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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1968
NIGHT EDITOR: RON LANDSMAN
.,...... , , m .
Romney's taxing dilemma:
Pacing 'progressive' poverty
MONDAY, THE dismal news reported by
the Chronicle of Higher Education:
Michigan ranks 48th in proportional in-
crease of appropriations to higher edu-
cation.
We beat out Alabama , and Louisiana,
perhaps the nation's most tight-fisted-;
and backward-states. And there is really
no. good reason for Michigan's stinginess.
This state ranks among the nation's
richest, but it has trapped itself in a fi-
nancial bind. Michigan is committed to
progressive programs of education, help
for the mentally ill, and aid to the poor
without a realistic tax structure to sup-
port such programs. This structure must
be revised.
And the best way to begin fiscal reform
is through adoption of a graduated in-
come tax for the state.
In 1963, at the writing of the present
state constitution, Republican forces, led
by (then) auto executive and (now) Gov-
ernor George Romney, won adoption of
Sec. 7, Article IX (finance and taxation):
"No income tax graduated as to rate or
base shall be imposed by the state or any,
of its subdivisions."
THUS, WHEN Romney attempted to re--'
form the tax structure of the state
and employ a state income tax (which
was eventually put into effect just one
year ago this month), he was forced to
adopt a flat-rate tax schedule. Now, 2.6
per cent of a taxpayer's income goes to
the state of Michigan.
This 2.6 per cent is a worthwhile invest-
ment by anyone's standards. It buys one
of the nation's best interstate highway
systems; 11 colleges and universities, in-,
cluding two of the nation's finest; and
public schools which, while far from per-,
fect, are far above average. However, the
state is running out of money. It is barely
able to do more than barely keep pace
with inflation. And barely keeping pace in
the fields of education and welfare aid is
equivalent to falling behind.
In search of additional revenue, the
governor looks t o the state's greatest.
sources of income. The burgeoning prof-
its of state industries provide a signifi-
cant, but still insufficient, source of addi-
tional revenue. To get the rest, he pon-
ders raising the flat-rate personal income
tax. But Romney can't do this without
committing political suicide. It is in this
manner that George Romney has ensnar-
ed himself.
THE FLAT-RATE taxes Romney pushed
so hard contain considerable amounts
of hidden taxpayer resistance-definitely
more than graduated income taxes.
Flat-rate taxes, when increased across
the board, hurt the lower-income citizen
who is just managing to keep his head
above water. Graduated taxes provide
means for tapping the greatest sources of
income with the least harm to the people
-at large.
Yet Romney continues to go on record
opposing a graduated income tax. And the
state's institutions continue to face the
future bound of ridiculously low increases
in appropriationas.
The people of this state have a- chance
to amend the constitution on Nov. 5. A
proposal on the ballot, if passed, would I
permit the legislature to pass a graduated
income tax scale. For the good of our
grade schools, our mental health pro-
grams, and our cblleges and universities,
it deserves approval. J
-JIM NEUBACHER ,
Toward
EDITOR'S NOTE: Earl in Se
tine' p-'."o'' a racist..
tember, two U.A.W. locals endorsed olr'
George C. Wallace for President. NoUldn't
Se then, pollstersband alarmed America:
the Wallace strength among the
unions in the traditionally Demo- WHA
cratic bastion of Flint. To unscien- says he t
tifically assess the Wallace power in man."
the U.A.W., reporter Mike Hubbard
ventured to Flint, following Wal- "Naw,
lace's successful whirlwind tour of Nixon."
that city about a month ago.
Wllce
By.MIKE HUBBARD Wallace
"Well
THE SIGN read "CHEVROLET." I can't sa
About a mile of City of Flint straight
pavement separated me from it. I kind of
walked along the black top, be- tions?"
side the crumbled curb.
"Yeah,
Past a few blocks of small stores, swer que
T ,stopped at the Nixon headquar- "Howi
ters where, a woman said every- Wallace.
oneswho voted for Wallace was a "Quite
racist. Two plastic, inflated ele-
phants grinned blankly while I are for h
left. "Willi
I crossed the railroad tracks and they jus
a bridge over the hopelessly pollut- as a pro
ed Saginaw. IJ passed an empty "Well,
warehouse, a Montgomery Ward they'll vo
layout and the Maryland Bar. "Well,
Pleasure
THE STICKER READ "THE "Sorry
UAW SUPPORTS WALLACE." It ain't real
was glued to the bumper of a car, "That'
parked across the -street from the ter.,'
Chevy factory where members of
,United Auto Workers Local 659 AS I
earn their living. A man with a poster:"
crewtcut stood smoking in a store Inside'
front.....
