WORl
HE BATTALlI
eads
Opinion
The Battalion
Page 9 • Friday, January 1 7, 2003
ut war
POLL | '
iq question
all suggests that
conditionally favc
:ion in Iraq.
Hi No ( 1 Not5,
Tax Cuts: boost or bombshell?
Bush's plan will affect students directly, for better or for worse
i favor or oppose
n in Iraq to end
jle?
mam
5%
i favor or oppose
q to end Hussein's
lant that U S forces
thousands of casuar-
m
Oppose
)e a reason to take
on If...
sectors And that Ira;
iear. biological or
weapons?
ectors do not find a
orogram. but thelraj
nt cannot prove the;
;uch a program
1.218 adutts taken Jr
or margin of plus or mr
points
i Research Center for I
>e Press
:n what we would:
t only disarmini
rowing threat, It
raqi people froir
pressive regimt
said.
poll of 1,218 ad:
an. 8-12 and has
i of plus or minus
>oints.
he president has be*
case against Ir
September, Wh
ials say the heat
’t begin until Jan.!
delivers his State
Idress. That’s oiwj
weapons inspect
reliminary repott.
he next time you're fly
ing down Texas Avenue
in your Ford F-150 try
ing to make your 8 a.m. class,
feel confident that President
George W. BusH is doing his
best to get you there on time.
The president’s jjj-oposed
economic stimulus plan outjf
lines three problems facing our
economy and the solutions to eliminate each of
them. His plan tackles the high tax burden and
debt placed on the American family, the unfair
double taxation of corporate profits, and the ris
ing unemployment rate. Each of these must be
dealt with effectively if our economy is to con
tinue to grow, and Bush’s plan hits the mark.
According to the president, consumer spend
ing drives 70 percent of the U.S. economy.
Because of the high taxes we all have the privi
lege of paying to
the federal gov-
lernment, we have
less disposable
income to spend.
The president's
plan makes all
future tax rate
reductions passed
in 2001 effective
this year, retroac
tive to January l.
After the plan is
passed, he will
order the Treasury
Department to
adjust income tax
withholdings
immediately to
while fundamentally unfair,
discourages companies from
lly, British Pn:
ly Blair.
>WS nc
momi
mer prices
ook at percent
•om the preceding
he Consumer Pritf
djusted
44
Some critics of
Bush's policy might
say this is another
tax break for the
rich...over half of
those taxpayers
claiming dividends
earned less than
$50,000 in wages
and salaries in
2000.
increase disposable income and help keep con
sumer spending high. With that extra income
you can begin to think about trading up to a new
2003 F-250 supercab.
Bush's plan specifically targets middle-class
•families by accelerating other tax reductions
passed in 2001. He proposes reducing the mar
riage-penalty tax this year. This will result in a
'inancial boost for an estimated 35 million mar-
ibeat for warcout ned couples. The stimulus package also moves
when Bush meet more Americans from the 15 percent income thx
i with his staunclii bracket to the bottom 10 percent bracket and
increases the child tax credit $400. The White
House estimates that these tax-cutting measures
will pump an additional $70 billion into the
economy during the next year and a half. Aggies
with families, check your mailbox in May for
ome summer vacation money.
On the corporate side of the economy, com-
I Janies pay taxes on their earnings. The owners
jf the company, or shareholders, can be paid
some of those earnings in the form of dividends
— dividends that are then taxed again. This
double taxation,
more important
offering dividends. Since dividend income as a
percenfige of "personal income has grown dur
ing the last decacte, according to bea.gov, elimi
nating the dividend tax leaves investors with
more money to put back into the economy and
companies with higher stock prices. Companies
^such as Ford that offer dividends, will be much
more attractive to investors. With more capital
investment. Ford will be able to build you a bet
ter truck At a cheaper price. F-350 here we
come!
