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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 28, 1992)
Opinion abi Ont| r . ^Wednesday, October 28,1992 The Battalion Page 7 Editorial Frankly irresponsible bngress again indifferent to ethics Even under the scrutiny that at tends an election year, some politi cians continue to shirk their respon sibility to act with integrity. I Some members of the House of Representatives abuse their privi lege of free mailings, or franking privileges, by promoting their own ^-election campaigns. The Postal Service credits each nember of Congress with a certain amount of free mailing based on the population of their districts. Repre sentatives receive more so-called franking privileges than Senators, Inabling more self-serving abuse of taxpayers' money. The franking privileges of the 102nd Congress have cost $75 mil lion to date. The tenth most active offender Rep. Charles Wilson, D- Lufkin, has mailed 2.37 million pieces since Jan. 1, 1991, with a cost of $1.47 per household in his dis- Itrict. Wilson is presently locked in a tight re-election campaign. The vol ume of mail in the first eight months of this year exceeded the volume of the same period in 1991 by 40 percent. While it is important for con gressmen to maintain communica tion with their constituents, many use franking privileges to augment their re-election campaigns. The average Representative spent 60% more money on franking than their average challengers spent on their entire campaigns in 1990. Franking privileges subsidize in cumbents unfairly, inhibiting the election of the better candidate by giving incumbents an upper hand. Present Congressional guidelines forbid franking within 60 days of an election. Congress should further check itself by eliminating all frank ing within 120 days of an election. This measure would not end abuse of franking privileges but would limit it without infringing upon the intended function of maintaining communication between the gov ernment and its people. A'■ I WWti/ftiij iir for a si 1 nd jmskl ew ruMj ighlyretnil oducefom •s as (he set' iked rusties he other W ire,ofcoi® o the quail rat tl n a Heismai il isr ? s P' onS; joint unto 1 was 5MU woiil- mg' Roosevelt's New Deal: time to set the historical record straight GUEST COLUMNIST RICKY E DOBBS ationw prog#j jdentaJIde 54.11 iforceitf'l ;ollege. using gramW the ne* We've fol lowed the Battal ion opinion page with great inter est this semester and enjoyed the "Mail Call" con troversies and Battalion colum nists. Anthony LoBaido's col umn of Oct. 8, however, merits 1 spedal attention. "LoBaido demon strates a fine grasp of journal istic concision and simplicity. Sadly, his discussion of the New Deal reveals that his under standing of history is as simple as his style. LoBaido's second paragraph begins with a serious over-simplification. While the stock market crash in Octo ber 1929 represents a watershed date in the period the Great Depression be gan in rural America in the early Twenties. A combination of over-pro duction and lost European markets re sulted in disastrous price drops, fol lowed by foreclosures, an increase in farm-tenancy, and depression of nona- gricultural sectors in rural areas. Meanwhile, President Harding gam bled and drank in the White House, and President Coolidge sat on the porch and waved at passers-by. At tempts to aid farmers were vetoed by both presidents. "Without federal intervention, the effects of the 1929 crash would have righted themselves within the frame work of the free market," LoBaido as serts. The economy would have recov ered in time as it had done in the Pan ics of 1872, 1892, and 1907 ("panics" were what depressions were called back then). The unregulated free mar ket assured recovery, but it also promised another depression with cyclical regularity. We've not had a epression of 1929 proportions since the New Deal. Did anyone notice? LoBaido then criticizes bankers for being "greedy" and failing to extend credit. The resulting poor money sup ply greatly deepened economic woes. (Good, he's learned something some where.) The Republicans controlled the Federal Reserve Board and refused to give the "greedy bankers" credit. Moreover, the gold standard LoBaido praises later in nis column only aggra vated debt and tightened credit. Next, LoBaido addresses the "farm problem" during the Great Depression, while ignoring the fact that the farm depression started in 1920. The Agri cultural Adjustment Act addressed desperate circumstances in rural America: overproduction, tenancy, di minished casn flow, and debt. By 1936, farm income rose $3 billion over 1932 levels. LoBaido suddenly ex presses concern about the real hunger" in 1930s America even as crops and livestock were destroyed. Destruction of agricultural products only took place in the formative period of the New Deal as a means of stabiliz ing the market. Instead of pushing the "modern American farmer to the edge of extinc tion," New Deal agricultural programs began a cycle of subsidies which dra matically increased farm income while raising everyone else's food prices. Agribusiness is now an unassailable lobby in Washington. New Deal pro grams brought the Cptton Research Laboratory to A&M and put this Uni versity on the federal government gravy train with the rest of the work fare folks. The Ag School hasn't re cently complained about New Deal in tervention in the farm economy. Regarding the Bank Holiday and the Gold Reserve Act, LoBaido's argu ment had a head-on collision with it self. He wrung his hands earlier about tight credit and