I ' ni - 'n 01, ^ in 01, P.ni; welo n ' in Hu^ >W. 11 ^ Ul !l) nsW The Battalion Vol. 73 No. 133 10 Pages Monday, March 6, 1980 College Station, Texas USPS 045 360 Phone 845-2611 pentagon budget may tax U. S. families Local families will pay $14,000 each over next 5 years in Carter's plan United Press International -hinColJ WASHINGTON — A non-profit con- buditojwig firm figures President Carter’s promsals to expand military spending over jj | Shenext five years will compound the prob- ‘ s fMj of the cities and cost most families lands of dollars in a so-called “Penta- ,)ur’ an-: nontax. The " tax” will cost the state of Texas than $58 million over the next five . (See list at end of story) Carter’s defense budget will push milit- IrySpending to a total $1,016 trillion from 1981 to 1986, according to “The Tax Cost of the Military Budget for the Next ^ Years,” a study prepared by Employ- ient Research Associates, a nonprofit con sultant firm based in Lansing, Mich. The study said the defense budget would cost an average family in Laredo, Texas, $9,000 over the five years. The cost to a family in Bridgeport, Conn., would be $29,000. And in Chicago, the cost would be $24,000. “These figures tell us starkly and simply that for the next five years the business of America is no longer business,” said James Anderson, who prepared the study. “The business of America is getting ready for war, or possibly getting into war.” “For the metropolitan areas of the Un ited States, the five-year military budget has bad news, Anderson said. “Many of the 260 metropolitan areas of the U. S. have either existing or developing financial problems or outright crises.” Using information from the Census Bureau and the Tax Foundation, Anderson and the consulting firm figured what they call the “Pentagon tax” for each of the 50 states and 266 Standard Metropolitan Sta tistical Areas. The family figures were arrived at by determining an area’s share of total federal taxes, calculating the Pentagon’s share of the total budget, and dividing by the num ber of “families’ using four as a base figure, a spokeswoman said. The variation reflects a difference in wealth, not a difference in tax rates. “For example,” Anderson said, “during fiscal 1981, California taxpayers will be asked to provide more than $18 billion for the Pentagon. By 1985, California’s annual military tax burden will be almost $28 bil lion” and the five-year total for the state “will be almost $114 billion.” He said in 1981 the New York city area will send the Pentagon $9 billion and its five-year total will be “an almost incredible $55.5 billion,” with each family making an average $23,000 contribution to the Penta gon over five years. Anderson said Chicago, “whose central city is presently struggling to find enough money to pay vitally needed firemen and school teachers, ” will deliver $6.7 billion to the Pentagon in fiscal 1981 and $42 billion over the five-year period with each family contributing an average of $24,000. Here is a list of how much the Pentagon’s budget will cost Texas cities and families over the next five years. It was compiled by Employment Research Assoicates of Lans ing Mich. Amounts for each city are listed in mil lions of dollars. The figures for families are listed in dollars: TEXAS: $58,340. Abilene, $571.2 and $17,000;Amarillo, $795.8 and $20,000; Au stin, $1,812.2 and $18,000; Beaumont, $1,707.6 and $19,000; Brownsville, $458.4 and $10,000; Bryan, $250.0 and $14,000; Corpus Christi, $1,208.5 and $16,(XX); Dal las, $13,931.8 and $22,000; El Paso, shby blends facts with humor 3 H0US1 1HWYIJ By PETE HALE Campus Reporter Mixing humor with facts and truth nth fiction, Houston Post columnist JLynn Ashby delighted a Rudder Thea- Ber crowd of about 300 Friday afternoon, the first John Miles Rowlett Lecture Series came to a close. Ashby, known for his newspaper Columns, spoke on the future of Texas, Ind asked the question, "What hap pens now?” A graduate of the University of Texas, [Ashby said, “It’s always fun to come to Aggieland, the states’ second greatest university,” drawing a laugh and a half hearted hiss from the largely student browd. Getting down to business, Ashby de scribed Texas as a big and bountiful state pth a lot to offer everyone. He noted the large influx of people, largely from the north, as a major problem. Many people feel the Border Patrol |is watching the wrong river, he said. Citing population figures, industrial output figures and economic trends, Uhby summarized the role that Texas plays in the national economic picture. “We are