The Battalion
OPINION
Thursday, February 23,1989
“If you chaps have the house secured, I’ll be in
the study listening" to my tape player-
Income tax has got to go
Lately I’ve been thinking about how
I’m going to spend my first year’s in
come after I graduate. I had it all fig
ured out. I’d buy a car, some furniture,
clothes, maybe food. But then my
mother threw a wrench in the works by
smugly asking a question that annihi
lated my dreams of a bachelor pad:
“What about taxes?”
Of course! How could I have forget-
ten about taxes? I’ve had fifteen hours
of finance, studying investments and
taxes, but all that was just homework. I
never thought of myself as a problem at
the end of the chapter.
It was a shock to realize that almost 30
percent of the money I work for will go
directly to Uncle Sam. That’s like a pro
fessor telling me the highest grade I can
make on an exam is a 70.
I started thinking about justifications
for the government taking my money.
The government provides certain serv
ices like highways and defense — I use
them, so I have to pay for it. But 30 per
cent?
People have argued about taxes
throughout history, and the rationale
behind our tax system is that the gov
ernment ought to tax people according
to their ability to take from the society
(buy things).
I will be a consumer in this country,
but I also will be contributing to the so
ciety because I will be producing some
thing that can benefit someone else.
The government taxes me according to
how much I produce.
Why does the government tax me
according to how much I contribute to
society? The more I work, the more I
have to pay in taxes. Why should I work
more? This doesn’t seem very rational
in a country that prides itself on pro
moting a “work ethic.”
Sometimes the government puts spe
cific taxes on products related to a spe
cific government service. There’s a tax
on gasoline, for instance. The money
collected through this tax is used to
maintain highways (people who buy gas
are going to be using the highways).
Then there are the “sin” taxes on alco
hol and tobacco. In this case the govern
ment figures that people are going to
buy these things even if they have to pay
more for them, so it’s easy money for
Unde Sam. State and local governments
use the sales tax to generate revenue so
they can operate — the same way the in
come tax provides revenue for the fed
eral government.
But why does the government levy a
tax on people’s labor? It would seem
that government would want people to
work harder, and what better way than
to allow them to earn their salary — all
of it, not just 70 percent.
Then how would the government op
erate? They should tax us according to
how much we buy: a consumption tax.
It would work in the same way as the
income tax, but they would tax you on
how much you spend each year. Of
course, there would be deductions for
things like food, medical expenses, edu
cational expenses, etc. But everything
else would be taxed according to a
bracket structure such as the one used
for income taxes. Your level of con
sumption would be measured by your
annual income minus your savings in
that year.
With the income tax, investments and
interest from savings are taxed as in
come. While you may be getting a 10
percent return on a certificate of de
posit from your bank, you’re actually
only getting two-thirds of that after be
ing taxed.
Under a consumption tax, you would
get the 10 percent on the investment
and could leave it there, or put it in an
other investment, or spend it on one of
the tax-deductable items (food, medi
cine, education, etc.). But you wouldn’t
be taxed until you spent it on a taxable
good.
The income tax system has several
technical problems with it that would be
eliminated by a consumption tax. One
problem is that when income from in
vestments is being figured, the change
in price of the investment is skewed by
inflation. An investment may go up in
price 20 percent over three years, but if
the annual inflation rate is six percent
there is no change in purchasing power
— you really couldn’t improve your life
style. But the income tax system will tax
the 20 percent increase.
Also, the consumption tax would end
the need for a corporate tax system sep
arate from the individual’s tax system.
Corporations would be taxed according
to how much they spend, just like indi
viduals. But the corporations would be
paying a higher rate because they would
be in a higher tax bracket. With only
one set of tax brackets for everyone, the
system would be less complex and
would cut down on the bureaucracy.
In general, a consumption tax would
tax people when they take things from
society (consume) rather than on what
people put into society (produce). It also
would give us more flexibility in decid
ing when we will be taxed (early in life
or in retirement), whereas taxing in
come leaves us with no choice but to pay
now.
James Cecil is a senior economics
major and a columnist for The Battal
ion.
The Batta
Thursday
Mail Call
No fine arts
EDITOR:
James Cecil is upset because Texas A&M has no fine arts department.
What a shame. From my experience at other schools, A&M may be a bit
better off without one.
For one thing, art students have a propensity for making sculptures out
of rusty exhaust pipes and discarded underwear.
After exhibition in Paris, where such breathtaking creativity invariably
wins “best of show,” the junk heap is brought back and shoved off into some
out-of-the-way corner.