Some critics of Bush's policy might say this
is another tax break for the rich. They should be
more careful when throwing around the term
“rich". According to taxfoundation.org. more
than half of those taxpayers claiming dividends
earned less than $50,000 in wages and salaries
in 2000. A teacher's salary, while a good living,
is far from being rich. ~J~****~~^/* m ~
Another important component of our ecuno-^
my is small business. v They make ujftfte :]gast
majority of all L^S. business arjcjUcreate two-
thirds of ^ the nCw jobs - according to
economy.com s Ek^ah\jego. Small businesses in
the Bush plan will be Idlowed to Write off an
additional $50,000 in equipment expenses. For
those who know someone who runs their own
business, $50,000 makes a big difference at the
end of the year. The money saved in taxes can
be directly reinvested into the business.
The final challenge outlined by the president
is unemployment. To help those currently
unemployed. Bush proposes expanding federal
unemployment benefits tuVassist those whose
benefits have already run out. Like the tax cuts,
the unemployment benefits will be retroactive.
He also is proposing establishing “Personal Re-
Employment Accounts”, to help the unem
ployed find the “dignity of a new job”.
Americans with a re-employment account could
receive up to $3,000 for use in finding a job. If
they obtain one within 13 weeks, they will be
able to keep what is left as a “re-employment
bonus”. Recent grads in between jobs would
definitely qualify.
The president's economic stimulus plan pres
ents specific solutions to our economy's current
problems and should be enacted quickly by
Congress to boast the struggling economy while
reaching out to Americans of all social classes.
Bush summed up what should be our govern
ment’s economic position with these words,
‘The role of government is not to manage or
control the economy from Washington, D.C.,
but to remove obstacles standing in the way for
faster economic growth.” If he had his way, hd'd
drive a Ford to work too.
Matt Chesier is a senior
economics major
T his past week. President George W. Bush
laid out his econornic\stimulus package.
Estimated at around $<370 billion span
ning 10 years, it containsjmany provisions
including eliminating taxes on dividends afidj
increased child tax credits. Since then. Bush
has defended his stimulus package, saying that
taxing dividends "twice" was unfair; and that it
hurts those who depend on dividends for a
steady income. He expressed hope thar the
other tax breaks included in the package would
put money in consumer's pockets to boost
spending and improve the economy.
Unfortunately, the plan he proposed is a flawed
way to accomplish the econom^revival that he
and the graduates of the Class eft 2003 desire.
Currently, the income that corporations earn
is “double taxed” “before it makes it into the
pocketbooks pf stockholders. The corporations
pay taxes on their earnings. And the individuals
who own the companies pay taxes on the
-money they^ make - |>om their investments.
Republicans claim that this is unfair and on the
surface it certainly appears isp. But the situa
tion is not so simple. x The current long-term
rate on capital gains, money earned from
investments held for one year or more, is 14
percent. This is considerably lower than the
39.6 percent paid in federal income taxes by
those in the highest tax bracket. Corporate
taxes can vary, and some tax rates can be as
high as thosjfe paid by wealthy individuals.
HowOverT^biporations have flexibility in how
they structure their balance sheets that allows
them to drastically lower their tax rates. The
combination of creative accounting and a 14
percent tax rate allows one to see how the
money made by q corporation could actually be
taxed less than that made by an individual,
despite being taxed twice.
Whatever burden “double taxation” may
carry, it has not stopped people from forming
corporations, because of the benefits that come
from being; a corporation. Included among
those benefits is the ability to declare bankrupt
cy and have the government pick up the tab.
Eliminating the tax on dividends creates a
large loophole for corporations. To help their
investors avoid capital gains taxes, companies
could now pay out earnings in dividends, as
opposed to reinvesting their earnings to expand
their business and raise their stock value.
This is an underhanded way for the Bush
administration to pass a capital gains tax cut. It
is not a policy aimed at helping those who
depend on dividends for a regular income, but
rather the whole spectrum of investors, who
will now have a method for avoiding capital
gains taxes.
Another component of the Bush economic
plan is an increase in the per-child tax credit.
