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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1987)
Page 2/The Battalion/Tuesday, December 1, 1987 Opinion Gold standard only solution to inflation r< Perhaps the gravest injustice suffered by hard working Ameri cans today is one of which they are profoundly igno rant. Though we are aware that a problem exists, we fail to see to its heart. And no wonder, for it is * .. % Brian Frederick well-concealed behind a smokescreen of technical jargon and the assurances of the experts that these affairs are too complicated for the rest of us to under stand. I refer to an economic injustice per petrated upon us all that surreptitiously relieves us of a portion of our earnings and gives it to others. Such is inflation, an ingenious tool employed by our gov ernment to relieve us of our hard- earned wealth. If you believe what is commonly taught and reported that inflation is merely a general rise in prices, you may wonder how it can be so insidious. Infla tion, however, is not a rise in prices. Ris ing prices are only a result of inflation. Inflation occurs when the money sup ply increases and general prices rise in response to the law of supply and de mand. When inflation is defined as a rise in prices, it is easy to attribute it to any number of causes and thereby deceive the public. But when it is seen properly as an increase in the money supply, the responsible party is revealed. According to our Constitution, Congress is given the authority “to coin money.” Even though Congress has surrendered this control to the Federal Reserve, it is still ultimately responsible. When government wishes to pay for something new, it has two means of doing so. It can openly raise taxes, but this is not popular with the electorate. Its other alternative is to create money, which is done through the Federal Re serve. The Fed loans money at interest, money it creates out of nothing. By financing government expendi tures in this fashion, politicians are able to avoid the stigma of raising taxes, when in actuality they have. They ex pect that we won’t realize what they have done. We should all know that there is no such thing in this world as a free lunch. Deficit financing promises a way of ob- Fluoridation’s dangers shouldn’t be ignored The College Station City Coun- cil has decided that fluoride will be added to the city’s public water supply. The water supply in Bryan Bill Adams Guest Columnist has been artificially fluoridated since 1971. Consumers of this water should be aware of some potential hazards. Courts in Pennsylvania (1978) and Il linois (1982) have ruled that fluorida tion creates a public health hazard. Among the evidence in these cases were studies by Dr. Dean Burk and Dr. John Yiamouyiannis that showed that 10,000 to 20,000 people in the United States die of cancer each year due to fluorida tion of the public drinking waters. A number of witnesses attempted to dis credit these studies, but, as the presid ing judge in the Pennsylvania case re marked, “Point by point, every criticism made of the Burk-Yiamouyannis study was met and explained.” The judge or dered a halt to fluoridation. Dr. Burk was one of the founders and a chief chemist of the U.S. National Cancer Institute. Dr. Yiamouyiannis holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry. He be came aware of the dangers of fluoride while working as a biochemical editor at Chemical Abstracts Service, the world’s largest chemical information center. In his 1986 book, Fluoride: The Ag ing Factor, Dr. Yiamouyiannis explains how fluoride in the body contributes not only to cancer, but also to arthritis and other bone diseases, hardening of the arteries, damage to the immune system, genetic damage, and premature aging of the skin and other tissues. Granted, some experts disagree with his conclu sions, but if experts cannot discredit him in court, then non-experts may wonder who is right. Yiamouyiannis also points out a num ber of interesting facts. For example, mother’s milk contains only 0.01- 0.05ppm (parts per million) fluoride. Yiamouyiannis believes this is nature’s way of protecting the small child from fluoride damage. (Local supporters of fluoridation believe that O.Sppm fluo ride is the optimum level for all; this is up to 80 times the level nature provides for the infant. Concern among infant formula manufacturers led to their vol untary agreement in 1980 to remove fluoride from the water used to man ufacture infant formulas. At least one child has died as a result of a fluoride treatment received at a dental clinic. A 3-year-old boy received the treatment during his first visit to the dentist. The attending dental hygenist handed the boy a cup of water, but failed to instruct him to spit out the so- The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Sondra Pickard, Editor John Jarvis, Managing Editor Sue Krenek, Opinion Page Editor Rodney Rather, City Editor Robbyn Lister, News Editor Loyd Brumfield, Sports Editor Tracy Staton, Photo Editor Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspaper oper- ' “:M and Br ~ " Jryan-College Sta- ated as a community service to Texas A&M : tion. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editorial board or the author, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, faculty or the Board of Regents. The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for students in reporting, editing and photography classes within the Depart ment of Journalism. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday during Texas A&M regular semesters, except for holiday and examination periods. Mail subscriptions are $17.44 per semester, $34.62 per school year and $36.44 per full year. Advertising rates furnished on re quest. Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4111. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, College Station TX 77843-4111. taining government benefits without paying for them through taxes. In spite of this promise, inflation is a tax, and dishonestly imposed at that. It transfers wealth from one group to another, usually without the knowledge of the victims. This is hardly just and is a strange custom for a nation that fought against “taxation without representa tion.” It may not be evident how increasing the money supply effects a transfer of wealth. Let’s say government wishes to make new military expenditures with out raising taxes. It goes to the Fed to get newly created money which it uses to pay defense contractors, thus putting it into circulation. The contractors and their workers benefit through higher profits and wages, which they use to make purchases. The market price at which they buy, however, was determined by the supply of money before the government spent the new money. There is a lag of several months before the market is able to ad just to the new supply of money. Prices will eventually go up, but not before those receiving the new money have spent it at old prices and thereby de rived considerable benefit. However, not all will benefit. Some will not get the new money until after prices have gone up, if at all. Higher prices force them to cut back on their purchases, and they end up worse off than they were before. They have been effectively taxed to pay for the new ex penditures, while some of their fellow citizens have profited at their expense. This is not the case when tax revenues alone are used to finance government spending. Inflation does more than just transfer wealth and dishonestly tax Americans. It discourages saving, which is the foun dation of economic growth. Small savers will cease saving when they see rising prices erroding the value of their sav ings, for they are lucky to break even with interest, let alone earn a decent re turn. Instead of saving, they will spend their money before it becomes worth less. Inflation encourages larger investors to make high-risk investments in hopes of a large return to keep ahead of infla tion. These are often poor investments, and capital is thus squandered to the eventual detriment of everyone. While inflation may serve as useful political expedient in the short run, it hurts us all in the end. If the mere cre ation of money could bring us into pros perity, we would need only for eachot us to be supplied with a printing press to make money for ourselves. This is clear folly, yet it differs not in principle or eventual effect from what our govern ment does. This policy has not yet ut terly ruined us, only because as a rid nation, we have so far been able to af ford our folly. The only way to secure ourselves from inflation’s ill effects is to establish honest money which government can not create at will. The gold standards such a system. It places the money sup- Tex; :ommc other i rhe are ment ( renova at least “Res atys r dence ply beyond the control of politicians ^aU, who would manipulate it for their own benefit and that of their constituents.lt forces them to keep expenditures inline with revenue. Then, if they wish spend more, they must openly raise taxes. Critics may accuse the gold standard of being a “barbarous relic,” but they would have us live at the mercy of arbi trary bureaucrats instead. With theirde sire to have our money manipulated at will, they would deny us the only means for us to have a stable economy free from the injustice of inflation. Brian Frederick is a senior history and Russian major and a columnist for The Battalion. lution. Instead, the boy drank the water, swallowing a lethal dose of fluoride. Accidents have occurred in a number of cities in the U.S. On November 11, 1979, up to 50ppm flupride was dumped into the Annapolis, Maryland public water system, resulting in the poi soning of 50,000 people. Dr. Yia mouyiannis went to Annapolis to inves tigate the damage. He found that approximately 10,000 people exhibited acute symptoms of fluoride poisoning. He also found that more than five times the normal number , of people died of heart failure during the week following the spill. There is no