Slouch By Jim Earle “J°gg* n g is not what it’s cracked up to be. I tried it once last year and look at me. ” Opinion USOC’s vote encouraging The United States Olympic Committee’s vote not to send a team to the Summer Olympics is the kind of patriotism we need to see more of in this country. All during the debate on the issue, the USOC and the athletes themselves have been using the same arguments to justify going to the Games against the President’s wishes. One of the most used arguments is that the Games should be kept clear from politics. This argument does not make sense. The games have always been political. Teams and individuals have always competed as nations — groups divided by political bound aries. If the games were not political, there would be no need for a U.S. team; there would be no need to play the national anthem of a medal winner’s country. Another argument — and a better one, too —^ 'is that American Olympic hopefuls in this country have trained for years to go to the Games. This is almost a good point because it attacks the heart. One is supposed to picture some guy running in the dead of winter, dreaming of one day getting a gold medal. The trouble is that most of the people using this argument have forgotten that these people are Americans first and athletes second. Going to Moscow against the wishes of the President — when it’s obvious that the boycott is for a legitimate reason — is like going to Canada to evade the draft. the small society by Brickman The Battalion US PS 045 360 LETTERS POLICY Lett its to the editor should not exceed 3(Xi u through Friday from September through May except during exam and holiday »eriods and the summer, when it is published on Tuesday hrough Thursday. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester. $33.25 per school year. $35.00 per full year Advertising rates furnished on request. Address: The Battalion. Room 216. Reed McDonald Building. College Station. Texas ,,843 United Press International is entitled exclusiveh to the use for reproduction of all news dispatches credited to it Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein reserved Second-Class postage paid at College Station. TX 77843. MEMBER Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Congress ^ Editor Roy Bragg Associate Editor Keith Taylor News Editor Rusty Cawley Asst. News Editor Karen Cornelison Copy Editor Dillard Stone Sports Editor Mike Burrichter Focus Editor Rhonda Watters City Editor Louie Arthur Campus Editor Diane Blake Staff Writers Nancy Andersen,i Tricia Brunhart,Angelique Copeland,' Laura Cortez, Meril Edwards, Carol Hancock, Kathleen McElroy, Debbie Nelson, Richard Oliver, Tim Sager, Steve Sisney, Becky Swanson, Andy Williams Chief Photographer Lynn Blanco Photographers Lee Roy Leschper, Steve Clark, Ed Cunnius, Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or of the writer of the article and are not necessarily those of the University administration or the Board of Regents. I 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, i Viewpoint The Battalion Texas A&M University Monday April 14, 1980 o British plan will lower mortgage Nearl ecutives costs in government housing membei for a N f Policy Wedno The Normar off search, 7( By RUDOLF KLEIN International Writers Service Britain’s Conservative government is currently unveiling a radical new housing policy designed to transform this country into a nation of property owners. But the plan may create as many problems as it solves. The scheme, which is the fulfillment of a campaign pledge made by the Conserva tives during last year’s election, would offer the 7 million tenants now living in public housing projects here the right to buy their dwelling at bargain prices. Under the proposed arrangement, those who have occupied their accommodations for more than 20 years will be given dis counts of 50 percent off the market price, while those who have been in their public houses or apartments for over three years can get a one-third discount. Buyers are also entitled to 100 percent mortgages financed by the government. If they lack money to meet the mortgage pay ments, they can put down a returnable de posit of $225 for an option to purchase their unit at present prices within two years. Among its other advantages, the scheme will also furnish former tenants with the opportunity to acquire a capital assest whose value is rising. And there are added benefits to the plan as well. Many tenants have been subjected to onerous restrictions, such as bans against pets and requirements that their public buildings be painted a uniform color. Now, as owners, they will be liberated from these stifling rules and regulations. As owners of their property, moreover, they will no longer be compelled to seek permission from government bureaucrats to repair or improve their homes. Indeed, they will henceforth have an incentive to do so in order to profit from any consequent increase in value. Significantly, too, the plan shold contri bute to labor mobility, since many workers have been discouraged from switching jobs because of the difficulties involved in ex changing government houses or apart ments. With all this, however, it would be wrong to view the innovation as an undi luted gain, since the plan is likely to en counter a number of obstacles. In the past, when cities and towns con trolled by the Conservatives offered tenants the right to buy public property, the response has heen less than