suddenly wants a gold standard? Considering some advisors encouraged President Franklin D. Roo sevelt to nationalize US banks, the March 6,1933 "holiday" seems rather a tame response for a "socialist." FDR's policies further protected small deposi tors and the banks themselves. There aren't many bankers these days wish ing themselves rid of the Federal De posit Insurance Corporation. "Clearly, a lack of money brought on the depression," LoBaido says. Al though Milton Friedman and others would certainly back him, even Fried man realizes the critical role of the Fed in America's money supply. Friedman knows that of all industrial countries, the United States deserted the gold standard last, much to its own chagrin. "An elementary analysis of the ... New Deal," LoBaido argues, "should be enough to provide T992 America with valuable lessons in dealing with the desire for a 'Second New Deal.'" We agree, even though LoBaido's "ele mentary analysis" was very elemen tary indeed and provided few valuable lessons — except in the use of distor tion. If we want to look at a "lesson" about the effect of the New Deal we need look only at the Northgate Post Office. The Northgate Post Office bears a WPA cornerstone and testifies to the hard work of motivated Ameri cans who appreciated "government in tervention"^ and the food that it brought to their tables. The next time LoBaido travels through history and shows us his free- market wonderland, he should investi gate his sources more thoroughly. We would be more than happy to provide him with materials from both liberal and conservative authors on the sub ject. Dobbs, a doctoral student in history, is one of 13 history graduate students who collaborated in the writing of this column. The group calls itself C.L.I.O., or Conservatives and Liberals Interested in Objectivity. iffs Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the views of the opinion page staff and editor in chief only. They do not represent, in : any way, the opinions of reporters, staff, or editors of other sections of the newspaper. Columns, guest columns, and Mail Cali items express the opinions of the authors only. The Battalion encourages letters to the editor and wilt print as many as space allows in the Mail Call section. Letters must be 300 words or less and include author's name, Social Security number, class, and phone number. We reserve the right to edit letters for length, style, and accuracy. Letters should be addressed to: The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald /Mail stop 1111 Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843 Bonfire protesters ignores benefits As do most anti-bonfire types, Shawn Ralston misses the point in her piece from Monday's Battalion. Bon fire, along with other hallowed Aggie traditions, cannot and should not be justified with a spreadsheet. Ralston argues "...bonfire is an outrageous waste of time, resources, manpower, and money," but ignores what some term "The Other Education." Our studies alone would leave us rather unprepared for "The Real World" that lurks beyond graduation. Besides going to class and studying, we will make friends, get our feelings hurt, fall in love, attend bonfire and Aggie football games. Silver Taps, Ele phant Walk, party, road trip, skip classes, sleep through tests, laugh, cry, and generally discover ourselves and the world. I submit that bonfire and other Aggie traditions are at least equally important as classroom activi ties as parts of our education as a whole. Bonfire isn't just about cutting down a bunch of trees, wiring them to gether, and tossing a match. It's about working together towards a common goal, coordinating complex financial and field activities, planning, time management, school spirit, and indeed human spirit as well. Waste of time? Not!! It's worth every cent and every drop of sweat a hundred times over. As we've so often been reminded, without our traditions, A&M would be "just another school". Students at t.u. Or wherever will never feel the heat of the fire on their face at bonfire, or the trickle of a tear rolling down their cheek as Silver Taps sounds a final farewell to friends and fellow Ags. Shawn, if you think you're grown up and we're not, I have to wonder if maybe you grew up too fast. I invite you to come out to bonfire with your fellow Ags and experience some of what you must have missed. Gig 'em Ags, and build the hell out- ta bonfire! Mark A. Nimocks Class of'88 Mysterious Pavilion man deserves credit In my long (too long) time here, I have never felt the urge to put my pen to paper and parade my thoughts in the school rag. Until now. There is something of utmost importance I want to bring to attention. There is a person at A&M whose value, I believe, goes unnoticed. It is the Pavilion guy. The older gentleman who so efficiently directs you to where you need to go. He comes out of nowhere for the first cou ple of weeks of the semester. You con front him immediately upon entering the Pavilion, as he says "What do you need?" You answer and he tells you where to go. He doesn't possess great warmth, but he takes care of business courteously and in short time. There's FRo/n: You r Goo<k 01 ‘ Boy m no dallying at the front door; he'll move you on to your proper place. Af ter this couple of weeks is over and the Pavilion traffic dies down, he disap pears. Where does he go? He reemerges mid-semester outside Heaton Hall to distribute class sched ules wearing those mean Terminator shades. Again, it's strictly business. This guy is an A&M institution. So when you pick up your class schedule, tell