U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance of fluoride. Nor has there ever been one reported case of a fluo ride deficiency. On the other hand, there are thousands of reported cases of fluoride overdose. While some amount of fluoride cannot be avoided (all foods contain some amount), Dr. Yiamouyian nis recommends lowering one’s fluoride intake as much as possible. Also of interest are the thoughts of the editors of the journal New Scientist on the discovery by Dr. John Emsley at King’s College in London (1981) that fluoride forms very strong hydrogen bonds with biologically important sub stances called amides. The editors con clude: “Some of the charges that are laid at its door — genetic change, birth de fects, cancer, and allergy response — may arise from fluoride interference af ter all.” Some proponents of fluoridation make great claims as to its health bene fits. Others, some dentists included, question its efficacy in reducing tooth decay, and question its necessity when fluoride toothpastes are readily avail able. They feel that the best way to re duce tooth decay is to reduce the con sumption of sugar and other refined carbohydrates. Dr. Yiamouyiannis is recognized as an expert on the biological effects of flu oride. His book was written for the gen eral public. While I do feel qualified to read and understand his argument, as an electrical engineer I am not qualified to say whether he is right or wrong. If his detractors argue differently, I am not qualified to say whether they are right or wrong. But if Yiamouyiannis can prove his case in a court of law, claiming that fluoridation is responsible for 10,000 to 20,000 cancer deaths and 30,000 to 50,000 deaths of all causes an nually, that it contributes to arthritis, hardening of the arteries, damage to the immune system, genetic damage, and premature aging, then I am qualified to be afraid. n “Mo area c< coordi dation bathro times t sides,” rector; not to we car our ac Resi (tons mache summ provei — and at A& still m campi “It’s vation St to AU state a meet I odist the in' scand; John ing th ney g‘ board for At “Hi Mail Call Craig has character Moral absolutes EDITOR: EDITOR: From what I hear, I am a dying breed. I am a Craig Stump fan. Now, some people may say that is because we are from the same area (Craig is from Port Arthur; I am from Beaumont), but actually, I’ve grown to respect Craig Stump because he has been showing something that we Aggie fans have not been showing lately. That something is character. Interesting encounter Brian Frederick had with a well- wisher Nov. 17. Trouble is, it is hard to know what lies at the core of your disagreement. Is it about the right of homosexuals to live as they please? Or, more generally, about the very definition of a right? It doesn’t take a lot of character to hiss at one’s own team when they are doing poorly or to boo at one’s own quarterback when he is having a bad game (even though true Aggies aren’t even supposed to boo). I was pretty disgusted at the crowd during the A&M-t.u. game for booing and chanting “Bucky! Bucky!” when Craig Stump had to come in for Bucky Richardson when Bucky’s shoe came off. Perhaps we should rewrite a famous phrase to say, “Once an Aggie, always an Aggie . .. unless you throw interceptions.” I assume you are more concerned with the latter. But still, condemning homosexuality on the basis of moral absolutes looks a bit fallacious to me. You seem to imply that such a perverse behavior should be “heartily disapproved of,” for only actions that are “natural” should be considered as fundamentally and absolutely “right.” However, let me propose another moral absolute that says people are free to act as they please, as long as they do not harm their neighbors. Worldwide, the Aggies are famous for the fabled Spirit of Aggieland and the tradition of the Twelfth Man, standing at all football games in support of their team, whether we win or get outscored, whether we squeak by or slaughter the opposing team, AND whether we are led by Craig Stump, Bucky Richardson or Lance Pavlas. And . . . oh, by the way . Of course, at issue is the way these “moral absolutes’’ are defined. You do not discuss the matter in all fairness when you bring the example of Nazi Germany. Of course the right to life is not to be tampered with. But there is no such consensus on what constitutes an “acceptable” sexual behavior, or even on the need to define such a norm. In this situation, on the basis of what moral absolute should society react to homosexuality? Freedom to have one’s own lifestyle or conformity with nature’s proscriptions? Your idea is not necessarily mine .... Yves Arsenault grad student BEAT THE HELL OUTTA NOTRE DAME! Diamond Dave Mendoza ’88 Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. 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 be signed and must include the classification, address and telephone number of the writer. Bill Adams is a graduate student in electrical engineering. BLOOM COUNTY by BerRe Breathed (