Page 2/The Battalion/Thursday, June 16, 1983
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Reagan tries to mend fences with minorities
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by Helen Thomas
United Press International
WASHINGTON — It’s fence-
mending time at the White House with
blacks, women and hispanics.
In recent days, President Reagan’s top
aides have moved to shore up his sagging
support among minority groups in view
of the very large possibility that Reagan
will run again.
Reagan has not yet announced
whether he will seek re-election and may
not give the word until fall. But some of
his strongest supporters such as Sen. Paul
Laxalt, R-Nev., believe that if there is no
announcement to the contrary by the
Fourth of July, it is pretty certain the
president will be a candidate.
Reagan’s polls in recent months show
that he is not as popular with women as
he is with men. His opposition to the
Equal Rights Amendment has hurt him
with with working women.
He did not have the black vote in 1980,
and not much has been done to enhance
his image on that score since he came into
office. On civil rights, the Reagan admi
nistration’s Justice Department has
slowed down enforcement in anti-
discrimination cases. The U.S. Commis
sion on Civil Rights said earlier this week
that it was “disappointed and concerned”
that Reagan had not appointed more
blacks, women and Hispanic Americans
to full-time, high-level positions in the
federal government. Using data pro
vided by the White House, the panel said
there had been “a sharp drop in appoint
ment of blacks,” down to 4.1 percent,
compared to 12 percent in the Carter
administration.
The commission also said that 8 per
cent of Reagan’s appointees were women
compared to 12 percent by President
Carter. “We are aggressively pursuing”
the appointment of more women and
blacks, deputy press secretary Larry
Speakes said in response.
Another woman in a key role in the
administration is Jeane Kirkpatrick, U.S.
ambassador to the United Nations.
Heckler, who was an ERA advocate as
a Massachusetts congresswoman, says
she believes Reagan’s record “is a good
one. There’s more to be done though,
and more will be done.”
|L their ag
women’s vote. Chief political ad'|.ys an ecoi
ward Rollins has begun a dialof.«ri'"him
black Republican leaders, and ffH exas A,
nizes it is an uphill battle. Hehel(iiw| ltlK,u ^
ing with a group of 15 leadeniS!’ ", u 1
and got an earful. He expects b “'
be more meetings as the caiHi vec j ai
approaches. Hforfoi
White House aides argue that Reagan
has appointed 1,000 women; some 200
blacks and 130 hispanics to top policy
making positions. The most prominent
women they cite are Supreme Court Jus
tice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first
woman to hold that position; Transpor
tation Secretary Elizabeth Dole and
Health and Human Services Secretary
Margaret Heckler.
The White House seems to think the
same thing. It had been assumed that
Faith Whittlesey, who heads the public
liaison office, would be put in charge of
rounding up the female vote for Reagan,
but her insistence that there is “no gen
der gap” is not the look the political advis
ers want at this stage.
As a result, deputy chief of staff
Michael Deaver has been put in charge of
efforts to coordinate the drive for the
. ; K. Stegt
Although Reagan has ™| cei knowi
black appointees in the White HoHe sprea
has a black Cabinet secretary-Hry cha
Pierce of the Department of UH
and Urban clevelopment — n:«
high visibility or is a mover andasH 1 *
The president has madeanrpOJ^
Hispanic appointments, buttheiriB
do not feel there have beentilj*
Reagan aides admit they have the! nvt
cut out for them. H
No guarantees offered when investing in a child
by Art Buchwald
The Department of Agriculture has
just reported that it will cost $80,260 to
raise a child born this year until it reaches
age 18. That seemed like a lot of scratch
to Carter Brown, a friend of mine, who is
expecting a child very soon. So he went
down to the department to see what he
was going to get for his money.
anted
“Is it really going to cost me $80,260 to
raise a child until it’s 18?” he asked the
man behind the desk.
“It’s a bargain,” the man told him.
“Eighteen months ago,we projected it
would cost $134,414. But that was when
we included an 8 percent inflation rate.
Our $80,000 figure is based on no infla
tion dollars.”
“What does the $80,000 cost include?”
“Just the hare-bone items, such as
$17,000 for food, $27,000 for housing,
$13,000 for transportation and the rest
for miscellaneous items such as medical
costs and shoes.”
“Aren’t there any items that you failed
to include in your report, so I won’t be
surprised?”
The man looked at his list. “Well, in the
early years of the child’s upbringing,
you’ll probably be able to stay within the
$80,000 figure. But as your offspring
goes into its teens, you could get into
serious financial overruns.”
“Such as?”
“The department did not include in its
report the cost of such teen-age necessi
ties as hi-fi equipment, movie and rock
concert tickets, sports equipment, com
puters, weekend parties, guitar lessons,
Christmas, arcade games and insurance.”
“Why not?” Brown asked. “They seem
to be as essential as food, housing and
transportation.”
“Because we have them down as op
tions. Some parents prefer a stripped-
down child, and others prefer to add ev
erything that’s on the market.”
“If I pay the basic price of $80,000 to
raise a child for the next 18 years, plus all
the extras that you’ve mentioned, is there
any guarantee it will turn out all right?”
