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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 9, 1997)
ober9,Thursday • October 9, 1997 reenspan says good times Instill threatened by inflation Greenspan WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair I werem;Alan Greenspan, warning the current economic ht such good times could be cut short theacadfif inflationary pressures last mon' emerge, urged Congress today ompany, tf aim f° r budget surpluses to Is most, help cushion the impact of a backgrot slowdown. R Greenspan told the House bin Brav Budget Committee declining ;d seven deficits in recent years were hat Con due largely to an economy that has exceeded expectations, ill buthi' b 111 he said it could sour. I grades He said inflation remained d. He wa die greatest threat to the current expansion, now uct, meai hi ds seventh year, the third longest on record. r 0 S choo|i Greenspan said strong increases in employ- ity. ment, which have pushed the jobless rate he wasi dpwn to the lowest levels in nearly a quarter of net playe a century, may not last. It may be only a matter dcipatiorjff h me until tight labor markets trigger infla tion, he said. >e to the T° believe... that wage pressures will not in- id const tfusify as the group of people who are not work- called fig' hut who would like to, rapidly diminishes, et"who stubus credibility,” he said in his prepared re- dne cor tf arks. “The law of supply and demand has not sedsec Been repealed. If labor demand continues to . l|recor outpace sustainable increases in supply, the ed the r fl ues tion is surely when, not whether, labor costs %ill escalate more rapidly.” natureuJI Faheral Reserve policy makers passed up the chance to raise interest rates last week, prefer- : l ring to continue watching for signs the best per- ^is'. Irmance on inflation in three decades was re goinsi artingto erode - metwif ■ Many economists believe the central bank f or jt #111 be forced to boost rates to slow economic W eek H ()wdl before the year is out. i sidtB In his remarks, Greenspan conceded growth could slow on its own, but he clearly 1 left the impression if it did not, the Fed was prepared to act. I “A re-emergence of inflation is, without ques tion, the greatest threat to sustaining what has been a balanced economic expansion virtually without parallel in recent decades,” Greenspan said. The central bank hasn’t changed interest rates since March 25, when it nudged its benchmark rate for short-term bank lending up a quarter point to 5.5 percent. Greenspan’s stern warning about tight labor markets sent financial markets into a tailspin today, with the Dow Jones industrial average falling more than 100 points soon after the re marks were released. The Fed chair, who last December sent shockwaves through financial markets with concerns about whether investors were gripped by “irrational exuberance,” added pes simistic views on the market today. “If labor demand continues to outpace sustainable increases in supply, the question is surely when, not whether, labor costs will escalate more rapidly ” ALAN GREENSPAN FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN He pointed to swelling government tax rev enue, in part from a big rise in stock prices as in vestors cashed in their holdings and realized big gains. He said the increases in capital gains since 1995 have equaled a third of the national income. “It clearly would be unrealistic to look for a continuation of stock market gains of anything like the magnitude of those recorded in the past couple of years,” he cautioned. Greenspan, as he did in July in delivering his midyear assessment of the economy, cautioned against putting too much faith in views that rapid increases in technology had spurred huge gains in productivity and mean that the econo my can grow much faster than previously be lieved without generating inflation. Ex-fund raisers offer testimony about '92 election WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Democratic fund-raisers are prepar ed to testify that irreg ularities involving foreign money and straw donors began during the 1992 election that brought President Clinton to power, a House investigator said Wednesday as he began a new round of public hearings. Opening the House’s version of Congress’ hearings on fund-raising abuses, Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., announced the cooperation offer from fund-raisers Gene and Nora Lum, who themselves pleaded guilty to fund-raising wrongdoing earlier this year. “It appears ... the seeds of today’s scandals may have been planted as early as 1991,” Bur ton declared. Democratic Rep. Paul Kanjorski of Pennsyl vania retorted that the Republicans were reach ing conclusions “before the evidence is in.” Burton said the Turns were prepared to testify — in exchange for immunity from prosecution — that the Clinton campaign wrote a letter endorsing the candidacy of the leader of an Asian country in 1992 in ex change for a $50,000 contribution — possi bly foreign money — to a Democrat-affiliat ed group the Turns had formed. The country was not named. The Turns will also disclose financial help offered by the Riady family of Indonesia and fund-raising irregularities committed with the knowledge of the Democratic National Com mittee, Burton said. The announcement capped a whirlwind day in the investigations during which a White House lawyer was questioned before a feder al grand jury and Senate hearings turned even more rancorous than they had been. Across the Capitol, former White House deputy chief of staff Harold Ickes gave a feisty defense of the Democratic fund raising he or chestrated from the White House. ™High court studies free-speech dispute idence, Texans | WASHINGTON (AP) —With the ing this sd future of political debates at stake, fyrd'sM the Supreme Court engaged in a s import: vigorous debate of its own today. r in a case At issue: whether state-owned ailed "tlit broadcast stations can decide to exclude candidates from debates |ney sponsor, overnoro < Richard Marks, a lawyer for an of defendifArkansas television network found ■w. to have violated a candidate’s free- ttanimeasipeech rights by not inviting him ndividualtftp a debate, argued such discretion hadnevetpi a must. :, andlvl “Editorial judgment is an es- a jury’si|sential element,” Marks contend- e whidifed as the justices bombarded him revieWfwith questions and challenging comments. : beactiifl “Just behaving as a good broad- he proptf caster doesn’t help your case,” Jus- be agoiftree Antonin Scalia told Marks. TThere are things a private broad caster can do that you can’t.” I Justice David H. Souter won dered aloud whether letting state employees select which candi dates get invited is “a way to say a distinctly minority candidate al ways loses.” I Souter suggested such a result might be a “pretty darn good sur rogate for viewpoint discrimina- SYSTEM )od Integra: : tion.” It A federal appeals court ruled against the Arkansas network. Justice Department lawyer Tawrence Wallace, siding with the network, argued that “viewpoint neutrality is not required.” For ex ample, Wallace said, advocates of terrorism and anarchy need not be included among those invited to a governmental debate. Kelley Shackelford, an Allen, Texas, lawyer representing a bal lot-qualified but fringe candi date not invited to the Arkansas debate, told the court the gov ernment seeks “unfettered dis cretion to pick and choose among candi dates.” Justice San dra Day O’Connor, although she had voiced doubts about Marks’ argument, did not let Shackelford go unchallenged. “It isn’t unfettered,” she said. “That’s unfair on your part. I think you are speaking a little too broadly.” The court’s eventual ruling, ex pected by July, could have a broad impact even though it will affect only state-owned broadcast sta tions. Two-thirds of the country’s noncommercial, educational sta tions are licensed to state and lo cal governments or their agencies. The high stakes are reflected by the volume of unsolicited advice the court has received. Ross Perot’s campaign commit tee and the American Civil Tiber- ties Union are among those urging the justices to rule: stdte sponsor ship of a political debate creates a public forum from which ballot- qualified candidates cannot be ex cluded. The Clinton administration, 20 states and the two major political parties’ Commission on Presiden tial Debates are among those urg ing the justices to rule state em ployees have the discretion to pick and choose which candidates should participate. The dispute arose when edi tors of the Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN) de cided in 1992 that independent congressional candidate Ralph P. Forbes’ participation “would de tract from the ... usefulness” of a debate to be carried on its five public TV stations. Only the Republican and De mocratic candidates were invited. Forbes, a former member of the American Nazi Party who now refers to himself as a Christian su- Retinquist premacist, sued. In a friend-of-the-court brief, lawyers for the Commission on Presidential Debates said the 8th Circuit court’s ruling “runs an un acceptable risk of resulting in crowded and cacophonous de bates that... would inhibit mean ingful debates rather than pro mote them.” A similar brief filed by a coali tion of states argued: “Where gov ernment utilizes outside speakers to help present a public broadcast program, it is itself speaking and not opening a forum.” The states siding with AETN are Alabama, Arizona, California, Col orado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hamp shire, New Jersey North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Vermont and Wyoming. Tawyers for Perot ’96 urged the justices to uphold the appeals court ruling. “To exclude candidates on'the basis of viability is, by definition, to discriminate against candidates with unpopular or untraditional views or those with fewer re sources,” they said. “The fact that AETN bore no malice or hostility toward Forbes is irrelevant.” Be a part of the experience of life in Our Town The Home of the Flaming Dr. Pepper Opening Tonight Theater Arts Program October 9-11 & 15-18 8pm Tickets are $7 for General Public and $6 for Students and can be purchased at the MSC Box Office, 845-1234 • Weekly drink specials • Call us for mixers and birthday parties • Free hamburgers and hotdogs for Monday Night Football. • Come see Kevin Smith We Beat Big City Prices! 2005 S. College 822-2263 Bryan, Tx. (one block north of Villa Maria) ■aphf 1 iue,o f 83fo f ntme f VICTOR'S Quality Mens & Ladies Boot & Shoe Repair Custom Hand Made Aggie Senior Boots • Regular Delivery 3-4 months • Best warranty in B/CS *764.92 total/ including tax & deposit 3601 Texas Ave.( at Dunn), Bryan 3 Lights North of University Intersection Serving Aggie's Since 1966 846-4114 Hours Mon.-Fri. 8-6:30 Sat. 9-4 Support Aggie Men’s Q Tennis! Q Interested in joining the 30-Loves? There will be an informational meeting at 8:00 PM on Thursday, October 9th in the Lettermen’s Club located in G. Rollie White Coliseum. Meet the guys and find out what we’re all about!!! Don’t Worry when an accident or sudden illness occurs CarePlus is open when you need them 7 days a week with affordable medical care. CarePlus Family Medical Center 2411 Texas Ave. and Southwest Parkway 696-0683 10% A&M student discount Cards Maxed Out? Give Us A Shout! Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS), a non-profit agency, can help you get out of debt. Services are completely free and confidential. We have an office at 3833 S. Texas in Bryan. To make an appointment to talk to a counselor, call: 1-800-873-2227 Visit us on the World Wide Web at http://www.cccsintl.org Congratulations to all the Delta Zeta (Scholars! 5ecky Akin Wendy Hoenerhoff Jenny Allum Wendy Jakubczak Jennifer Benson Kari Kikis Holly K>eu Stephanie Kovac Tara 5euke Lacy MacFarland Jennifer Hrandl Lindsey McAdams Tracy Collins Karen Nelson Jamilyn Dorrill Kris O’Connor Stephanie Donihoo Tiffany Owen Kelly Dyer Sheila Payne Holly Hans Michelle Pea Jeannie Hieronimus Meg Poberson Dawn Hilliard Karen Pude (Sharmila Hindocha Kristen Stiles Jessica Wallace M0IA improvisationed comedy Take 2 of these and call us in the morning* ^Do not ingest Freudian Slip Fri & Sat, Oct. 10 & 11 9 p.m. Rudder Theatre Tickets are $4 in advance (MSC BoxOffice) $5 at the door http://http.tamu.edu:8000/~fslip The Battalion’s now offering access to The WIRE A 24-hour, multimedia news service for the Internet from The Associated Press The WIRE provides continuously updated news coverage from one of the world’s oldest, largest news services via The Battalion’s web page. •A comprehensive, up-to-the-minute news report combining the latest AP stories with photos, graphics, sound and video. ■Headlines and bulletins delivered as soon as news breaks. http://bat-web.tamu.edu