enthusias tic. In fact, sales of municipal housing have declined since their 1972 peak of 45,000. One reason for this relative lack of in terest is that a large proportion of tenants in government housing projects are both old and poor, and they simply cannot afford to take advantage of the plan, generous though it may be. In addition, many of the buildings being put on sale are ghastly high— rise struc tures without modern facilities. Many have been vandalized or allowed to fall into neg lect, and tenants are more likely to want to move than buy such places. Thus it is quite possible that privileged elements will purchase the more attractive government property, leaving the others in a ghetto. This could create a new sort of social division. Labor party critics who deni plan may be motivated by poll siderations. But in a country w sidized rents are extremely critics do have a point when they that continued tenancy by the ed few will become a social si One of these Labor spokesmen B Hill, contends that the plan isa'dis) |jg piece of economics,” since itiscost _ the pub ‘The e par tandinj 'a nation aid Erl the f 1 “Part “make people believe that you are :|i if you own property.” These changes will certainly the Conservatives, who are deterai carry through what they call a historical import. The apparent shortcomings oh plan do suggest, however, thatEi not yet completed its search fon policy that combines fairness and for individuals with concern!! neediest level of the community (Klein, professor of social polity| at the University of Bath, writesi! issues in Britain.) Raising inch as an •am at Te: Japanese life expectancy tops in worf : "~ ■ectors i The By ATSUKO CHIBA International Writers Service Japan has just surpassed Sweden as the global record-holder for life expectancy. But while that phenomenon reflects the many qualities of this society, it also poses potential problems for the future. On the one hand, it mirrors the fact that the Japanese lead relatively healthy lives, both physically and psychologically. Their diets have improved dramatically over the past generation, and, despite their relent less drive for economic success, they are probably less tense than peoples in indust rial countries elsewhere. At the same time, however, Japan will soon have the world’s largest proportion of senior citizens, which will demand serious adjustments for its institutions. In particu lar, the development may threaten the traditional family structure which is al ready eroding under the pressure of change. So the enormous progress that has been made in extending the life span of the Japanese is also sowing the seeds of difficul ties here. According to statistics recently issued by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the average life expectancy in Japan is now 72.69 years for men and 77-95 years for women. Four years ago, on the eve of WWII, the average Japanese did not ex pect to live beyond the age of 50. By the end of this century, experts fore cast, 14 percent of the Japanese population will be above the age of 65 — compared to only 8 percent now. Specialists explain that the increased longevity is largely due to better medical care and sanitary conditions here now than in the past. This explanation is inadequate, however, since other countries with equal ly modern facilities have lower life expec tancies. The answer, in my view, is two fold. In the first place, the Japanese have pre dictably managed to borrow some of the best Western nutrition without abandon ing their own eating habits. As a consequ ence, they have achieved a balance in their diets, and it is evident in their longevity figures. For example, the average Japanese cur rently consumes twice as much animal pro tein and three times more fat than he did 25 years ago. This has greatly decreased the chance of death by stroke, once a major killer here. - ' * But the Japanese on the average con sume less than one-third as much fat as do Americans. As a result, they are less vul nerable to cholesterol and heart disease than are Americans. Besides, the Japanese diet still focuses largely on fish and vegetables, which are low in calories and do not lead to the weight problems that afflict so many Americans and Europeans. And the Japanese method of cooking, unlike the Western method of overcooking, preserves vitamins and parti cularly iodine. Another factor that may be even more important in assuring long life is the work ing style of the Japanese, who operate under much less stress than is generally supposed. This is not to deny that competition is keen in Japan, especially in business. Com panies, stores, banks and other enterprises rival each other with a ferocity that is hard to match in the West. But the key to this competition is that it involves organizations rather than indi viduals. Teams rather than persons are pit ted against each other. Thus, except for a few ambitious exceptions, the Japanese gets ahead by cooperating with his col leagues and obeying his boss, not by dis playing aggressivity or striving to appear superior. In other words, his aim is to attain har mony within his group, knowing that he will gain respect and strengthen his influ ence as he grows older. A man’s destiny, therefore, is usually de termined by the firm in which he spends his life. And a wife’s destiny is determined by that of her husband. It is not very excit ing, but it is a formula for equanimity. Sensitive to this, Japanese