Page 2 THE BATTALION
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1977
Opinion/Commentary/Letters
Government, taxation policies
Reform needed Limits needed
By SHARON TAULMAN
Tax Reform: two words that
arouse emotion in every taxpayer.
And with good reason, no matter
which side you’re on.
Today it is too difficult to get rich
and too easy to stay rich. Recent
studies have shown there has been
no substantial change in the distri
bution of wealth in the United
States since the Civil War. Many al
ternative plans have been offered
for tax reform, but the expansion of
the following tax policies seem the
best method for relief to the low and
middle income families.
The minimum tax has been in ef
fect since 1969 and is designed to
ensure that everyone pays some tax,
even when income is from items
like capital gains. (A capital gain is
income that results from a sale of
property that has been held for a
sufficient length of time as defined
in the tax code.) Only 8% of Ameri-
‘Today it is too difficult to
get rich and too easy to stay
ricK
can taxpayers can classify their in
come as capital gain, placing that
amount in a lower tax bracket.
Although the minimum tax is es
sentially a tax on loopholes and is in
addition to regular tax, some
loopholes still allow tax avoidance.
The requirements now in effect
allow a large break, even before the
individual pays his minimum tax.
One solution is to close any
loopholes allowing people to get
around this law and to lower the re
quirements for minimum tax, so
that people in upper income brack
ets must pay it.
Another necessary reform is the
negative income tax. Currently the
closest thing to a negative tax is the
earned income credit, which bene
fits low income families in the
$4000-$8000 range. The maximum
credit is $400 and applies to families
with a $4000 income. The credit de
creases steadily down to $8000, at
which point no refund is given. The
credit is handled like any other
overpayment: the taxpayer receives
the refund if the credit exceeds total
taxes.
This earned income credit should
be expanded to include more
families and the amount they are el
igible to receive should be in
creased. This would allow more low
income families to receive money.
An important concept that will
drastically affect income tax policy is
the change from deductions to cred
its. A deduction reduces taxable in
come and only indirectly affects
taxes, while a credit reduces taxes
directly because it is subtracted
from the computed tax. A deduction
results in more tax saving for those
in a higher income bracket.
President Carter last week out
lined his tax revision plan for next
fall that would replace the current
$750 personal exemption and $35
per person credit with a credit of
about $240 - $250. This would result
in higher taxes on people in the
upper brackets and lower taxes
on those in the lower or middle
brackets. This is the first step
towards replacement of deductions
with credits.
Besides these three main re
visions, an end to the myriad of tax
breaks (of use mainly to businesses
and wealthy individuals) would in
crease tax revenue, while increasing
the tax burden on the rich.
Eliminating double taxation of cor
porate profits is another needed re
form. Double taxation occurs when
businesses pay tax on their earnings
and stockholders pay taxes on divi
dends from the earnings. Its elimi
nation would give a break to the
thousands of citizens that must pay
tax on dividends they receive.
The rich do not pay their share
and it is time to close the loopholes
that allow them to evade taxes. 88.5
per cent of American families earn
less than $25,000 per year, yet these
are the people who pay the most. It
is time for all Americans to shoulder
their share of taxes and relieve the
pressure on the low and middle in
come families. The smallest tax
brackets and the steepest increases
occur at the bottom of the scale. In
1974, 622 Americans with incomes
of at least $100,000 paid no taxes.
These inconsistencies can only be
remedied through tax reform. Only
then can we say America has a pro
gressive tax system.
By MARK ELAM
This past year marked the bicen
tennial anniversary of the American
Revolution, a revolution in which
concerned Americans dared resist
the tyranny of an abusive govern
ment in order to secure their free
dom.
Our forefathers rebelled against
the greatest power in the world
largely as a result of high taxes,
taxes which seem paltry in compari
son to those we now pay. Our gov
ernment took 44 per cent of the na
tional income through taxation in
1976 and this trend is bound to con
tinue unless halted by concerned
Americans who openly strive to
check this obesive growth.
