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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 28, 1981)
- i v.' V V ? V The Battalion Viewpoint July 28, 1981 Slouch By Jim Earle “We’re in favor of students having the opportunity to select their teachers. We only hope that the student are agreeable when the profs ask permission to select our students!” Congress should learn by experience By DAVID S. BRODER WASHINGTON — The membership of the Congress of the United States is almost certainly smarter and better educated to day than it was a decade ago. The invest ment in education that began with the GI Bill and continued with Sputnik and federal aid to higher education — to say nothing of the increasing competitiveness of electoral politics — has had a marked effect in reduc ing the number of hacks in the House and Senate. This conundrum has been gnawing at me ever since the Senate decided, in a rather offhand way, to throw into the tax bill a provision that would index future tax rates and deductions for inflation, starting in 1985, when the last of the scheduled Reagan-suggested cuts go into effect. The political appeal of indexing is ob vious. It ends bracket creep — the unlegis lated increase in an individual’s tax burden that comes when a cost-of-living pay raise moves you in to a higher bracket. It ends the situation, in the words of Sen. Dave Durenberger (R-Minn.), one of its propo nents, where the “government, one of the primary causes of inflation, is also the main beneficiary of inflation.” Hooray. But indexing — especially when man dated four years in advance by people who can have no real idea what the economic climate will be — is also the most hazardous form of revenue-roulette. It is a classic ex ample of the Congress of 1981 hog-tieing and hampering the reasoned choice of the Congress that will be sitting in 1985. Now, the discouraging thing is that if there are any men and women in America who ought to know that fact, it is the 57 senators who voted for indexing last week and the 218 representatives who have signed on as co-sponsors of a similar provi sion in the House. Why should they know it? Because much of the agony they have been going through this year on the budget and reconciliation bills is the direct by-product of their prede cessors’ past embrace of indexing for Social Security, government and military pen sions and a variety of other programs. The folks who indexed all those benefits were operating off what they considered a fine ringing principle. If Durenberger and Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.) and Sen. Bill Arm strong (R-Colo.) can see the wickedness of government “profiting” from inflation, their worthy predecessors in the 1970s could see that it was equally iniquitous to make retirees the victims of inflation. When then-Sen. Frank Church (D- Idaho) put the cost-of-living indexing for Social Security into the law back in 1972, the principle of equity seemed so obvious that it passed 82-4. What 82 senators could not foresee was that indexing would be come so expensive within a decade that it could threaten the system with bankruptcy and could force Congress to such desperate expedients as eliminating the minimum So cial Security benefits for a couple million 70- and 80-year-olds, living on the ragged edge of poverty. It is a double folly. Inflation is not a scourge that affects particular groups. It clobbers everybody, and it can be cured only when everyone understands that disci pline and sacrifice are involved. To “index” anyone— taxpayer or beneficiary — fully against the impact of inflation is to reduce the odds that everyone will see the need for joint action against the common enemy. Second, it is demonstrably dangerous to lock the government into a long-term fiscal policy that restricts future room for man euver. We are not talking about trivial sums. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that in its first two years, tax-indexing would cost the government $50 billion. No one now sitting in Congress can possibly know whether those $50 billion will be needed to balance the budget in 1986 or whether returning them to the taxpayers in that year will stimulate a lagging economy or just feed the fires of inflation. A government in which benefits are inde xed to rise with inflation while taxes are indexed to resist inflation would be a gov ernment on the way to bankruptcy, of It boggles the mind that these smart folks we’ve got in Congress now can’t see that for themselves. Maybe we need to send them to summer school. The Battalion U S P S 045 360 MEMBER LETTERS POLICY Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Congress . _ , , , , « , Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 words in „ length, and are subject to being cut if they are longer. The 1 n S e 'Q 110 ope an editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters for style and City Editor rus length, but will make every effort to maintain the author’s Photo Editor Cammon intent. Each letter must also be signed, show the address Sports Editor Ritchie Priddy anc j phone number of the writer. Focus Editor Cathy Saathoff Make-up Editor Greg Gammon Columns and guest editorials are also welcome, and are Staff Writers Bernie Fette, Kathy O’Connell, not subject to the same length constraints as letters. Denise Richter Address all inquiries and correspondence to: Editor, The Cartoonist Scott McCullar Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. EDITORIAL POLICY The Battalion is published Tuesday, Wednesday and The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspaper Thursday during Texas A&M’s summer semesters. Mail operated as a community service to Texas A&M University subscriptions are $16.75 per semester, $33.25 per school and Bryan-College Station. Opinions expressed in The Bat- year and $35 per full year. Advertising rates furnished on talion are those of the editor or the author, and do not request. necessarily represent the opinions of Texas A&M Universi- Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald Build- ty administrators or faculty members, or of the Board of ing, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. Begents. The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for students in reporting, editing and photography classes United Press International is entitled exclusively to the within the Department of Communications. use for reproduction of all news dispatches credited to it. Questions or comments concerning any editorial matter Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein reserved. should be directed to the editor. