a much higher r ate of fatalities occurring within the former. In spite of these statistics, the public sentiment, and insurance companies themselves, often excoriate younger drivers while tacitly forgiving the foibles of senior citizens. Grandparents, it seems, are like children: Everyone else's are the problem, but not our own.

Admittedly, nothing can be done to keep snowbirds from traipsing through Tucson, short of erecting an unconstitutional barrier around the city limits. However, much can be done to bring the tax code into line to better reflect their annual migration. Last year, for example, the overly generous discount allowed by the City of Tucson to senior golfers at public courses was scaled back, and rightly so. Perhaps Arizona could become the first state to require drivers over 55 to take an annual eye exam. For the safety of our roads, a new driver license exam could be imposed upon them every five years. The subsequent income from such fees would then be proportionately distributed to the most severely affected of Arizona's cities, thus helping to make up for the aforementioned shortfall in public and medical services which accompany their arrival.

Admittedly, many snowbirds are completely competent drivers and share the average Tucsonan's enthusiasm toward this great city. However, most of our winter visitors do exact a cost onto it and whether they provide their fair share toward its upkeep and safety is in question. Perhaps appropriate taxes and fees levied upon them, in an effort to simultaneously improve the safety of our roads, will bring about a balanced solution.

Eric E. Clingan is a senior majoring in political science.