To some this may seem like a politically savvy
Leigh Richardson • THE BATTALION
TIM
SCHNIEDWIND
move by the administration. It
plays to politicians’ favorite
demograpk^^ group: the
“hardworkirtg American fami
ly.” It will surely be well-
received by the “family val
ues” element of the
Republican Party. However,
there are already tax deduc
tions like this in place.
Children can be claimed as dependents, there
are education credits and a $500 per child tax
(hit that was recently passed as part of the
Ta>qi>ayer Relief Act of 1997.
At some point, enough is enough. In a world
with a population problem, at least in the
minds of some, having a child should be
regarded as a privilege that one earns. One
should not be a second-class citizen if he
decides to forgo this privilege. How can we
criticize develop-
While economic
‘experts' don't agree
on much, they do
generally support
the idea that for a
tax cut to have the
maximum economic
impact, it should put
the bulk of the dol
lars in the hands of
those who are most
and spend it.
ing third world
countries with
their high birth
rates and poverty,
while continuing a
policy trend that
seems to encour
age large families?
While econom
ic “experts” do
not agree on
much, they do
generally support
the idea that for a
tax cut to have the
maximum eco
nomic impact, it
likely to turn around should put the
bulk of the dollars
in the hands of
those who are
most likely to turn around and spend it. While
some elements of Bush's tax plan seem based
upon this philosophy, the elimination of the tax
on dividends seems strangely out of place.
Despite a concern for getting money to those
who need it most. Bush should avoid the temp
tation to target tax cuts at popular demograph
ic groups.
This is the first step in a negotiation process
with Congress, and Bush has begun the process
in a less than forthright manner. If he continues
to pander too much to those who elected him at
the expense of the economy, he may find him
self out of a job come 2004 and the Class of 2003
may find it harder to find jobs after graduation.
Tim Schniedwind is a graduate
enviromental engineering major.
Maroon is out; Aggies should bleed green
1 A M J J A S 01
eau of Labor Statistics
t of that pickup (•
energy costs, ind
ne, which mo'j
visions in the
/orries about
if the United Sis
r with Iraq,
ng energy pri (i |
rices went up by
: in “2002. That
t will be our actions that will decide the kind
of world we will leave our children. It will be
the decisions we make today that will deter-
I mine the quality of air, water, resources and life
we pass on to our grandchildren. Now is the time
for us to think about the decisions we are mak
ing when it comes to the environment.
Right now, our world is in a state of
environmental depreciation and
destruction. Figures from the United
Nations Earthwatch Web site show that
the 90s was the warmest decade in
known history and within 20 years,
London will be as hot as the.Loire
Valley. In September 2000, satellite
measurements revealed that a hole in
the ozone layer over Antarctica has
grown to a record 28.3 million square
kilometers, resulting in increased exposure
JOHN DAVID
BLAKLEY
of
i UV-B radiation. This could lead to more cases of
skin cancer and damage to the global ecosystem.
I This damage to the environment can be traced
t increase since a to rnan -
: in 1964, and i';.
percent increaseB
If man has chosen to be the root of the envi
ronment’s ruin, man should be the source of the
environment’s regeneration. There are countless
groups and organizations responding to the
decay of our planet, but these groups’ efforts are
not enough. To counter the deforestation rate,
offset the widening of tropic regions and
the shrinking of polar regions and prevent
the extinction of innumerable species of
plants and animals, it will take the efforts
of everyone. What role will Texas A&M
play in saving our environment?
I recently visited the University of
Texas campus in Austin, where 1 saw a
recycling bin next to every trash can. No
such recycling bins exist on the A&M
campus. A&M cannot be a major univer
sity in the 21st century if students have
such limited means to dispose of their waste in
an environmentally-conscious fashion. The
University of Texas and other universities with
similar programs, will come to be considered
more progressive than A&M unless this univer
sity takes steps toward being concerned with the
well-being of the planet.
The first step for A&M is recycling.