"ssie w
"Hello", I said. and drin
"Hello", he said. "Hello,
"I'm working for a newspaper, down? I
and as you know peopleare pretty paper, ai
curious about how the U.A.W. is about ho
going to be voting in this elec- rote. Do
tion. Do you have any preferences? ences?"
I see you're wearing a Wallace "Walla
button."'
"Yes sir. He's my man." "Walla
"Well, I know some people think "Would
he's a bigot. Do you believe that Kennedy
he is one?" "Yeah,
"Noo. . . "A lot
"A lot of papers have said that lace is a
they think his stand on law and votes for
order is merely a cover up for his think he
desire to suppress blacks. What do
you think he means by law and "I don',..
order?" ' tainly d
"I think he means that everyone against c
will be treated the same, no mat- "What
ter who it is. If someone breaks idea. I kr
a law he's gonna get it. There ain't the high
gonna be no more murderers get- countryt
ting free. Naw, I don't think he's ernor, an
i I mean if he was, I
vote for him. That ain't
Ln."
kT ABOUT Humphrey? He
does a lot for the working
he's just the same as
what do you like about
. . , I'm not educated so
ay it so good ..
you mean Wallace t a lk s
while the other two just
avoidthanswering ques-
, Nixon didn't even an-
stions."
much support is there for
a bit, a lot of the guys
they vote for him or are
t saying they're for him
test?
I don't know. I think
ote for him."
I guess I better move on.
talking to you.
I can't say it so well. I
l educated."
s all right. Doesn't mat-
TURNED away I read a
O0-KUM-ON-INN".
the eating place Steve and
ere eating cheeseburgers
king coffee.
do you mind if I sit
m working for a news-
ind' people are curious
w the U.A.W. is going to
you have any prefer-
ce," said Steve.
ce." answered Ossie.
d you have voted for
?"
I could've voted for him."
of people are saying Wal-
bigot, and any one who
him is one too. Do you
is a racist?"
t think so, I'know I cer-
on't have any feelings
olored folk."
about his law and order
now Alabama had one of
est crime rates in t h e
when Wallace was Gov-
d he refused to obey fed-
a
less Democratic
.A.W.
Ak
4
"Ah'm tired of.the image you press people are givin' the
general and mah'- self..!"
eral laws and Supreme Court de-
cisions relating to school desegra-
gation."
"Well, I don't know about that.
I mean the streets aren't safe, and
something has to be done. We've.
got to have law and order, I'm
afraid for my wife to go to the
store."
"What about Vietnam. Do you
think Wallace is right?"
"W11, something's got to be
done. We're making our boys fight
with one hand behind their back.
A case for going to outer space
WITH resources strained by a foreign
war land by urgent national needs, de-
bate over federal spending priorities has
increased. The space program, though re-
ceiving only 2.2 per cent of the national
budget, has been a frequent target for
misdirected criticism. While this country
must not continue to ignore serious do-
mestic problems, there is a 'strong case
for a sensible program of space explora-
tion.
In the past 11 years the United States
has launched 540 unmanned and 17 man-
ned spacecraft, ranging from the- 18
pound Explorer 1 to the 69,000 p o u n d
Apollo 7 w h i c h landed yesterday. The
price for developing a space capability1
has not been cheap - about $30 billion
since 1957.
Yet for a number of reasons this huge
sum is an investment in the present and
future of all mankind. It is an investment
that will yield increasing dividends in the
areas of economic benefits, scientific
knowledge, and technological leadership.'
FIRST, OUR investment is being repaid
ingeconomic and practical applications.
Every cent budgeted for space is spent on
earth, stimulating the economy and pro-
viding jobs. Unlike pork barrel projects
which achieve the same effect, the space
program supports a wide combination of
economic sectors including science, en-
gineering, and education'.
While many payoffs lie in- the future,
there already have been a number of ap-
plications from space research:
- Meteorological satellites are provid-.
ing vast amounts of data for better,
weather forecasts. It is estimated t h a t
this could save farmers and others as
much as $15 billion a year by 1975.
- Communication satellites are beam-
ing television "and telephone across the
world. Such satellites have decreased the
cost of transoceanic circuits by as much
as one-third. Further, the launch of a
single, satellite in 1965 was able to in-.
crease the number of transatlantic cir-
cuits by 50 per cent.'
-Navigation satellites are proving in-
valuable to ships and airplanes.,
- Space needs have forced new pro-
ducts and processes to be developed. Items
s u c h as operational fuel cells, freeze-~.
dried food, and teflon are all results of
space research. The lack of large boosters
forced microminiaturization of 'compon-
ents, aiding electronics and computer re-
search. In developing spacecraft compon-
ents, new materials, such as beryllium,
and methods of working with them have
been found.