Consider the following facts: Be
tween 1929 and 1976 federal spend
ing increased by some 15,000 per
cent while population increased by
only 80 per cent. State and local
revenues alone increased 2000 per
cent in the last forty years. Gov
ernment now costs each American
an average $2,300 a year, or $9,200
for a family of four.
As to what effect Jimmy Carter’s
proposed economic program has on
our situation will depend largely on
his hopeful realization that a tax cut
is really no tax cut at all when ac
companied by a substantially larger
($15 billion) increase in deficit
spending. The only way govern
ment can finance this deficit spend-
‘Government should not be
permitted to do for us the
things we can better do
for ourselves. . . . ’
ing is by borrowing or by printing
and inserting worthless money into
the economy which in turn causes
inflation. And inflation not only
steals from those people with steady
incomes but it also hits even harder
those who live on fixed incomes or
who are unemployed.
Sharon Taulman is a junior major
ing in accounting and is vice chair
man of Political Forum.
The Battalion
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sarily those of the University administration or the
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Editor Jerry Needham.
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Reporters George Maselli, Paul
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Asst. Photo Editors Tracie Nordheim,
Mike Willy .
If trends continue unchecked our
government will be taking 50 per
cent of our entire income by 1984.
Indeed it seems that all too many
intelligent Americans are allowing
these deplorable trends to continue
because they have been led to be
lieve that “Big Brother knows best.
Government should not be permit
ted to do for us the things we can
better do for ourselves, and we
should not hesitate to remind gov
ernment that it exists only to serve
us, not for us to serve it.
Do we choose to forget the warn
ings of men such as Samuel Adams?
“It is an essential and unalterable
right in nature.. . . that what a
man has honestly acquired is abso
lutely his own, which he may freely
give, but which cannot be taken
from him without his consent. Or
do we accept the new logic such as
that we hear from the ever flowing
mouth of Senator Hubert Hum
phrey. “ ‘Less government’ is noth
ing more or less than a disguise
for a new form of racism.”
Texas A&M University
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In such a statement exists the
failure to realize that when govern
ment takes from one man to bestow
on another, it diminishes the incen
tive of the first, the integrity of the
second, and the moral autonomy of
both.
The failure of liberal social
policies as epitomized in the eco
nomic mismanagement of New York
City and the increasing failures and
burdens of England’s and other
country’s social programs, should all
serve as warnings against increasing
rates of taxation and inflation, yet
the position of liberals still fails to
show an understanding or concern
for the problem.
ivh
lodtal
:el He;
,0,000
sniflls
iwolle
ie tiro
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l-fram
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“Government resources and
powers must be mobilized as never
before in an active, deliberate
way.. . . It should harness all its
array of authority — particularly its
powers of taxation and regulation.
The only reassuring thought about
this statement by Senator John
Tunney is that he is now former
Senator John Tunney.
Return bell to its rightful plan
An excellent example of the fail
ures of liberal social programs is the
Bureau of Indian Affairs. In 1974
there were 792,000 American In
dians, 442,000 living on reser
vations and receiving BIA subsidies.
If you divide the BIA budget by the
number of Indians served, you get
an income of $5,280 for a family of
four. Yet the estimate of actual fam
ily income at the time was $1,500.
Given such figures, one can easily
believe the rumor that the typical
Indian family consists of a father,
mother, several children, a welfare
worker, a sociologist, and an an
thropology professor with two
graduate assistants.
Our country was founded upon
the idea that liberty is indivisible,
and common sense dictates that
political freedom will not long exist
without economic freedom. But it
seems some people in this country
would have us to believe the indi
vidual freedom and restricted gov
ernment our forefathers fought to
secure can no longer work in the
modern era which we now live. In
response to this belief I must reply,
“Perhaps an invincible attachment
to the dearest rights of man may, in
these enlightened days, be deemed
old fashioned; if so, I am contented
to be so.” — Patrick Henry
Editor:
A matter has recently come to the
attention of the Liberal Arts Stu
dent Council of which we feel the
student body should be made
aware.