the third most populous state fn the nation, he stated, adding that Texas will soon be number two. Ashby said his home, Houston, increased by |1442 people every week last year, and 39 cars every day. “If Texas were an independent re public again, our gross national product vould rank ninth in the free world, lahead of Australia and Brazil. ” Adding some not-so-pretty facts, Ashby noted that among the other states, Texas is in the bottom half in per capita income, and last in state dollars appropriated for the arts. Ashby said his main concern is that the large amount of newcomers to the state “will recreate the very things that made them leave their own home. So many people are moving to Texas to get away from problems in Chicago and New York, “that soon, the small towns of Texas will be gone,” he said. Considering these coming problems, he asked, “Where do we go from here? Ashby said one major change will be the flight from the big cities to the less populated areas. “We’ve got to put all these people somewhere, he said, adding that places like Waco, El Paso, San Antonio and others are prime areas for tremendous growth. A key point of his speech, he urged Texans to band together, to stand up and not let the rest of the nation take advantage of them. He said to do this we need to close the gap between the rich and poor in the state. “We all need to share the goodies,” he explained. The lack of water in some areas, edu cation expenses, the fight against in creasing government control, and en ergy costs will all have to be dealt with, he explained. But Texas has always stood strong, and “we are in the right place at the right time to implement excellence, ” he concluded. Houston Post columnist Lynn Ashby spoke to a Rudder Theater crowd of about 300 Friday after noon. He discussed the future of Texas, and asked the question, “What happens now?” Staff photo by Lynn Blanco ord: Reagan Hopes crushed $1,369.1 and $13,000; Galveston, $939.2 and $21,000; Houston, $13,948.1 and $24,000; Killeen, $817.2 and $16,000; Laredo, $190.1 and $9,000; Longview, $571.2 and $18,000; Lubbock, $825.3 and $17,000; McAllen, $506.2 and $9,000; Mid land, $444.2 and $26,000; Odessa, $480.8 and $20,000; San Angelo, $343.5 and $18,000; San Antonio, $3,982.3 and $16,000; Sherman, $337.4 and $17,000; Texarkana, $437.1 and $15,000; Tyler, $517.4 and $19,000; Waco, $672.9 and $17,000; Wichita Falls, $650.5 and $20,000. Soviets take 4 former U.S installations United Press International LONDON — Soviet troops have occu pied four former U.S. military bases in South Vietnam and dispatched more than 3,000 officers and soldiers to operate them, a London newspaper reported today. The Daily Telegraph, in a story by its defense correspondent, said the most im portant base taken over by the Soviets was Cam Ranh Bay, a giant air and naval instal lation built during the 1960s by U.S. troops. Other bases taken over recently by the Russians were Danang and two near Saigon — Sien Hoa and Tan Son Nhut, the former U.S. Air Force base. “Between March and November last year, 200 Russian freighters, 120 small arms-carrying vessels amd more than 70 oil tankers discharged their loads in Viet namese ports,” The Daily Telegraph said. “There can be little doubt that the long term plan is not only to secure Russia’s hold on South Vietnam, but to extend Soviet influence in Southeast Asia when Cambodia has been finally subdued.” All totaled, the newspaper said, between 3,000 and 4,000 Soviet officers and troops man the four bases. The Soviet moves have drawn some cri ticism in South Vietnam, the newspaper said. “The Russians are now being compared with the ‘American imperialists,’ according to refugees arriving in Hong Kong,” the article said. an beat Carter » United Press International WCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — Former bsident Gerald Ford says Ronald Reagan post surely will be the 1980 Republican hdidate and, in time, polls will show the Uifornian can defeat President Carter in j November. >rtatllBnan interview with UPI, Ford also said and his former GOP rival should meet n. Arrangements for the Republican suinmit meeting are under way, he said. M^PI'Ronald Reagan is certainly a heavy, heavy favorite to win the Republican nomi- nation. I think the odds are he’ll be the f r nominee,” Ford said, adding the April 22 Pennsylvania primary will be crucial in the process. jWhen he was Considering entering the GOP race last month, Ford said in a New T York Times interview he doubted Reagan i could defeat Carter. “There have been major changes” since