Later, some suspiciously limp-wristed administrator decides that the
collegiate atmosphere would be enormously enriched by prominent public
display of the neo-Dalian artform example and, voila! We’re blessed with a
surreal Sul Ross with dirty jockstraps and brassieres hanging off his ears, and
mufflers in both hands.
You want fine art? Well, Texas A&M has the finest art anywhere! I
should know because I married one.
But there’s many more around the library or almost anywhere on
campus.
I’ll also suggest such other fine galleries as the Dixie Chicken (but not
Duddley’s), or the Texas Hall of Fame.
One thing’s for darn sure — as with any art, you really can’t take any class
to help you “appreciate” it. The appreciation has to come from somewhere
deep inside yourself, a genuinely spontaneous and natural feeling.
Perhaps that’s why Texas A&M doesn’t really need a fine arts depart
ment.
Clay Salisbury
Graduate Student
Saff irresponsible
La<
dot
By Mia B. A
Reporter
The sociol
ing out its s
cause it can i
it accredited
believe the |
unless it has,
“In order
program ao
department
for one yeai
spend appr
5100,000,” s
associate prc
department
of the social-
Deborah 1
the sociolog)
think that ot
certified in
dents with tl
get jobs. S
doesn’t have
EDITOR:
“By closing Texas Avenue to traffic Sunday afternoon, the cities of Bryan
and College Station inconvenienced hundreds of motorists.”
True, “city officials could have done a better job of notifying Bryan-
College Station residents that the street had been closed,” but obviously The
Battalion didn’t feel equally as responsible to notify the students at Texas
A&M (who, by the way, are also Bryan-College Station residents).
1 checked Thursday’s and Friday’s paper, and there is not even a mention
of the Straight Shot. It’s no wonder that we Aggies were so clueless when
Texas Avenue did close. Since many of the students, faculty and staff at
Texas A&M don’t subscribe to the Bryan-College Station Eagle, doesn’t the
responsibility of informing the campus about local events fall on The
Battalion} Is The Battalion simply a forum for stupid opinions (like mine) or
is it a newspaper?
Just think of what a service The Battalion could have done if, on the front
page of Friday’s paper, the headline read “Texas Avenue to be closed Sunday
afternoon.” Plus, if The Battalion had published a map (like The Eagle did)
many of us could have been better prepared.
The decision to close a major street for three hours to accommodate some
runners might be described as stupid, but the decision of The Battalion not to
publicize the Straight Shot before Sunday can be described in one word: Irre
sponsible.
David Mendoza
Graduate Student
MISSIO
adults who
for neglect
ceive shots
rabies, a he
Superinl
pie were c
to the Bio
ee’s relath
quire treati
He was
son, Hidal
how many
ries of vacci
Dr. Wil:
plied shipi
initial shots
About 8
ing from si
vately-oper
miles west i
Owens s
by staff me
posure to tl
Some yc
until aroui
Editor’s note: The officials involved in planning the Straight Shot 10K run
did not give The Battalion any information concerning the race or the closing
of Texas Avenue.
Guns do kill people
EDITOR:
I am writing in response to Ben Freeman’s letter concerning Dean
Sueltenfuss’ Feb. 13 column on gun control.
Mr. Freeman said that “guns don’t kill people; people kill people.” His
ref uge in this old cliche leads me to ask him if he believes in legalizing drugs.
After all, drugs don’t kill people; people kill people. Right, Mr. Freeman?
He then goes on to say that “a gun in your house is like national defense;
you don’t use it much, buy you sleep better at night knowing it’s there.” He is
forgetting one major difference between guns in your home and national
defense: Your children do not have access to The Button.
He also compared gun control to ceasing the production of lawn mowers
because someone may lose a finger. That’s a swell comparison, but how often
do you hear about a Zip-N that was held up by a guy wearing panty hose on
his head, armed with a Lawn Boy power mower?
Finally, Mr. Freeman took a stab at Dean Sueltenfuss by saying, “I realize
that the cost of acquiring information is rather high, but it wouldn’t hurt for
you to do a little research.” I think, Mr. Freeman, that it wouldn’t hurt for
you to follow your own advice.
Ross Lambert ’91
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The edit ‘rial staff reserves the right to edit letters
for style and length, but will make every effort to maintain the au'' s intent. Each letter must be signed and
must include the classification, address and telephone number of she writer.
People have power to control their addictions
Addiction.
No one is immune to it. It is basically
a part of human nature. Few, if any peo
ple, can escape its tremendous reach. It
is possible, however, to contain it.
