:_. .. ..
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Where the jobs are, the people aren't
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News Phone: 764-0552
Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express she individual opinions of staff writers
ur the editors. This must be noted in all reprints.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1972
NIGHT EDITOR: PAT BAUER
The U. S. and Bangladesh
WHEN RICHARD NIXON visited Paki-
stan in 1962," Senator Charles Percy
related several weeks ago, in a speech at
the University, "he was treated like a
king-ceremonial dinners, speeches, the
red-carpet treatment. When he arrived
at India during the same trip, however,
the Indian officials accorded him no
more respect than one normally would
to a defeated candidate for governor of
one of the 50 states."
"Now, one' can't be -sure," Percy con-
tinued, managing to inject a note of
irony in his well modulated voice, "but
this might be a reason why the Nixon
administration has favored Pakistan and
not India."
For whatever the reason, the United
States has clung stubbornly to the notion
of a united Pakistan, refusing to acknow-
ledge the independence of Bangladesh,
the eighth most populous country in the
world.
SGC at work
WHEREAS: Judy Kursman is immi-
nently (sic) qualified for SGC; and
WHEREAS: She has much administra-
tive experience in dealing with those
"morons" in UAC; and
WHEREAS: She is a woman and wo-
man (sic) are not represented in great
enough numbers on Council; and
WHEREAS: Her presence at Council
meeting (sic) will encourage the attend-
ance of member Nelson;
MOVE (and approved): That Judy
Kursman be appointed to fill the (va-
cant) Council seat.
-Reprinted from the official sum-
mary of action of the Feb. 10
SGC meeting.
Throughout the past year of repres-
sion and bloodshed on the Indian sub-
continent, President Nixon diplomatic-
ally overlooked months of slaughter by
the Pakistani army in its eastern prov-
ince, only to brand India the agressor
when the conflict broke into open war-
fare. In fact, as the Anderson Papers re-
veal, Nixon chided his advisors for not
taking an even tougher stand against
India, the 'backer of Bangladesh inde-
pendence.
BUT IN THE aftermath of the conflict,
Bangladesh is a nation, completely
independent from West Pakistan. She
has been recognized by_ 36 nations al-
ready, including the Soviet Union and
Britain. That the United States has
failed to follow suit is by no means sur-
prising; we have never been a nation
quick to admit having supported a los-
ing cause.
Unfortunately, Bangladesh's achieve-
ment of independence has done little to
relieve the plight of its overpopulated,
underfed people.
U.S. recognition of Bangladesh, there-
fore, could mean far more than a diplo-
matic formality-a desperately-needed
relief program of United States foreign
aid funds that have been cut off from
the subcontinent since last year could
be reinstated.
Recognition of Bangladesh may be
forthcoming following the President's
trip to China. In that way, Nixon can
avoid offending China, who also backed
Pakistan in the crisis.
BUT IN THE meantime, efforts to aid
Bangladesh, like the Ann Arbor
Bangladesh week should be supported.
-DANIAL JACOBS
By ZACHARY SCHILLER
FOR SOME time now, unemployment has cast
its long shadow across the American scene.
Speculation over what to do about it rages back
and forth, and it is generally well-known that the
jobless now number over five million.
But a high jobless rate also brings out trends in
employment that might otherwise be overlooked.
Such a trend is represented in the present discrep-
ancy between the blue and white collar unemploy-
ment rates - the former is 7.5 per cent, while
the latter is less than half that, 3.6 per cent.
The dissimilarity in these statistics is a symptom
of the fact that blue collar jobs are becoging fewer
and fewer and less and less important to the
economy as a whole.
At first glance, this is hard to see. Between 1950
and 1969, jobs in manufacturing industries declined
at a very slow rate - as a percentage of all wage
and salary workers, from a third to just over a
quarter of all jobs.
THIS ALMOST imperceptible shift took on greater
dimensions in the present economic crisis period,
but still did not exhibit drastic downward trends.
It is only if one looks at the key industrial states-
Illinois, Michigan, Ohio-that the true extent of
the downward trend in blue collar jobs becomes
apparent.
In these three states, there was over a 10 per cent
decline in employment in manufacturing between
1969 and 1971. Close to half a million manufacturing
jobs were lost in the three states in this time
period.
Furthermore, there is virtually no chance that
jobs in these areas will increase in the near future.
A recent New York Times headline reported that,
"Major industries are not likely to curb the unem-
ployment rate in U.S." The story went on to docu-
ment the case in each industry.
In steel, automobiles, textiles, and electronics,
job levels are stable at best. Most producers are
trying to increase productivity with a smaller work-
ing force. In the steel industry for example, the
same product can be produced now with 11 per-
cent fewer workers than six years ago.
EVEN THOSE uneducated in economics can con-
clude that the composition of the American job
market is going to change and change drastically.
