Seventy-eight years of editorial freedom Edited and managed by students of the University of Michigan under authority of Board in Control of Student Publications 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mich.. News Phone: 764-0552. Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily exp ress the individual opinions of staff writers or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints. 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- Second class postage paid at Ann Arbor, Michigan,, 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, =Michigaxn. 48104. Daily except Monday during regular academic school' year. Daily except Sunday and Monday during regular summer session. Fall and winter subscription rate $5,00 per term by .,..rr~ t A5 50 .. m attl"t nn fn -ar-.. Qj'O-s i'