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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 23, 1980)
Opinion Conscription: the next step the field sooner than 6 months after a decision to reinstate the draft was made. The time would be greater for technicians and other specialists. And how many national emergencies announce themselves 6 months in advance? Prepare yourselves now for Car ter’s “preparedness draft” or some similar euphemism. See you in the trenches. Random observations Under current tax laws, a husband and wife who both work pay higher taxes than two single wage-earners filing separate returns. Emil M. Sunley, deputy assistant Treasury secretary for tax policy, told a House panel married couples can also get a tax break under current law — if there is a large disparity of income or when only one spouse works. Thus, he points out, for 1979 income, 15.9 million couples are paying $8.3 billion in an extra “marriage tax,” averaging $524 each, while 23.8 million couples are saving a total of $19.2 billion, an average “marriage bonus” of $804 each. Either way, this is wrong. This country is supposed to have equal and fair taxation. Congress should change the law so that taxpayers pay the same effective rate, whatever their marital status. Should Congress balk, maybe it’s time the Bost Tea Party was remembered and some better representation sent to Congress. The Quincy, Mass., Patriot Ledger A peacetime draft is on the way. Yesterday’s House pasage of Presi dent Carter’s registration proposal means that the draft mechanism will be ready when Carter is. And he will be ready soon — about the middle of November. What? The draft will only be used in a national emergency? Right. The lead time for inducting and training mere line infantry means that con script troops could not possibly be in You thought you had a hard time coming up with Uncle Sam’s share of your income for 1979? It’s going to be more painful a year hence and the year after that. Higher Social Security taxes, inflation-induced tax “bracket creep”, oil import fees that will be passed on to consumers, tax withholding on interest and dividends (if Congress approves) — all will be taking their toll over the next couple of years. Rep. Barber Conable Jr., a New York Republican who keeps track of such things as a member of the House Ways ajad Means Committee, says taxpayers will get nicked for ^ttie $50 billion more in fiscal 1981 (which starts Oct. 1) than for fiscal, 1980 Howard Jarvis, where are you when we need you? Scripps-Howard Newspapers The Iranian mess is an international problem that affects all countries. Our allies can ill afford to stand aside and let ths country, whose awesome military and economic power re mains their first, best hedge against aggression, either be cast in the role of pitiful helpless giant or goaded out of frustration into actions the end results of which cannot be foreseen. Without allied cooperation, this country may be driven to impose a naval blockade against Iran. While such action would not be out of line with the provocation, its dangers are obvious. Not least of these would be a clash with the Soviet Union in the Persian Gulf. If this is a disagreeable thought, it is one that our friends should keep very much in mind as they shrink from supporting a far less risky course. Providence, R.I., Journal-Bulletin the small society by Brickman The Battalion U S P s 045 360 LETTERS POLICY Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and are subject to being cut to that length or less if longer. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit such letters and does not guarantee to publish any letter. Each letter must be signed, show the address of the writer and list a telephone number for verification. Address correspondence to Letters to the Editor, The Battalion, Room 216, Reed McDonald Building, College Station, Texas 77843. Represented nationally by National Educational Adver tising Services, Inc., New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday from September through May except during exam and holiday periods and the summer, when it is published on Tuesday through 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 77843. United Press International is entitled exclusively 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 Viewpoint Page Editor Tim Sager City Editor Louie Arthur Campus Editor Diane Blake Staff Writers Nancy Andersen, Tricia Brunhart,Angelique Copeland, Laura Cortez, Meril Edwards, Carol Hancock, Kathleen McElroy, Debbie Nelson, Richard Oliver, Steve Sisney, Becky Swanson, Andy Williams Chief Photographer Lynn Blanco Photographers Lee Roy Leschper, Ed Cunnius, Steve Clark 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. The Battalion is a non-profit, self- supporting enterprise operated by students as a university and community newspaper. Editorial policy is determined by the editor. Viewpoint The Battalion Texas