However, at this point there has been no effort
whatever to investigate long-run employment trends
in this country. It seems to have been naturally
assumed that an ever-burgeoning work force, now
expanding by close to two million every year, will
easily find employment.
In fact, about the only thing the Administration
seems to be doing with the unemployment problem
is define it out of existence. Definitions - hinging
on such vague factors as if someone is "actively
looking for work" - are periodically changed so
as to technically limit those considered as unem-
ployed.
All this beating about the bush ignores the pos-
sibility of a crisis in long-run employment, par-
ticularly for blue collar workers.
As unskilled and semi-skilled jobs slowly dis-
appear from the scene, more and more education
is becoming a vital requirement for virtually any
type of job.
Yet, there has been no planing for educational
change, either qualitatively or quantitatively. Bud-
gets are rapidly dwindling in most areas of educa-
tion and schools are hard-pressed even to maintain
present standards and programs.
THE STRATEGY of the government at this point
appears to be: wait until the crisis arrives, then
we'll worry about it. This is catastrophically similar
to what occurred in the field of ecology - it was ap-
parent for years that a disaster was imminent, and
now suddenly it is at our heels.
The signs point to an employment problem in
the offing for the American economy. It appears
obvious that the government's solution is to ignore
it; the question, then, -is whether the people will.
t
Blue collar worker: A vanishing breed?
Rainbow party and HRP: New bed fellows
By TAMMY JACOBS
P OLITICS MAKES strange bed-
fellows.
And, for most of the members of
the Ann Arbor branch of the Hu-
man Rights Party, the most re-
cent group to jump into their bed
couldn't have been more welcome.
After over a year of less-than-
enthusiastic support, the Rainbow
People's Party (RPP) has placed
itself and its resources firmly be-
hind HRP, adding a new aspect
to the group's slowly-growing base
of support and a new dimension
to the April city \elections.
The Rainbow People bring with
them knowledge and skills for run-
ning campaigns - learned t h e
hard way in their efforts to free
RPP leader John Sinclair, who
was released from jail in Decem-
ber after serving 21/ years of a
91/-10 year sentence for marijuana
possession.
More important, perhaps, they
influence a "youth culture-street
freak" constituency that HRP, with
its long procedural meetings, does
not easily attract.
RPP's work with Drug H e I p
and the Community Center, its
food co-op, its part in organizing
weekly summer outdoor concerts,
have earned the party many
friends, some of whom will hope-
fully join HRP's ranks in t h e
Rainbow, People's wake.
"It's our organizational policy
to support and work for the Hu-
man Rights Party," says Sinclair.
From the looks of things, he isn't
speaking of any mere paper policy
of support.
AS THE NEW YEAR began, Sin-
clair and a few other RPP mem-
bers started attending HRP meet-
ings. And last weekend, when HRP
made its nominations for City
Council at an open convention,
RPP leader Genie Plamondon was
selected to run in the Third Ward,
RPP member Mike Minnich was
elected to the HRP steering com-
mittsee, and RPP offered its much-
needed funds, talents and printing
equipment for the campaign.
The new partnership is more
surprising when it is considered
in historical context. RPP h a s
traditionally shied away from el-
ectoral politics, working on their
own to get the community "serv-
ices they felt the city needed.
"We're perfectly willing to work
through the electoral system if we
find a reasonable alternative to
the two other parties," Plamo,-
don says. "We feel HRP is such
an alternative."
ONE YEAR ago, the alternative
wasn't so clear to RPP. When
HRP was conceived during t h e
winter of 1970-71 - it was called
the Radical Independent Party,'
then - Leni Sinclair was made a
member of the original steering
committee.
But she soon lost interest, ap-
parently because of what one ob-
server called "RIP's procedural
bullshit" and because the RPP
campaign to "Free John" was a
full-time load.
By April, relations had degen-
erated to the point where Tribal
Council, a coalition of various
community groups including RPP.
endorced RIP candidate Jerry De
Grieck for City Council, but re-
fused to endorse RIP mayoral
candidate Doug Cornell, instead
,plugging incubbent Democrat Ro-'
bert Harris - not Tribal Coun-
cil's concept of a perfect mayor
by any means.
From then until last month, the
two groups have pretty much gone
separate ways.
"We didn't know if they were
serious then," explains Sinca-ir.
"Last year they sprang up three
months before the elections - rad-
ical groups tend to spring up op-
portunistically and such groups
don't last long."
HRP, a full year and two local
elections old now, has finally prav-
ed its stability to RPP.
"I never thought I'd see the
day," happily exclaimed one HRP
regular - several HRP regulars,
in facts-when Sinclair gave a
warm supporting speech at t h e
convention.
The sweetness and light isn't
all-inclusive, however. When t h e
HRP convention first found itself
with a choice to make between
Plamondon and Phil Carroll f o r
Third Ward candidate, there was a
strong feeling for Carroll, w h o
has worked very steadily for the
party.