According to the United Nations Earthwatch
Web site, the amount of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere has increased by 31 percent since
1750 and half of the planet’s original forests
have been destroyed during the past three
decades.
In 1999, recycling and composting activities
prevented 64 million tons of material from being
burned or added to a landfill. It cannot be denied
that recycling can have huge effects on waste
prevention.
Aggies For a Clean Tomorrow, a group con
sisting of two employees and 15 student and
temporary workers, labors diligently to increase
recycling at A&M and has been successful in
integrating a recycling program into Legett Hall.
However, this is just one dorm out of 32. The
members of Aggies For a Clean Tomorrow
should be applauded for their accomplishments
in fostering this cause, especially when so many
people feel apathetic toward recycling. For stu
dents who do care about the environment but
live in one of the other 31 dorms they may have
to continue to waste their time and energy find
ing a place to recycle. A&M could make it much
easier by having a more reasonable number of
recycling containers on campus.
Aggies For a Clean Tomorrow’s mission is to
incorporate recycling programs into every dorm
on campus, which is a very noble goal. However,
it will continue to be merely a goal and not a
reality while students and the University remain
indifferent. The University needs to take the first
step by providing the resources for such organ
izations as Aggies For a Clean Tomorrow.
Ultimately, it will have to be the students who
decide whether they recycle their waste or, ulti
mately, use nature as their recycling bin.
John David Blakley is a freshman
political science major.
have the means 1
to spend, yoiri
it too long to fii* i
gain,” said ^
n, chief economic
mk. “Discounting
financing incentj
i.”
hat’s good for
npanies cutting
see their profit
lueezed fui
n added,
flation under cof'S
ely will hold inttfj
41 -year low of I
its next meeting
lomists said.
Serving in the U.S.
military is honorable
; /n response to Matt Rigney's Jan. 14
; column:
While I did not agree with all of the
points that Mr. Rigney was making
against reinstating the draft, I still appre
ciated his logic and respected his opin
ion. That is, until I read three key words
he wrote regarding Aggies that freely
elect to serve in the military: . . wast
ing. . . their life. . As a middle-class
Anglo-American Aggie who plans on
serving as an officer in the Marine
Corps, I had a problem with that one.
Can anyone who lives freely in this
nation really propose that to serve this
country as our fathers did before us is a
waste? How did this nation come to be
free? War. How have we protected our
borders and ideas? War. What single
action has granted us every right that
we enjoy today? War. Poverty is not the
only driving factor that motivates people
to join the military. Try pride in America.
Try loyalty and servitude towards your
fellow patriots. Try a sense of duty and
gratitude for those who have died giving
us this life. If someone only planned on
MAIL CALL
joining due to poverty, I would encour
age them to look elsewhere. After all,
there are better paying jobs that also do
not require a college degree. Maybe
journalism is the answer.
Kris Schaeffler
Class of 2003
Targeting female for yell
leader is sexism
In response to Collin Ezeanyim's Jan.
16 column:
Mr. Ezeanyim begins with the state
ment that A&M has yet to have a
female Yell Leader. This statement later
proves to be an interesting, albeit con
tradictory one, because he talks about a
precedent for a female Yell Leader set
by Kim Manuel of W-l, who was cho
sen by Corps members as a Fish Yell
back in 1979. There isn't any sort of
rule or stipulation that disqualifies them
from entering the election. Mr.
Ezeanyim's editorial still has one glaring
problem. That problem is as ridiculous
as it is discriminatory toward the very
women Mr. Ezeanyim is trying to fight
for. That is his suggestion that the
Corps should nominate a female cadet
to the Corps Bloc in an effort to show
that 'women can yell, too.' Why would
any female cadet want to be nominat
ed to Bloc simply so she could be
made into a statement? Putting a can
didate up for election simply based on
their gender is nothing more than sex
ism. Bo Wilson wasn't elected Yell
Leader because he was a man, and I
find no reason why Jane Doe should be
elected to the same position because
she is a woman.
Will Tolliver
Class of 2005