VITAL SIGNSrnPOLITICSrniCrnThe RenaissancernWeekendrnby Ralph R.ReikndrnHe was just kidding,” our waitressrnsaid about her coworker, thernsometimes banquet waiter Marcus Burrizon,rnage 21, who was just hauled awayrnin shackles and leg irons by Secret Servicernagents. It was “Renaissance Weekend”rnin Hilton Head, South Carolina,rnand President Clinton and about 1,600rntop achievers were getting together forrnbeach fun-runs and golf when Mr. Burrizonrnallegedly left a note in the men’srnroom that threatened the President.rn”I hate him,” said another waiter, anrnex-Marine from the Air Station in Beaufort,rnSouth Carolina, referring to thernPresident. “I was an air traffic controllerrnat Beaufort. When he pardoned the airrntraffic controllers who were fired by Reaganrnfor going on strike, that left no jobrnopenings for us. If it wasn’t for Clinton,rnI’d be making $82,000 a year.”rnArriving at I lilton Head on a sunn afternoon,rnClinton missed the Renaissancernsession on “Moral Compasses forrnModern Leaders” and headed straightrnfrom the airport to the links. “Even arnblind pig finds his way,” he said, shiftingrninto his Southern Boy lingo.rnUpstairs at the hotel, a crowd of leadersrnfrom business, media, government,rnand academia gathered to discuss “SpiritualrnLife in a Secular Society” andrn”Women as Leaders” and to ask the Presidentrnand First Lady questions. Downstairs,rnat the beauty shop, the gids wererndishing dirt. “I thought the ‘d be morerntight-lipped,” said a woman who wasrngetting her nails done, referring to arnWhite House staffer who had just leftrnthe shop. “She told us it’s standard procedurernfor new, young female employeesrnto make the trip to the Oval Office, andrnif he’s interested, the President hits onrnthem.”rnUpstairs, in the “About Shame” session,rnBen Wattenberg, author of ValuesrnMatter Most, and sex therapist Dr. RuthrnWestheimer discussed “Morals, Mannersrnand Todav’s Pop Culture.” Downstairs,rnthe valet staff was buzzing aboutrnthe grand arrial of Barbra Streisand.rn”She had the heaviest 10 suitcases I everrnlifted and she wouldn’t talk to any of us.rnShe stood bv herself, dressed in black,rnwith her back to everyone and if approached,rnshe turned awaw When werntook her upstairs to her penthouse suiternon the beach, all she said was ‘Where’srnthe rest of it?’ She had the valet girl unpackrneverything in her suitcases. Shernasked the same girl to come in andrnrepack her luggage on her day off. ‘Peoplernwho need people’ to reload their underwear.”rnUpstairs, Streisand empathized withrnex-Senator Larr Pressler about his recentrnelection defeat, citing similar setbacksrnsuffered b the heroine of her recentrnmo ie ‘The Mirror Has Two Faces.rnAt dinner, Ms. Streisand was in a goodrnmood, sitting at the head table betweenrnher boyfriend, James Brolin, and thernPresident. Downstairs, Renaissancernguests were talking about how to keeprnher from being invited next year. “Atrndinner, she strolls in and gets in front ofrnall of us, just cuts in line. Everyone exceptrnher—Pulitzer Prize winners, ambassadors,rnNobel winners—wears theirrnname tag.”rnUpstairs, tlie President was listening tornHarold Kushner, author of VV/ien EadrnThings Happen To Good People. ChuckrnRobb, the Senator who was caught gettingrna massage from a topless centerfold,rnwas a panelist in the “What I’ve LearnedrnAbout Love” session. His mother-inlaw,rnLadv Bird Johnson, was there. ProsecutorrnKenneth Starr wasn’t in attendancernat the invitation-onlv weekend.rnHe missed the “Renaissance Laughter”rnsession with film writer Patty Marx,rnauthor of You Can Never Go Wrong ByrnLying.rnAfter leaving the Renaissance NewrnYear’s Eve partv at 1:45 A.M., Bill Clintonrntold reporters the weekend lacked lusterrnand that something was missing thisrnvear. “We’ve got to do some thinkingrnabout how to recover some of that sensernof intimacy,” said the President. Downstairs,rnthe staff breathed a collective sighrnof relief as the Renaissancers headed forrntheir cabs. “Thank God they’re gone,”rnsaid our waitress, a friend of the detainedrnwaiter. “The were in the hotel kitchenrnwith about 1,000 bomb-sniffing dogs.rnI’m afraid of dogs.”rnRalph R. Reiland is a professor ofrneconomics at Robert Morris Gollege.rnWhat WelfarernReform?rnb) Don BarnettrnPresident Clinton has vowed to correctrnportions of welfare reform thatrnare “carried out on the backs of immigrants.”rnAbout half of the projectedrnsavings from the reform comes fromrnlimiting immigrant access to welfare.rnRefugees, who make up about one inrnseven legal immigrants, were sparedrnmost of the restrictions placed on otherrnimmigrants in the welfare bill. Refugees,rnasylees, and others admitted in humanitarianrncategories are still eligible for allrnwelfare programs upon arrival, but mustrnbecome citizens to maintain eligibilityrnbeyond five years.rnThere are more than 300,000 refugeesrnand their children dependent on AFDCrnm California, a caseload which exceedsrnthe total of all AFDC cases in each of 38rnstates. Those dependent upon programsrnsuch as AFDC face the same usage limitsrnand lifetime caps as American citizens.rnBut, far from block grants and timernlimits, refugee retirees’ entidement to arnlifetime of public assistance starting uponrnarrival is basically untouched by eitherrnprogram of welfare or immigration reform.rnEldedy noncitizens now account forrn49 percent of total cash payments madernto the elderlv under Supplemental SecurityrnIncome (SSI), the means-based welfarernprogram for the clderiy and disabled.rnThe usage of SSI by noncitizens has increasedrnsevenfold in the past 12 years;rnthe largest portion of welfare savings dependsrnupon slowing the growth of thisrnprogram. Absent successful reform,rnnoncitizen usage is projected to grow atrn46/CHRONICLESrnrnrn