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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 1982)
opinion - Battalion/Pai November 1,r Slouch By Jim Earle “Boy! They ought to quit worrying about Tylenol and spiked candy. The real problem is with baseball bats. ” How tough is baby boom’s lot in life? by Maxwell Glen and Cody Shearer A well-heeled young friend of ours was drowning his sorrows die other day over drinks, unhappy with his lot as a member of the baby boom generation. Taking up a familiar complaint, he moaned that “we’re never going to be as successful as our parents.” If there was an American dream, he said, “it’s all over Of course, our friend, 26, is one of millions his age who have arrived at this conclusion. As a car-carrying member of the baby boom generation, he’s felt enti tled to handicap himself with every ounce of sociological jargon available ab out high expectations, sheer numbers and diminishing returns. Like so many others, he’s embraced books such as Daniel Yankelovich’s “New Rules: Sear ching for Fulfillment in A World Turned Upside Down” as a defense against a creeping sense of failure. His pessimism reflects a common be lief that the baby boom generation’s size has not only doomed its members’ fu tures but helped to cause our nation’s economic misery, too. But while his resignation is no doubt useful in eliciting sympathy and monthly stipends from mom and dad, it may be as bogus as the foreign-made taste of Haagen-Daaz ice cream. Though unem ployment tops 10 percent and national productivity stagnates, good ’ol dad seems to have been right when he said: “If you think things are bad now, you In the broad matter of housing, a high er percentage of young couples own homes today than did 25 years ago. Be tween 1970 and 1980, for example, “the proportion of homeowners rose from 49 to 58 percent for the 25-through-29 age group, and from 66 to 76 percent for those 30 through 34,” writes Russell. (In 1960, 44 percent of all husband-wife cou ples between 25 and 29,years of age own ed homes.) Though earnings didn’t grow as rapid ly in the 1970s as they did in the 1960s, baby boomers, according to Russell, have earned real incomes as high as, or higher than, those of any preceding generation. The Battalion USPS 045 360 Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference Editor Diana Sultenfuss Managing Editor Phyllis Henderson Associate Editor Denise Richter City Editor Gary Barker Assistant City Editor HopeE. Paasch Sports Editor Frank L. Christlieb Entertainment Editor Nancy Floeck Assistant Entertainment Editor Colette Hutchings News Editors Rachel Bostwick, Cathy Capps, Johna Jo Maurer, Daniel Puckett, Jan Werner, Todd Woodard Staff Writers Jennifer Carr, Susan Dittman, Beverly Hamilton, David Johnson, John Lopez, Robert McGlohon, Carol Smith, Dana Smelser, Joe Tindel, John Wagner, Rebeca Zimmermann Copyeditor Elaine Engstrom, Cartoonist Scott McCullar Graphic Artist Pam Starasinic Photographers David Fisher, Jorge Casari, Ronald W. Emerson, Octavio Garcia, Michael D. Johnson, Irene Mees, John Ryan, Robert Snider pressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or the author, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Texas A&M University administrators or faculty mem bers, or of the Board of Regents. The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for students in reporting, editing and photography clas ses within the Department of Communications. Questions or comments concerning any editorial matter should be directed to the editor. Letters Policy Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 words in length, and are subject to being cut if they are longer. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters for style and length, but will make every effort to maintain the author’s intent. Each letter must also be signed and show the address and phone number of the writer. Columns and guest editorials.are also welcome, and are not subject to the same length constraints as letters. Address all inquiries and correspondence to: Editor, The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M Uni versity, College Station, TX 77843, or phone (713) 845- 2611. The Battalion is published daily during Texas A&M’s fall and spring semesters, except for holiday and exami nation periods. Mail subscriptions are $ 16.75 persemes- ter, $33.25 per school'year and $35 per full year. Adver tising rates furnished on request. Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald Building, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting news- .paper operated as a com'mimUy seryiccrto Text's University and Bryan-College Station. Opinions ex- United Press International is entitled exclusively to the use for reproduction of all new s dispatches credited to it. Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein reserved. . r ‘Second class posjage paid at College Station, Tk 77843. One vote can be the difference Hi “My vote won’t matter anyway,” is a comment made by many when elections approach. This argument seems to stand up be cause thousands and thousands of votes are cast in each election. But this couldn’t be farther from the truth. In many cases, one vote has changed the course of history. • one vote cost King Charles I of Eng land his head in 1649; • Elizabeth II is Queen of England be cause the British House of Commons voted in favor of the House of Hanover, 96-95; • the U.S. Senate agreed in 1845 to annex Texas by a one-vote margin; • in 1868 the U.S. Senate twice failed by a single vote to convict President Andrew Johnson in his impeachment trial. his race lor President. In nimo New Jersey, one-half of one peie the votes cast swung 43 electoralv] him. Reversing that small perrai. , votes in only two states wouli hai After America became an indepen dent nation, the power of a single vote continued as a major factor in electing its leaders. Thomas Jefferson was elected Presi dent over Aaron Burr in 1800 by one vote in the I louse of Representatives, fol lowing a tie in the electoral college. John Quincy Attains in 1824 was chosen President by a one-vote margin when his race was decided by the House of Representatives. Rutherford B. Hayes was elected Pres ident over Samuel J. Tilden when a special Electoral Commission voted 8-7 in his favor. John F. Kennedy had less than a one- vote per precinct leatl across the nation in by Dia B ever) community thrown his election into ilie Hthev must Representatives for a decision. American Fhe stories of one-vote deal the group sions happen at till levels ol gove hfd, leadei One California congressional anc ' more . bent’s race ended with a tie vote .VP^Pjf v<)1 ' leuuiicd lli.il die i.ue he (lectf H drawing lots. I he incumbent Latm Am< block votin His secretary had decided she !l ot bus\ working at campaign head(|B^™2j S :. to vote on election day. ‘Trad it . ii Americans In a Cincinnati suburb, a cit)j )ecause t j candidate was hospitalized on tbp-nifies day for an emergency appendt without having voted. I le lost by one vote. So one, single vote does matte the effort to get to the pollsonf. Your vote could make all thedif in the world. should have tried growing up in the De pression.” Indeed, as hard as it may be to swallow, the baby boom generation has fared bet ter than its predecessors, according to Louise B. Russell, Brookings Institution economist, in a new book, “The Baby Boom Generation and the Economy.” After comparing the last two genera tions’ access to education, housing and income, Russell concludes the baby boomers have no right to complain. In education, Russell notes, more money was squandered on post-war kids, per student, than on members of any previous generation. The quality of in struction has also been higher. (In 1930, for example, only two states required that elementary-school teachers have a B.A. degree. By 1961, 44 states did.) ’ Be m P; ,arge Si cans .ilia, C, s it to ’ .mer Mai it Cl< f San Ant merican ITSMiy WAY REMAN MEDAGRKlDIHf PlPttl “San A lad a su Mexican-/ oup is fonzales : He said Election results too close to ca o partici] ind civic ] ^he past 3 tie Mex fmnity ha ‘definite by Clay F. Richards United Press International WASHINGTON — (’.amblers who have saved up a bundle during the football strike should avoid the temptation to bet it all on the outcome of the November election. A little more than a week bef ore Americans decide whether to restore the Democrats to power or reinforce Ronald Reagan’s 1980 mandate — or do neither — the outcome is by all bets too close to call. As Sen. Wendell Ford, D-Ky., the chair man of the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee put it: “Theelection is happening now.” that things will get better,” says pollster Peter Hart. “The people want to return to the center.” The pollsters say Americans want neither the extremes of Ronald Reagan’s program or equation. ,, , , J He adc tax, tax, spend, spente , . a . m i iU have 1 am they associate with the Demo® That leaves a confused electorates a return to the that could do anything on election dat bet the rent money. Any Democrat will tell you the voters are fed up with Reagan’s economic program and the high unemployment. They will tell you voter emotions are running heavily against the GOP and the tide is favoring Democrats. And in the next breath they will tell you Democrats will pick up no more than an addi tional 20 House seats in the elections, well below the average of 38 the party in the White House loses in mid-term elections. Try to get them to explain the difference between the momentum and their predictions of the outcome, Democrats say “money.” There have been well f inanced candidates be fore and some have lost and others have won. The reason it is hard to tell what is going to happen is that apparently many voters ha ven’t made up their mind how they are going vote, or more importantly whether they are going to vote at all. Blacks and women are overwhelmingly re ject Reagan policy but their turnout figures may not be equal that of other elements of the voting population. And the failure of Democrats to present a clear alternative to Reagan policy has turned off some voters. Because there appears to be no firm nation al movement emerging in the voting pattern so far, local issues may play a more important role in how the .elections come out. The peo ple will more likely vote for the candidate they are more convinced can do something about crime or will vbte tfi cut defense spending or whatever their special interest is. “Voters are looking for some assurance Mi Berry’s World by Jim Berrj s * B: While “beauty” A&M pag executive pageant s pageant. Cindy that the from the which is u testants c; I “You girl’s pois well she 1 when sht Hollan st tell in an But H< cent of tfi competiti the page and 30 p - The wi ceives a ! larship,a at Shape\ ©1982 by NEA, Inc. “Now that I’ve told you my thoughts on abor tion, I’ll tell you my ideas about prayers in school and handgun control. ’’