corporations make an effort to retain older workers, even after retirement age, which is officially 55. The practice is reflected in the term “mado- giwa-zoku,” or “window-seat people,” which refers to aged employees who are kept on the payroll but spend their time staring out the window. The government encourages this prac tice, Contending that it costs no more than an expensive welfare system, for which cor porations would have to pay through higher taxes. More significantly perhaps, old workers maintain the dignity they would lose if laid off their jobs. One company, Teijin Mihara Kosan, was actually created by its parent corporation in order to employ older workers. A manufac turer of synthetic fibers, its production re cord has been impressive. Not all Japanese firms are so generous. More than 41 percent insist that workers pack up at 55, and 39 percent set 60 as the oind” to pr retirement age. As the proporfeljQj a l reac j people grows in Japan, dealingC, es or 0 , elderly will become a serious FWIitmore Japan's relatively early retraHtions. was introduced at the end ofthelllL tury, when people died young ” < | )ai thought to deserve a rest after r 1 "y labor. During those days, too, ilfi|y pected that families would care fr u J> ust - older members. Bfart ^ tentatively In fact, the criminal code inefc)p ea j cers 1907 prescribed prison terms fort! j- ave j ] oan failed to support needy parents ij r0 g rairis ^ death penalty in the event thati|| died from neglect. The sense of family responsilj Japan is still strong. Roughly80 old people here live with relati' 1 pared to less than 30 percent in tliil States. But this is likely to changi Urbanization, primarily a consf| Unit of Japan’s industrial growth, hasK'ALLA: cated family solidarity. It is notBhard I instance, for three generations : 3as defend into a small city apartment. Wort With an increase in the ranbR^^’ ^ as elderly, Japan will also be confeE^^ 31 ' 0 the need to make larger ' nvesl Cjj av hospitals, convalescent centers | such facilities. ni L ^ For the moment, though, Japfltrashing th citizens are probably treated h; school in F their counterparts in other cflIf How long this situation can las! pend on how long family traditions! They are holding up well desf menace of further modernization (Ms. Chiba, a Japanese colui® cializes in social issues in Jap Washington Window Political truisms born in newsrooms By ARNOLD SAWISLAK United Press International WASHINGTON — Daniel Patrick Moynihan used to be fond of saying, “It’s not what people don’t know that gets them into trouble; it’s what they do know that is wrong.” The New York senator didn’t make that up, but he brought it to Washington long enough ago to justify establishing an award in his name for best items of conventional wisdom that turn out to be totally false. These occur in every field, but nothing stands out in more painful detail in a pres idential election year than the clinkers, blunders and dumb conclusions passed off as political expertise by those of us who are supposed to know what is going on. Herewith, some early nominations in the political category for the Pat Moynihan Myths, Misapprehensions and Freestyle Fantasies Trophy: — The grain embargo will kill Carter in the Iowa caucuses. (Iowa has the nation’s largest farm popu lation, and the experts assumed Carter would lose the farm vote and with it the state. Actually, Iowa’s farm population is less than 20 percent of the state total. Over looked was the appeal to patriotism, anti communism and national unity inherent in the embargo and Carter’s pledge to help farmers caught short by the embargo.) — George Bush had momentum after the Iowa caucuses. (This notion seized much of the media and has been traced to a common environ mental causative — sitting in a newsroom for 10 to 14 hours reading through an ava lanche of numbers, slurping acidy coffee, choking down stale sandwiches and trying to think of something new to say or write.) — Recent heavy migration from Mas sachusetts to New Hampshire will give Sen. Edward Kennedy a big boost in the presidential primary. (The assumption was that everyone who ever lived in Massachusetts was a Kennedy fan. This overlooked the possibility that many who left Massachusetts for New Hampshire may have done so to escape the kind of government and taxes they associ ated with Kennedy.) — John Connally will win in South Caro lina because Strom Thurmond is for him. (Strom Thurmond can have just about anything he wants in South Carolina, but he is not Jim Jones and South Carolinians are not members of the Peoples’ Temple.) — John Anderson had momentum after the Vermont and Massachusetts primaries. (See: Bush had momentum.) — The mayor of Chicago decides who is going to win elections in Chicago. (The experts assumed that Jane Byrne became Richard Daley when she was elected mayor. They made the* take about Michael Bilandic. same basic error as assuming that' premiers are Josef Stalin.) — Wisconsin is too liberals Ronald Reagan or Jimmy Carter (This is not a new phony fact;# monstrated for Morris UdallfourF; Wisconsin does have its Gaylof and Les Aspins, but to call it libel* basis would be like assuming fornians like to tap dance and slet( because Sen. Hayakawa does.) — Ted Kennedy had momeet the New York and Connecticut (See also: Ancient Arab pro' amended — “If a man makes a fa once, shame on him. Ifamannrfa of you twice, shame on you. Iff! three times, you must be a Thotz