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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 20, 1980)
je 6 THE E TUESDAY the small society by Brickman Viewpoint Crazy hal ★ Flann ★ Teriy IN MV PAY WHEH WE gurz^EPiyz TOPAY WE CELE&WE IF WE- YA\\ get: owe - The Battalion Texas A&M University Thursday March 20, 1980 Washington Star Syndicate. Inc. PF We We Ri All student < for the 198( these work; the actual i dures forth in 4 p.m. M* REQUEST •IZMS ji... * • •••••••' Opinion Criminalize deficit spending MOI Carter takes unpopular steps Given the political realities, President Carter’s moves to fight inflation are commendable. The President outlined a 1981 budget with the largest surplus in 30 years; he backed mild credit controls and he reinforced his support of the Federal Reserve Board, where the real anti-inflation fight is being waged. Above all, the President finally is telling the public what it needs to hear from the the President: inflation is not just an annoyance, it threatens the economic and social fabric of the nation, and its cure will require time and pain. What is badly needed is a means to shelter politicians from special interest groups who exert fierce pressure for new spending before steady, deliberate policies begin to pay off in economic growth, new jobs and more income to gov ernment. The only long-term, attainable solution available to a democracy is to make excess spending illegal. The President and Congress should take advantage of the present crisis to do just that. Tulsa World The Battalion US PS 045 360 LETTERS POLICY MEMBER In thr cihlor should not rxcrnl 300 minis and tire | 4 x ' ls 1 ss suhjort to In inn , ut to that lonnth or loss ,/ I on ur r Thr S.mthssrsi Journal,sn, rilitnrial stuff rrsrn rs thr right to rdit such Irthrs and dors Editor Roy Bragg t<«-h letter must h, Associate Editor W. ’ V. Keith Taylor sif'ncd \him thr aadnss of tht'urttcr ana lut <i telephone _ i. z-. ' i number for , rnfuntum News Editor Rusty Cawley Address rorirspont/encr to irttiTs to thr Editor. Th, Asst. News Editor Karen Cornelison Battalion. Hoorn 21b. Herd McDonald Building. (. ollrur Copy Editor Dillard Stone Station, h xa.s ,, B4.3 Sports Editor Mike Burrichter Represented natinnalK h> National Adver- Focus Editor Rhonda Watters Using Services. Inc . New York City. Chicago and Los City Editor Louie Arthur , , Campus Editor Diane Blake The Battalion is published Mondas througfi Fridas from September througf. May except during exam and holiday Staff Writers Nancy Andersen, Jeriods ami the summer when it is published on Tuesday Tricia BrUIlhart, AllgeliqUC Copeland, ImoukI, Thursdas Laura Cortez, Meril Edwards, Carol Hancock, Kathleen McElroy, . Mail suhsc options are $i«.75 per semester. $33.25 per Debbie Nelson, Richard Oliver, seh,M,l sear. S35.(X> |a-r hill year. Advertising rates furnished Tim Sager, Steve Sisnqy, on reipiest. Address The Battalion. Room 216 Reed Becky Swanson, Andy Williams Mi i>maid BnildiiiK. t.ollew station l evas . iW3 Chief Photographer Lynn Blanco Press International is entitled exelusnels to the u r ' , , „ S( . reprodm t all news dispatches c redited to it Photographers Lee Roy Lesehper, HiKlitsol reprochietionof al| other mattir herein reserved. Steve Clark, Ed CunniUS, Seeond-t .lass [lost ayt paid at C o 11 r yc Station. IX < 1 S4i Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor trr of the writer of the article and are not necessarily those of the University administration or the Board of Regents. 1 he Battalion is a non-profit, self- supporting enterprise operated by students as a university and community newspaper. Editorial policy is determined by the editor. iwaT areas. The test of any anti-inflation program is whether people believe it will work. President Carter announced a tough program that seems to have a good chance of working. The program appears designed to deal with today’s economic distortions. In no way did politics seem to intrude upon it. Indeed, Carter took steps certain to be unpopular. But they are necessary. (Carter) plans to fight inflation by taking money out of the economy in three ways: a new “gasoline conservation fee,” or tax; a balanced federal budget in 1981; and restraints on the growth of credit that boosts the money supply. The balanced budget will require cuts in “good and worthwhile programs,” Carter said. But that is an essential price that must be paid for inflation