A&M University Wednesday April 23, 1980 j i goi gre me Wealth in western territories mo Da Upsets Canada’s political balanc org Tui ing wit did By LES WHITTINGTON International Writers Service OTTAWA — Until now, the main threat of Canada’s cohesion has come from Quebec, its French-speaking area. But lately the spectre of separatism has been looming in the country’s four western provinces, and it could prove to be disrup- Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, which represent the oil- rich western half of Canada, have become increasingly hostile toward the populous eastern provinces of Ontario and Quebec as well as the Maritime region. This hostility has spiralle d since the elec tions in February, when Liberal Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau defeated Joe Clark, the Progressive Conservative who had governed for nine months. Trudeau’s victory was viewed as a setback for the west’s aspirations. One of the clearest warnings was voiced recently by Premier Peter Lougheed of Alberta, who heads the country’s principal oil-producing province. An ardent cham pion of provincial rights, he head nonethe less always upheld the need for Canadian unity. Thus his secessionist talk sounded all the more ominous. “There are very strong feelings in west ern Canada,” he told a reporter, adding: “I don’t think the people ... want to join the United States, but on the other hand, the people of western Canada aren’t prepared to be dominated by Ottawa either.” Throughout much of Canada’s 113-year history, the agricultural west has criticized Ottawa, claiming that the national govern ment there has promoted tariff and freight- rate policies designed to benefit the manu facturing industries of Ontario and Quebec. Within recent years, however, the west has taken on new importance. Its abundant natural resources have contributed to booming economies, and its population has grown steadily. No area has been so successful as Alber ta, the source of 85 percent of the crude oil produced in Canada and now the country’s richest province. Revenues from pet roleum and natural gas are pouring into its treasury at the astounding rate of $6000 per minute. This bonaza has prompted Albertans and other westerners to challenge the tradition al programs of the central government, under which wealth has been transferred from affluent regions to poorer provinces like Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland, on the eastern seaboard. Former Prime Minister Clark, himself an Albertan, had pledged an “urgent reex amination” of the situation, and his election in May 1979 spurred hopes in the west. Clark sympathized with Alberta’s de mands for higher petroleum revenues, to be used to build an industrial base in the province before its oil reserves ran out. As a result, he favored scuttling subsidies and allowing domestic oil and natural gas prices to rise to world levels. But earlier this year, the Liberal and New Democrat opposition wielded the energy price issue against Clark, forcing him to elections. And Trudeau, campaign ing to protect the populous eastern pro vinces against higher oil costs, returned to the office he had held for 11 years. The election, however, dramatized the split in the country. The western provinces gave his Liberals only two out of the 146 seats they hold in the House of Commons. During his campaign, Trudeau higher energy prices a 'windfall I rest of us, and he promised to extocl better deal from Alberta. Since though, Alberta has rejected his price mula, and a confrontation is cum building up. In retaliation against Alberta, for pie, Trudeau has already revokedan ment under which the province wouil! permitted to charge world prices foi roleum derived from two oil sands pi and similar future projects. That con sion is considered necessary for tM veloprnent of the projects. Should the present negotiations :■ energy prices break down, Albertaul go so far as to threaten to stop supphiji to central and western Canada. Thenar al government could try to gain c® over the province’s oil under specialm tutional authority, but that would k court battles and further regional tensii There is still room for compromise as i Ho wer tain The meaning of the cote eluded few Canadians. The day after election, a news paper in British Columbia editorialized: “Ontario has teamed up with Quebec in an assertion of central Canadian interests against those of the west. ” rhetoric in the dispute, however, isbw By Ul A Te has bee preserv sources ing more and more heated. Unlessta down, the fate of Canada could hen increasingly uncertain. (Whittington, an editor of the Fiuai j r lct Times of Canada, writes on currentaJt , . in Canada.) f orWil( wildlife 1 Wyo., 1 Britain’s universities threatened by changing national priorities By GODFREY HODGSON International Writers Service LONDON — Advanced education in Britian, once the prerogative of the pri vileged classes, has been made