The first thing that comes to mind
when one thinks of addiction is drugs —
cocaine, heroin, acid, marijuana, speed.
Some are capable of producing addic
tion and some aren’t. Drugs are easy ob
jects to become addicted to. They give
one a feeling of pleasure, a trip from
reality. And we all wish to escape reality,
don’t we?
But illegal drugs aren’t the only ad
dictive drugs. The two most common
addictive drugs are legal: tobacco and
alcohol. Alcohol gives one a different
reality, perhaps less intense than illegal
drugs, but a different reality just the
same. Tobacco is, well. . . easily addicta-
ble to.
There are other addictive drugs as
well. Valium is a popular one, as is aspi
rin. Perhaps there is somebody out
there who is addicted to cough syrup.
The Battalion
(USPS 045 360)
Member of
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Conference
The Battalion Editorial Board
Becky Weisenfels, Editor
Leslie Guy, Managing Editor
Dean Sueltenfuss, Opinion Page Editor
Anthony Wilson, City Editor
Scot Walker, Wire Editor
Drew Leder, News Editor
Doug Walker, Sports Editor
Jay Janner, Art Director
Mary-Lynne Rice, Entertainment Edi
tor
, ■iMH.urnw) i—ii m wimbimimi
Editorial Policy
The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspa
per operated as a community service to Texas A&M and
Bryan-College Station.
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the
editorial board or the author, and do not necessarily rep
resent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, fac
ulty or the Board of Regents.
The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper
for students in reporting, editing and photography
classes within the Department 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 request.
Our address: The Battalion, 230 Reed McDonald,
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-1 111.
Second class postage paid at College Station, TX
77843.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battal
ion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, Col-
lege Station TX 77843-4 111.
Although these drugs are not as de
structive as others, they still can be ad
dictive.
Why do people get addicted to drugs?
For some, it is an escape from a per
ceived bad existence. For others, it’s to
be one of the crowd. Still others become
addicted due to a psychological need for
a crutch to help them through reality.
Another source for addiction is ide
als. People become obsessed with certain
standards and principles and opinions
and ideas. They become so engrossed
that they turn into fanatics and zealots,
blind to any opposition. Their entire
lives become centered around their par
ticular ideal.
There is also money. To some people,
it’s the only thing that matters. It’s what
we go to college for. With money one
can buy a BMW and a three story man
sion and a membership to the country
club, an d one can have all one’s material
needs taken care of in luxury. And with
money comes power — power to con
trol, to manipulate, to create and main
tain.
Love is a good (and popular) ideal to
be addicted to. So are logic, religion,
knowledjge, war, peace, stagnation, apa
thy, radicalism and, everyone’s favor
ites, cons«ervatism and liberalism.
•ig|li§
Todd
jgkV
Honeycutt
■■
Columnist
Fantasies and dreams are also addic
tive. It’s easy to create illusions of reali
ties that one is afraid to achieve. Or per
haps by creating an elaborate fantasy
one loses one’s self outside of reality and
cannot achieve anything.
Once there in a fantasy world, one
doesn’t want to break out. It’s easier to
live in it. People really can’t get hurt be
cause they withdraw from the outside.
And fantasies are fun. You can do any
thing: become President of the United
States, or a Klansman, or travel the
world or run away to California and be a
bum. You can fly or climb or write or
sing or build or destroy. And you don’t
have to do anything in the real world.
Why would you want reality?
And now we come to people.
People are the most frequent objects
of addiction. By nature we crave others
— desire them. And we desire them for
various reasons. Some people we desire
for companionship and compassion
Some people we are addicted to fora
perceived love and devotion. And weal
desire others to save ourselves from
loneliness.
Perhaps addiction to people is tht
worst addiction of all. People and
relationships do not last forever. And
many among us seem to want them to
last. When they crumble, those whoart
addicted crumble with it. They wish»
die because they think that their live*
are incomplete and will never reach pro
vious heights. They cannot simply goon
living; they must live in an abyss.
Addiction is not necessarily evil. 1
can be positive and constructive, or rn
inous and possessive. The quality of ad
diction depends on the intensity of ad
diction, the amount of control and tlii
context of the addiction. It also dependi
on the pleasure derived from it. In tht
end, addiction is a personal choice, and
you are the only one who can possibl'
control it.
Todd Honeycutt is a sophomoreps)
chology major and a columnist forT^
Battalion.
To
What
to m
Fc
in at
and
Wha
r*
\
A
<
1
I ,
L.