“There is no warranty with the price
whatsoever. You pay your money and
you take your chances. We don’t guaran
tee anymore that when it gets to lie 18 it
will be able to read and write. Frankly,
you’ll be lucky if it volunteers to cut your
lawn or do the dishes once a week. And if
you think for 80 grand it’s going to clean
up its own room, you’re living in a dream
world.”
“It sure seems like a big investment to
get so little in return.”
“The department is not recommend
ing that you have a baby. Our job is just to
report what it will cost you to raise one.
The $80,000 is our official figur(p lux K,a
.iE
other items I tipped you off ona® l;, j ectec
official, based on my own experieH' -
the father of three teen -ag ers '-
include the price of collect long-fl'Mj p r o te
calls during the first 18 yearsbM|i nce an
didn’t want to scare you.” Bhepern
. ffich in dc
“So if I add in all the extras Icel and a pi
wind up spending $200,000, H as £
said. “Well, 1 guess $200,000 isbe re
unreasonable sum of money toir ,u 5
til a child reaches 18 years old. H w ish v>
“It’s actually a steal,” the iwH w 3 n ):
“When your kid reaches 18, ifsjiH e
cost you that much just to sendiJ 0l [p S mav
l e g e - ght to fre<
Klan leac
Generic products may force changes in merchandisirri
forth to
gpf Dalla
nflux c
nited
by Dick West
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Two national
sales reports this spring indicate that
buying habits in America may be
changing.
One compilation from figures sup
plied by the major tobacco companies
showed that their cigarette sales dropped
about 1 percent last year, with another
decline expected this year.
Aha! you may be exclaiming to your
self. This must mean an equivalent num
ber of people stopped smoking.
Don’t be too quick to jump to that
conclusion.
The other report shows that sales of
generic cigarettes increased more than
200 percent during 1982.
From the latter figure we can surmise
that a goodly number of smokers didn’t
actually kick the habit; they just quit
buying name brands.
Similar switches are happening all
over. The breakfast food industry, for
example, reports that consumers are
buying more generic cereals, which they
presumably soak in generic milk.
Could this be the coming trend in
retail merchandising? If so, it will be in
teresting to see what happens in the twil
led cotton pants business.
In recent years, as we are all acutely
aware, regardless of how we dress, one of
the biggest splashes in the clothing indus
try has been made by designer jeans.
Here we have demonstrated what a little
snob appeal will do for what was tradi
tionally a proletarian garment, primarily
identified with the working classes.
The prime attraction of generic pro
ducts would appear to be conspicious
humility, or snob appeal in reverse.
Will the more forward-looking,
fashion-conscious stores start replacing
their designer jeans with generic jeans?
Might it become possible to buy a pair
of denim trousers that doesn’t have a
label prominently displayed on a pro
tuberant part of the anatomy?
More likely, the label will be as evident
as ever, but in keeping with the generic
custom will simply put the word “jeans”
in large letters.
That way, nobody will get the mis
taken impression that you are wearing
blue slacks.
Probably the most disturbing element
of the generic upsurge is what it might do
to advertising.
For better or worse, the Madison Ave
nue boys and girls have made their mark
promoting brands. Touting products
that carry only generic designations
could require a whole new set of skills. It
is one thing to pick up cartons labeled
only as “cigarettes,” to select (
whose contents are identified siii|
“corn flakes” and to try on
labels stamp them merely as “jtf
Building an advertising ca®|
around such items is quite anothfl
entirely.
Generic acceptance doesn't^ 1 !
out of thin air, you know. It taM
genius to exploit the commercialfl
lities of products in the lowercasfj
Some of the airlines have<
prices by offering “no frills''
which is vigorously advertised,
enterprising carriers now start
generic flights, it could addaneP 1
sion to the aviation wars.
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Letters: SWAMP explains
bagel sale, Pornocon I
Editor:
Tuesday I submitted an announce
ment concerning SWAMP’s first summer
meeting for the Around Town column.
Because you felt the activities we are
planning are tasteless you deemed it
necessary to eradicate references to
them. SWAMP is a recognized student
organization dedicated to the fertiliza
tion of dialogue pertaining to pertinent
problems.
Only with your help can we establish
this dialogue.
The announcement was supposed to
mention our plans for a Born Again
Bagel sale and PORNOCON I.
Perhaps I should have elaborated on
these items. We hope to provide a more
appropriate atmosphere for the fountain
evangelists by selling bagels. (“They were
good enough for Jesus, they are good
enough for you.“) With people out there
eating bagels, the evangelist will have a
chance at saving countless souls which
would otherwise burn in hell.
Also, the bagel sale will help us raise
money for PORNOCON I.
Discussion of pornography is conspi
cuously absent on this campus, yet por
nography can be purchased all around
campus. The effects of pornography and
the way in which we are to deal with it are
important topics. By sponsoring POR
NOCON I, we will present as many pers
pectives as possible on the issues sur
rounding pornography and the attempts
to censor it.
Only by intelligently dealing with such
an issue can we hope to provide a basis
for Aggies to make the tough decisions
which lay ahead.
Kirk Kuykendall