available to everyone since the end of World War II. As a result, universities, colleges and other institutions of higher learning here have expanded drmatically over the past three decades. But now they are facing the new policies of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government, which is seek ing to curb public spending. And this is raising basic questions about the practices and purposes of the British educational system. How many students ought to go beyond secondary school? What subjects should they study? Above all, what is the real aim of higher learning? These and similar questions have been provoked by the fact that the government, which provides grants for advanced educa tion, recently ordered the universities and colleges to cut enrollment next year by 6 percent. Taking into account the annual increase in applications, this means a 10 percent reduction in the number of 18- year-olds trying to further their education. Since the government is slashing overall expenditures by 7.5 percent, the universi ties and colleges are not being unfairly pen alized. Even so, the economy drive is ex pected to reverse the educational trend. Forty years ago, there were only a couple of dozen British universities with a total student body of some 50,000. Today, there are more than a half-million students, three-fifths of them in 44 univerisites and the rest in so-called “polytechnics,” locally- funded institutions that somewhat resem ble community colleges in the United States. The proportion of college-age youths in British universities is lower than it is in the United States — but not as low as is gener ally supposed. In contrast to American, where almost every kind of subject can fi gure in a univeristy curriculm, courses like law, nursing, dentistry and teacher training are offered in special schools here. British universities place more emphasis than do their U.S counterparts on tradi tional academic fields such as history, liter ature and pure science. Engineering, busi ness administration and other pratical sub jects, on the other hand, are accorded les ser status. This tendancy has aroused controversary within recent years, however. For it has been argued that the traditional ivory tow er approach, especially exemplified in the great institutions like Oxford and Cam bridge, has failed to provide Britian with the industrial managers it has needed to make its economy competitive. Before its defeat last spring, the Labor government had accepted this argument, and it feebly encouraged the universities to relate more colsely to industry. The Con servatives, now in office, passionately be lieve that higher education should be more practical, and they are exerting pressure on the system. The most dynamic partisan of change is Rhodes Boyson, the government minister responsible for higher education, a Ph.D who grew up in a poor Lancashire mill town and once ran a high school in working-class London ditrict. Boyson, reflecting the Conservative par ty’s putlook, holds that 20 years of enlarged educational opportunities has produced an army of liberal arts graduates who are un qualified either to earn a living or contri bute to the economy. Besides, he con tends, they are infected with unrealistic leftist attitudes. His assessment is shared by industrial ists, who complain that the shortage of skil led technicians in Britian is due to univeris ty curricula that put a premium on the classics and other abstract fields. Boyson hopes, consequently, that he can spur stu dents twoard more practical subjects by cuts in educational expenditures that will eliminate the traditional academic courses. His methods will not be dictatorial. He assumes that students will be attracted to studies that serve the “national interest.” He will be in for a surprise. For surveys show that students, given the free® they will continue to have, gravitate" 1 from technological subjects to that ■ category known as social studies. Be 1 *; 1966 and 1976, for example, candid^ degrees in sociology rose from 12 r to 22 percent, while interest in engii declined. One reason for this trend is tla jobs have been open in the social s® 11 than in industry over the past dec; addition, low wages and lock of pro# 11 ' have made British industry unapjjn many bright students here. I Boyson and his Conservative collf i! may also find their policies baefflj another way. For by reducing then®' ty population, they are likely to dri*' 1 dents into polytechnics, which rd 1 ' subsidies on local authorities aa<> elude central government cotrols. I" 5 . polytechnics, moreover, students^ as apt to concentrate on social stw and, if anythings, the radical flavortj courses will be more pronounced®’ the universities. It may be that higher education 1 ' tain ought to be drastically renoi meet the needs of the society, NL. nautre of the society itself is a ked J educational system, and itcannotM altered by budget cuts and other ^ vices.