SECOND, our investment is being repaid
in terms of scientific knowledge.
<'Spacecraft have photographed all of the
moon and parts of Mars. Such probes
'have analyzed the atmospheres of Mars
j and Venus and the surface of the moon.
Instruments have discovered the solar
wind, Van Allen radiation belts and the
shape of the earth. Pictures from manned
and unmanned missions have found geo-
logic fault systems, weather circulation
patterns and ocean currents, .
By expanding the area for scientific in-
quiry we are closer to getting answers to
two of the most basic questions of science,
the origin of the universe and the possi-
bility of life on other planets.
Third, out investment is being paid off
in terms of technological leadership. The
basis for our economic strength, techno-
logy can help solve national problems,
such as pollution, brought upon us by
urbanization and industrialization.
THE ONLY MEANS to advance techno-
' logy is to continuously challenge it.
The space program, working in a new and
hostile, environment, accelerates and fo-
cuses this challenge. Space is our techno-
logical frontier.
The frontier that is space should not be
despoiled by political rivalries. The para-
nolas of the cold war are irrelevant to a
defense of the space program and should
not be invoked in its defense. The United
States and Russia have both scored
enough space "firsts" to satisfy chauvin-
istic pride. It is time that both cooperate
in the exploration of this new frontier.
Certainly, we must feed the 'starving,
build colleges and hospitals, clean up our
rivers and lakes. But to ignore the hard
dividends we have already received from
the space program would be folly.
If funds must be cut, the already lim-j
Daily-Jay L. Cassidy,
I
We should either get in there and
wipe them out or get the hell out."
BILL THATCHER, a union of-
ficial in charge of pension and
asurance was waiting for me at
the Local's Hall. A black man, he
said, "Humphrey- Muskie all the
way, and you can quote me on
that."
"How much support does he
have in the local, is it the usual
70 per cent?"
"Humphrey will take it."
"Do you think Wallace is a rac-
ist?"
"Wallace is the biggest racist in,
America. He's a fascist, another
Adolph Hitler. But he's worse be-
cause he's an American."
"Do you think the men who are
voting for him are bigots?"'
"Each man is entitled to his -
own choice, just so long as they all
vote.",
It was already 5:30. No break-
fast, an hour and a half bus ride,
six hours of interviewing, and
stops at the Republican and Amer-
ican' Independence Party cam-=
paign centers. The bus was quiet,
and the 'louds weren't performing.
A U.A.W. spokesman had esti-
mated that the union was 30 per
cent black,and75 per cent South-
ern immigrants. 'Many Of 'the'
workers do not have a high school
education. Thus, to say that they
are a cross-section of the dbuntry
is spurious. It may bs that Wallace
support is widespread, but it would
not be appropriate to use the
U.A.W. as a weathervane.
Because many of them live in
the city, and because their sons
go to war, not to college, they
are nevertheless painfuly aware of
the' gut issues, the nation faces.
They'work'beside the products of
the ghetto; they know what it's'
like to live in poverty. ;
THESUPPORT for Wallace is
genuine. $5,000 was raised for
him in the plant. One man re-
portedly gave $500. 659 has 23,000
members, and around half of them
support Wallace. Nixon will get
almost no votes. Humphrey will
take 90 per cent of the black vote.
That means Wallace will take 5
out of every 7 white voters. Genes-
'see County could also go Wallace.
Many of the workers live in the
county, and even the women at
Republican headquarters said he
had a lot of support.
These men, black and white.
dislike the welfare system. ("Why
should I pay a man for sitting on
his ass when my kids .are wear-
ing raggedy clothes?") They want
their wives to be able to go out
at night, they want the war stop-
ped, they want welfare ended.
They are disgusted with the vague,
evasive answers of Humphrey and
Nixon.
Almost eveyone I talked to said
the major parties had forgotten
them.
George Wallace offers very sim-
ple solutions to rather complex
only candidate who is offering
problems. Moreover, he is the only
candidate who is offering any de-
finite solutions. So, he is ver ap-
pealing to those who have the
feeling that the sky is falling.
They want the problems solved.
and probably would have voted for
Kennedy. ("'He said what the
problems were, and how to solve
them.")
The machine politics of Hum-
nhrev and Nixon have contribut-
They don't dislike blacks, they
just feel black men shouldn't be
given a bigger break than anyone
else. The white U.A.W. members
as a whole do not believe Wallace
is a racist. All they know is what
he told them, and he never said
he hated blacks. In fact Wallace
could get up to 5 per cent of the
black vote.