the registration guru "howdy." Seth Wallace Class of '91 Messy Aggies treat campus like landfill Some Aggies can really be pigs. The other day 1 was visiting some friends in the Commons Lobby. Out in front of the Commons two Aggie "gentle men" were goofing around when one of them dropped a glass bottle, which broke as it nit the pavement. When another student saw that they were simply going to walk away from the mess they made, she asked one of then if he was going to pick up the glass. To which the Aggie gentleman replied "It's my friends bottle." At which f joint the two gentlemen walked away eaving the mess on the ground. Then when my friends and I went into the Commons Lobby we began to notice discarded copies of that days Battalion everywhere. The same was true for candy wrappers, soda bottles, and chip bags that we also saw in dif ferent locations throughout the lobby. One of my friends saia, "Oh, the maid will pick it up." I couldn't understand this attitude. Sure students (or more accurately many student's parents) pay a lot of money to live in these buildings, but that doesn't excuse the common courtesy of students picking up after themselves. The next day I saw one of the custodians picking up after these Aggie pigs. This woman had an armful of newspapers, soda cans and papers, and this is only from one small section of the lobby. The pa per and mess in the restrooms I won't even describe. You're not living at home anymore where mommy will pick up after you. If you make a mess, be responsible and just throw it away when you are leav ing. I can only imagine what it is like on weekends when parents 'are in the buildings. Come on Ags, grow up! Thomas Green Class of '93 Contruction workers courteous fellows Almost every afternoon since school has begun, the old Chemistry Building has been under construction. Almost every afternoon since school has be gun, I've had to go through the con struction, and sometimes this means picking my way across narrow pas sages and other obstacles — and of Course, construction workers are ev erywhere. At first I was apprehensive at walk ing by the workers — you know the reputation — but my nervousness proved false. They were all very nice and even doffed their hats as they said, "Howdy." And when I had to navigate the small paths, they would politely step on the grass or dirt so I could step by. Now, I'm not the type who expects doors to be opened for me or any of that stuff, but I do sincerely appreciate the courtesy these guys show me every day, and I just wanted to tell them "thank you." Kathy Platt Class of '94 Allegations without proof are worthless 5D ( cent controversy sparked racist activities at the Sigma silon party on Oct. 2 eel tru by alleged Alpha Ep- I feel that whenever there is a situa tion that alleged racism has taken place there is always a massive witch hunt. It reminds me of the Salem witch trials where anyone suspected of being a witch was alienated. Today, in my opinion, people are too quick in crying racism in situations in which they were not involved. 1 think that a major problem facing this country is that the in thing seems to be the emphasis of all of our differ ences, which is wrong. We are all Americans and Aggies, period, regard less of race and should emphasize our similarities instead of our differences! Remember that in this country you are innocent until proven guilty, not guilty by suspicion. I am not a member of a fraternity nor did I attend this party and neither did most of you who are complaining, so I urge you to follow my lead and not pass judgment so quickly. I am sure a lot of you people think 1 am a racist but nothing is further from the truth. I say why don't we all stop bashing frats and all be true to eacn other as Aggies can be and not judge a group through rumors! Maverick Welsh Class of '96 Perot resistant to political pressures I think that most people that decide to enter politics actually have honor able intentions. The problem is that in order to climb the ladder to bigger and better offices these intentions tend to get pushed aside for more practical pursuits. This means sacrificing personal con victions for those of whichever party you happen to be a member. The penalty for not doing so means not getting the prestigious committee ap pointment, losing endorsements from prominent party members or worst of all not getting needed contributions. Under this system issues and solutions become irrelevant. What matters is that you upheld your parties stand and didn't let the other party win. Bush and Clinton have been a part of this system for a long time and con sidering the offices they hold they ob viously know how to play by the "rules.'' Ross Perot being the outsider and not under these same constraints has the enviable position of getting to do the things that need to be done without having to worry about the party backlash. Bush and Clinton being intelligent and honorable men must realize what they would be able to accomplish if they did not have to always worry about the standard party position on every issue. Maybe the reason they didn't attack Perot, and actually com plimented him, is because they are a little envious of his current position. Just something to think about if you are wondering who to pull the lever for on Nov. 3. Randy Engel Class of'92 Re-elect Joe Politico! <vte touy/i, SW — 'rtyene 'ie-eCectta*t cevuCl Fiscal Responsibility with Discounted Family Values for the 90s!! Rep. P«L4-‘i<© ha$ be.®*' by Cheese proeNcerj 1 Group. So vote for Joe, pay his salary and you won’t see him again. ‘Til next election! IS