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. It’s your turn ‘Radical’s’ actions applauded lishec Tl pay in dicta re-cn Editor: news I like WARPED. I enjoy it, I find it amusing. I accept the art work on it. As for some of the less “intellectual” strips, neith er I nor my friends are intellectual all the time. We are silly and occasionally say rather dumb things when we are perfectly sober. This is a normal reaction for normal people; everyone has a lax moment occa sionally. Therefore, I find the strip believ able. Certainly close friends and/or room mates can let loose with each other — this aspect of the strip is also, I feel accurate. P.S. I like the art work, too. Kathe Barber Graduate student P.O. Box 1244, CS higher purpose. Captain Watson is growing number of individuals impr< Comic debate goes on Editor: Everyone is certainly free to have their own stupid opinion, as long as they don’t try to shove it down anyone else’s throat. I like WARPED! Radicals and terrorists are not always committed to destructive causes. The ac tions and plans of Captain Paul Watson, (as stated in a Battalion article, July 14, 1981, p.7) which are certainly in violation of inter national and admiralty law conventions, and which parallel those of fanatics commit ted to destruction of life, have however, a realizing that definitive, individik tor ^ may have a beneficial affect on 01 McD environment. 1 heartily applaud solve tain's efforts, and hope the Russia 2,05^ Zevedny can be stopped or sun! of 99 loss of life. Henry David Thoreau h 35 j; that no man is an island. We musty; realize, and soon, that no species J&Fi! land. Man alone does not m ake : |*^ e Captain Watson’s actions in a nat!^|nw ce safeguard marine mammalian undertaken in bcli.tli of all men whom are undeserving of the efft toacc agen< coulc David D sorgai 1507B Oalifevolur Tl ctors q*?gss MORE CHEESE If H BSKER! u She T I ■ i ; the\ Tl lects i earna r the A he Harr iO' iMi ! ■ — 9?, w In heT letoi tyan D( ise o: Mediation solves money squabbles ised lenei H unco o kn By DREW VON BERGEN United Press International WASHINGTON — Despite the impact of President Reagan’s new federalism, an in novative mediation approach to financial disputes among federal, state, and local governments may have greater use in the 1980s. The concept of using mediation to solve such intergovernmental problems — called Negotiated Investment Strategy — has been advanced by the Charles F. Kettering Foundation to deal with problems inherent in federal categorical grants that are being virtually eliminated by the new administra tion. At a recent conference on Capitol Hill, officials of the nonprofit research-oriented foundation joined researchers and city and state officials to discuss what effect the administration’s move toward block grants to states will have on the process. A 10-page paper by Charles R. Warren, senior research associate of the National Academy of Public Administration, con cluded that while the concept will operate differently under strong state control of funds, it will still be necessary to solve in creasing state-local conflicts. The process, tried in Columbus, Ohio, St. Paul, Minn., and Gary, Ind., last year, brings together officials from all three levels of government, along with a mediator, to hammer out an agreement that, while it may not make any participants happy, will at least be satisfactory to all parties. Results of pilot negotiations last year showed: — Agreement in Gary for $250 million in financial commitment, with 63 percent from the public sector and remaining from private areas for downtown development, transportation, recreation, housing, indust rial and commercial development, health care and public safety. — In St. Paul, an agreement committed all sides to support four major development projects for which the federal negotiators pledged more than $40 million, including $32 million for land acquisition and de velopment of a 250-acre energy park. — In Columbus, consensus was reached on eight broad areas, including specific pro jects to promote downtown and neighbor hood revitalization and building restora tion, with the federal government sup plying $330 million of the $480 million cost of physical improvements. T c own needs and resolve their owiave lems,” he said. “Yet, the policyck n on- the federal level are placing tre®®8 g strains on intergovernmental rib. ese; | “States and localities are adversaries, and at the same tir jj, mutual dependence is increasing, 'm an ^ added. md r Warren said if some taxing povvfRge turned to the states and energy-ric! 5i tes are able to derive considerable if from mineral resources, many states® in a far superior position to finanf ‘ activities than the federal govemmi “This would not hold true for sotf in the Northeast and Midwest, wltf less economic conditions improve! tically, will remain in a fiscal straitf' he said. In his report, Warren indicated the new Reagan federalism may just be the begin ning of more problems for states and cities. Warren added that states have! 1 more involved in levying controls^ governments, noting substantialii ! tion into previously defined locak ment issues surrounding financial bled New York City and Cleveland Columbus Mayor Thomas Modi the conference the mediating stral mains valid with decreasing fede sence. “The already evident reductions in feder al aid programs will place a far greater bur den on the states and localities to meet their “It’s more important that thelittlf from the federal government be oft imum use in the community,” Mo« Warped By Scott McCd EVER SEEN ONE OP THESE? IT'S A S' DOLLAR BILL, AN ITEN\ PRACTICALLY USELESS ON THE A«-N\ CAttPUS. OH, SURE, YOU CAN PAY FOR THINGS WITH IT, JUST NOT GET change* cause ALIAOST EVERY PLACE ON CANVPUS THAT DEALS WITH N\0NEY DOESN'T GIVE CHANGE, POR*!^ OR $S'S, AND S0N\t 7 TIMES YOU MAY HAVE TO RESORT TO DRASTIC MEASURES PLEASE SIR, coul.p you give IAE CHANGE FOR A $S? OH SURE, THERE are A FEW PLACES ON CAMPUS THAT GIVE CHANGE, BUT YOU NEVER NEED IT IN THOSE PLACES, DO YOU? NOPE. YOU'RE ALWAYS IN Z-ACHRY OR THE ACADEMIC BUILDING, RIGHT: ^ / BUT I GUESS Af|fl WO RATHER AVOID GOING THE BANKING BUSINEb THEN WHY IS IT SNACK BAR BUSI/VEii irfU