control. Carter announced a freeze in federal employment, which clearly is warranted. The President appears to have found the balance between restricting excessive credit and stopping credit needed for growth. His restraints will be applied to credit cards and unsecured loans. There is considerable doubt that the new 10-cents-a- gallon gasoline fee will have a dramatic effect on driving. But the fee will have a beneficial economic effect. It will take those dollars out of the economy. It also took some political courage by the president, who is fully aware that former Canadian Prime Minister Joe Clark lost an election after he proposed an 18-cents gasoline tax increase and that Ronald Reagan is catering to the same give-me attitude by proposing an inflationary 30 percent tax reduction. ; Finally inflation will not truly be: controlled until the S&Jteuds of declining productivity gmd sayipgs are j-eversed. Carter recognizes that fundamental fact about the economy, which is reassuring. It will help people believe his program has a chance to work. St. Petersburg, Fla., Times fficials three surro stale nucle ners Wedn ter to discu case of a m One of t Dourte, sai gan six yea ermnents ii lear civil pi ■ The U.S said crisis n pre-plaime from cert a areas to sa ■Host are where the vastation is V The Deft signaled Br high risk ar exceeds 50. Dourte s; areas in Tex cause they installation, essential hi large popul A release Protection Cox said has five pi need to dev phases. The first sideration, < of new plan isting ones. If', Brazos ( Irector Jal shelf crisi Bryan-Colle eludes rura Burleson c veloped anc public whe needed. ■The plan three sectic Carter’s ‘bitter’ budget cuts will be hard for some to swallow son, Robert Sched sum m availal Summer se: are now ava By HELEN THOMAS United Press International WASHINGTON — President Carter plans to cut the 1981 federal budget by $13 billion dollars to fight raging inflation. How to do it is another story. Everyone is for motherhood, apple pie and balancing the budget, but when it com es time for Carter to announce specific re ductions there will be squawks aplenty, especially from special interest groups. The president and his cohorts know that slashing the budget is a political quagmire, particularly in an election year when they go out of their way to avoid any friction with their constituencies, diverse as they may be. Within a couple of weeks, Carter is ex pected to have made his final decisions on the revised budget. And he is using the words “painful process” and “bitter medi cine” more and more to describe things to The cities, labor, the built in bureaucra cy of the federal government itself and other segments of society are 'all vulnerable and not happy with the prospect of huge cuts in their operating funds. The hitter medicine was indeed hard to take for the thousands of delegates who attended the National League of Cities Congressional-City Conference when Car ter gave them the word in an address ear lier this week. They applauded him when he walked into the ballroom, and sat silent on their hands throughout his address. No one wants to hear that “discipline” is the new order of the day and that belt tightening may become a way of life for a long time. Nor is it particularly enticing to the aver age citizen to realize that to battle inflation. Carter style, he will have to pay more at the gas pump as a result of new oil import fees. Some believe Carter’s answer to inflation is too little and too late. Others believe it is too stringent. The general feeling that is shared by the multitudes is that he had to do something. Carter said he examined a wide range of options. Certainly his voluntary anti inflation program of the past three years get failing marks. Now, he says there is “no sugar coating this pill. It is strong medi cine. which was that there would be a Heaton H; through Erie mm. The fir recession to cool the economy, from June 3 t H Ciirt f r w ere to be faulted tion is Mon( ] certainly he that he hasnotreadlBf s j on b e gj, writing on the wall. For that«C:1^ U g USt jg he has tried to awaken Congress- second sess larly concerning the energy cm: Thursday Ji past three years — the lawmakfe ' stalled and refused to act. Carter’s aides are saying the days of inex pensive gasoline* are gone forever. Amer ican society is changing in many ways, and the energy crunch is hitting all aspects of daily living. In many