During the Bicentennial, the
Texas A&M Liberty Bell (which
traditionally hung in the rotunda of
the Academic Building) was do
nated by the University to hang in
the State Capital in Austin. This ap
parently was done before the stu
dent body and faculty had a chance
to say “no;” however, most agreed
that it was a worthy cause, and all
rested assured that the bell would
be returned to its proper place at
the end of the year.
Now surely the administration
must realize that it is 1977. The
Bicentennial Year ended six weeks
ago, and where is our bell? In stor
age, of course. It’s true, they are
painting the Academic Building.
But from what we hear, this is not
the problem. When the new addi
tion to the library is completed
(which won’t be any time soon) our
bell will be placed — you guessed it
— in the library.
Is this another Aggie joke? The
liberty b< 11 does not belong in the
library; it belongs in the Academic
Building. There certainly must be
some reason for this move; but in
our opinion, this is one time tradi
tion should stand. We encourage
the administration to take another
look and reconsider this decision.
—The Liberal Arts Student Council
Author’s note: All factual evi
dence offered in the above or in
prior or subsequent articles is pres
ented not only as FACT but also as a
CHALLENGE to the reader. “You
have a great opportunity to advance
the cause of truth. Don’t believe
everything you are told without
checking to see if there is another
side — and that goes for what I’ve
just written. Check me out. R.
Reagan
Put office
space elsewhere
Editor:
I agree totally with Steve Mayer
and Scott Gregson, who brought to
light the fact that Legett Hall might
be turned into office or classroom
Mark Elam is a sophomore politi
cal science major and is vice-
president of Texas AlrM Young
Americans for Freedom.
space.
I can understand the need for of
fice space since Texas A&M is a
growing system, and 1 can definitely
see where they need more class
room space, but to take badly
needed dorm space for this purpose
is beyond my comprehension. Just
looking over the campus, one can
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Pizza Inn
see that there are places that the
University could put offices or class
rooms. It can’t he that they don’t
have money for such building proj
ects. What is the reason they want
to transform good dorm space, into
offices and classrooms?
And while I’m talking about it, is
that office space for A&M Univer
sity use or A&M Conglomerate use?
University use is o.k., but Con
glomerate office space could go
elsewhere. After all, the main pur
pose of this University, I believe, is
education. Seems some people
forget that.
—Charlie Andrews, '80
lieve that it would beeffec
on the A&M campus.
—Mandy I
‘Counseling
lizon<
J to lif<
Arrival
| j ust l
,vhat
inadequate
Smoker section
Editor:
Student counseling is inai 0
or nonexistent at Texas AM
versity.
I have not found the:
advisors at A&M to beveryln
I did not receive a lettert
advisor until over a mot'
passed my first semesta ..
When I was finally able lot _
appointment to see himliei
needed in Shis a
have any of my transcripts! ner
Editor:
I am on the board plan in Sbisa
and am concerned with the policy of
allowing people to smoke after their
meals in the cafeteria.
Many people are allergic to ciga
rette smoke and become ill if they
breathe too much of these fumes. I
find it nauseating to inhaje someone
else’s smoke as I bite into my food.
I’m not asking that these smokers
be deprived of their privilege, but
rather that those who do prefer to
smoke eat in a “smoker section.”
Airlines have utilized this method
for the convenience of their
passengers, and I have seen special
places designated for smokers in
other school cafeterias.
This method of removing those
people who are irritated by others’
habits has proven effective and I be
ll c said he would find tia
would like to see me agai
time I returned I found he
no information on me.
I have changed majors
first year at A&M, but 11;
experienced less than
academic counseling.
I think students are confus
who their advisors areorwkl
functions are supposed tole
Friends that I have talkd DOUE
they either never go to
selors or would not knovna
go to find them.
Seeing your advisor
registration to sign tit
schedule which you haveselt
unfortunate. I think the era
should make an effort to seei
their students at least oncti
ter. A closer relationship bet
student and their academic
would make a great schooled
—Henry Mil
c
ter.
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