Even the most militant Negro
workers I talked to didn't feel
there was large scale prejudice' in
the Union. They dislike Wallace,.
but not the men who are voting
for; him.
Indeed, Wallace supporters are
really only secondary racists. They
are not actively discriminating,
but rather they would perpetuate
a system of institutionalized pre-
judice. The only reason they are
secondary racists is that they do
not understand the nature of the
problem.
THEY DO NOT know how td
'solve the fact that a high percent-
age of blacks are on welfare, but
they want that situation ended.
They don't know how to solve the
crime problem, but they want,se-
Some are doubtless guilty of out
right bigotry; more are guilty of
secondary racism, and they all
want the probles solved. They
iare. voting for. Wallace -because
h-'s the only one who has pro-
posed any definite programs.
They do not know the history of
Wallace, and hence, do not realize
the full meaning of what he says.
So, it seemed to me, Wallace's
popularity is the result of a lack
of information, two side-stepping
politicians and the sincere desire
for a better life.
This is not to say that the sin-
cere views nofnWallace supporters
in the unions are harmless to
liberal elements in American so-
ciety. However, Wallace supporters
seem- essentially ands typically
American in their single minded
devotion to a man who can talk
to them.
I got off the bus, and it didn't
seem as if Flint was so far away.
4
Letters to the Editor
academic slavery
To the Editor:
DUE, NO DOUBT, to the recent
concern about academic re-
form and the policies, procedures
and values of this University, I
have received many inquiries from
members of the University com-
munity about the decision made_
last year by the chemistry depart-
ment to terminate my academic
appointment.
Since there seems to be some
interest in the whole question of
the nature of faculty appoint-
ments, and since my situation -
in the eyes of some appears to
raise some broader issues, I should
like to take this opportunity to
state what I know of the matter. I
want to make it clear, however,
that in no way do I seek or en-
courage an attempt to alter the
decision which has already been
made in my case.
I have been an assistant profes-
sor in the chemistry department
since 1963. In my opinion, on the
basis of the feedback I have re-
ceived from students in my class-
es, I have done a good job teach-
ing, established a good rapport
with my students, and been suc-
cessful in stimulating them to a
greater interest in the subject ma-
terial.
IN ADDITION, I have engaged
in numerous activities which I re-
gard as "valuable public service."
These activities included the
teach-in movement (in which
ment in this matter and consider-
ed those engaged in activities op-
posed to the ones I have mention-
ed to have rendered "valuable
public service.")
Last February I was informed by
the chairman of my department
that on the basis of a complete
and objective appraisal of my total
academic record, I would not be
recommended fornpromotion to a
tenured position, and that I could,
if I desired, stay for the next (i.e.,
the current) academic year to give
me an opportunity to find ano-
ther job.
I assume some committee in my
department made this decision.
The procedure that they followed,
the information about me which
they did or did not take into ac-
count, and the criteria which they
used-such as the importance they
attached to research output and
teaching - are, by and large, un-
known to me. I would surmise,
however, that, they did not deem
my research activitites to be of
sufficient prominence. At the time
when I was informed of the
decision by the chairman of my
department, I asked him to let me
see the report evaluating me. This
request was denied on the grounds
that the report was confidential.
If some members of the. Uni-
versity community think it is
meaningful to use my case as a
focus for' raising some of the
broader issues involved in faculty,
appointments, I have no objec-
tions, in this context, to informa-
tion about my University activities
being publiclv discussed.
Double-barrelled
To the Editor:
IN THE LAST few weeks the local
CIA office and the University's
Institute of Science & Technology
have been bombed. Beyond straight
news coverage,' The News dried
"mad bomber"..and The Daily, in
a state of near hysteria, called for
ap end to the bombing. Then si-
lence.
There is a question of Univer-
sity guilt that must be opened. I
submit somequotations from the
Oct. 12 issues of Guardian.
"For the past five years, Amer-
ican scientists have been engaged
in a desperate effort to perfect
advanced counterguerrilla surveil-
lance systems in order to provide
the U.S. with a technological ad-
vance over incipient revolutionary
movements in remote areas . ."
"WHEN THE PENTAGON rec-
ognized that such equipment could
be modified for use in counterin-
surgency, they turned to this coun-
try's leading center in infrared
surveillance research, the Univer-
sity of Michigan's Institute of
Science and Technology . ."
"New techniques in aerial re-
connaissance utilizing . infrared
sensors have already demonstrated
their effectivness in Southeast
Asia . . :"
"Guevara, the CIA's 'most want-
ed' guerrilla warrior, 'was finally
captured after a U.S.-financed
search operation which utilized
new infrared survey equip-
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