ways. Carter has not suffered politically from skyrocketing inflation. There has been widespread sympathy that the problem is insoluble and that he is not at fault. It is a habit with presidents to point out that there is no “magic wand” to wave in such economic crises. Nevertheless, Car ter and his advisers have been consistently wrong in their predictions — the* last of But now the presidentbelievesti has the message, and will suf! lanced budget. In spirit, that is reality , that’s another question. There* is, however, a growingn that uncontrolled inflation (ad heavy price on the country. Histoyg it also has taken a terrible polifcl times. In his appeal for supportofbis|ij and individual sacrifice, Cafteil Ralph Waldo Emerson who W lesson of life is to believe whattbs the centuries say against thebf your maiketpfc gjj Taxes pay for Pentagon dining By DONALD LAMBRO United Press International WASHINGTON — Despite the ravages of double-digit inflation, there are five res taurants in Washington where you can still get a complete breakfast of eggs, sausage, toast, juice and all the coffee you want for $1,25, or lunch elegantly on London broil for $2.75. But don’t bother trying to make reserva tions the next time you are in town, be cause these restaurants are in the Pentagon and are restricted to top military and civi lian brass who earn between $45,000 and $70,000 a year. How can they do it in these times of high inflation? The answer is simple. The res taurants are subsidized by the taxpayers to the tune of $1.2 million a year. The subsidized meals, ranging from broiled Delmonico steaks to filet of sole, are being provided for about 400 admirals, generals, and other top-ranked military and civilian Defense Department officials in five tastefully decorated private dining rooms. In the wood-paneled “Gold Room, for example. Secretary of Defense Harold Brown and his staff can dine on a broiled-to- order steak for $2.65, baked filet of floun der for $1.60, a chopped sirloin steak or ham omelette for $1.70, or a tossed green salad for 50 cents. Officials say Brown, who is paid $69,630 a year, often has his meals brought to his desk, but occasionally eats in his private dining room along with his senior staff and benefits from the reduced prices. In the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staffs paneled, red-carpeted dining room, Gen. David Jones, who earns $51,000, and his senior staff pay $1.75 for filet of sole or perch, $1.85 for a generous chefs salad, and 40 cents for “chilled fresh strawber- In Navy Secretary Edward Hidalgo’s dining room, he and his staff dine on grilled steak, vegetables, french fries and rolls for $3, “Steak a la Ritz” topped with an egg and vegetables for $2.50 and broiled filet offish with fruit for $2.25. Hidalgo, who earns $60,662, and his associates eat from gold-rimmed china and are served by blue-jacketed military wai ters. Fresh flowers adorn each crisply star ched table cloth. Air Force Secretary Hans Mark and his lieutenants are eligible for chopped sirloin steak with onion rings or filet of sole for $1.65, or fresh fruit with cheese for 65 cents. Army Secretary Clifford Alexander Jr. and top Army officials pay $2.75 for London broil, $2 for eggs benedict, and 35 cents for soup. Alexander’s breakfasts are also un touched by spiraling inflation. Two eggs any style cost 50 cents. Toast is 15 cents. Pancakes cost 60 cents. Breakfast is cheaper still in the chair man’s dining room. Eggs are 35 cents. Waf fles or pancakes, 50 cents. Coffee, 15 cents. A check of moderately priced family res taurants in the area found that comparable meals are substantially higher. Tk'' gon’s $2.65 steak costs $4 at a fe j family steak house. fj Pentagon officials say thepricesitl! in these five dining facilities covert of the food and other supplies., k payers must foot the bill for the cot 1 cooks, waiters, maintenance penult other overhead expenses that I s food to he sold at cheaper-thanret prices. Officials say the dining roomsaie: sary to provide a “secure ” placeii< toj) officials can talk about militanii over lunch. But several years ago the House! nations Committee sharply critic®! dining salons, saying their cost w'f sive” and “should be substanlii!| duced.” The panel said at the time th see any reason why the diningrootul not he consolidated for use by the4 j services rather than each service lii'i| own facilities.” thotz By Doug Gralm