Quite understandably, both the
dedication and the politics of Pla-
mondon and her group were mis-
trusted. "They haven't done any-
thing for us all year - why sh'ould
we nominate them now," was the
prevailing and perhaps majority
opinion.
BUT BOTH Plamondon and Sin-
clair gave raps affirming t h e i r
commitment to HRP and its' plat-
form, and Plamondon's willingness
to be bound by the platform.
So, when the votes were cast,
Plamondon became the T h i r d
Ward nominee by a confortable,
but not overwhelming, 34-21 mar-
gin.
PERHAPS; AS the; skeptics say,
it won't last long. Perhaps, also,
HRP veterans' accusations that
RPP has "none of the kind of p.oli-
tical discipline that the HRP has
built up" is true, also.
One major question, of course,
is whether RPP will gain t h e
party more in 'youth culture'
votes than they lose it in the
liberal but straight sections.
However, given the circumstanc-
es, the old-timers at HRP are right
to take what they see as a gamble,
in welcoming RPP with wide-open
arms. Their odds are good that
the coalition will- be a fruitful one
for HRP.
And, looking back on RPP's two
years of pushing for Sinclair's re-
lease, one skeptical HRP member
had to admit, "Anyway, they sure
know how to organize."
4
I
*
PETE HAMILL
Winning the war,
wi th North Vietnam
4
AND SO IT may be over. The President of the United States has gone
on television to announce what may be the beginning of the end.
A withdrawal date will be announced in time. The troons will come
home, leaving Vietnam forever. They will leave behind a ruined country-
side, a devastated society, villages reduced to rubble, a generation
of South Vietnamese who have known nothing but hatred.
For a while after the ground troops leave, the planes will still rain
death from the skies, but after that while, they will vanish too, and
Vietnam will again be left to itself. And Vietnam will have won.
This was a war fought by small proud Asian men, who had no air
force to speak of, no navy, very little armor. They made shoes out of
rubber tires, they lived on rice, they fought with weapons they had
retrieved from the bodies of dead enemies.
Against them on the battlefield was the greatest technological power
on the earth. The U.S. brought in more than 2 million troops before it
was over, reaching a peak at one point of 545,000 men; another 2 million
South Vietnamese were also under arms, paid and led by Americans.
And still the hard little men came down the trails, to fight and die for
Vietnam.
We never came to understand them, never fully saw them as brave
men, dedicated to ideals that Americans once cherished. Our politicians
lied to us, our generals lied to themselves, and the war went on and
on until death itself became a bore.
The Viet Cong, and later the North Vietnamese army, deserved to
win because they were fighting for something that was worth fighting
for: a united Vietnam. They beat back the strongest army on earth
because they were better men and therefore better soldiers.
THEY WILL WIN because the present Saigon government is rotten
to the core; it groveled for the American dollar and corrupted itself in
the process. It can no sooner rule on its own than a government that
worked with the French could have ruled North Vietnam after 1954. The
Vietnamese nationalists, north and south, have long memories.
They remember that Ho Chi Minh had written letters to Franklin
Roosevelt asking for guarantees that the French would not return after
World War Two; Ho.Chi Minh worked with the OSS against the
Japanese, and when the war was over Harry Truman let the French
march back in and Ho Chi Minh took his gun -to the hills.
-Daily-Terry McCarthy
Rainbow People's Party headquarters
Letters:
To The Daily:
WITH REFERENCE to the upcom-
ing advisory vote on the proposed Ann
Arbor city income tax, there still is
an unanswered question that disturbs
me.
The fact that the city is broke and
needs more money to maintain serv-
ices I think I understand. And I agree
that an income tax is more progres-
sive a tax than the archaic property
tax.
But what is to be the disposition of
the proposed 7.5 mill property tax
Voting a rent increase for landlords
that I am to pay both the property
tax and the flat rate income tax,
with the landlord cashing in on the
unexpected windfall, then I plan to
vote NO.
A YES vote would be tantamount
to voting the landlord a rent increase.
--Jerry Amoer, grad.
Feb. 10
ROTC
To The Daily:
IN REPLY to Miss Rebecca War-
ner's editorial against ROTC (Daily,
be personally satisfying to some peo-
ple, it is not very prudent, even from
an anti-militarist viewpoint. Despite
Miss Warner's charges that ROTC
fails to favorably affect the military
establishment, there are few who
would prefer an Army without edu-
cated officers vis a vis an Army with
them.
And without recruitiment and train-
ing by ROTC on campus, there would
still be just as many officers as there
are now, but not so many educated
ones.
The reason for the delay in adopt-
ing SACUA's anti-ROTC recommen-
dations may be related to the Uni-
versity's military ties. However, it also
may be the recognition of many anti-
ROTC sentiments for what they are-
the ego trips of a few self-indulgent
pseudo - revolutionaries who prefer
limited personal and local success to
the more difficult task of achieving
meaningful reform throughout the
military forces.
-John W. Allen
Feb. 11
conduct a cost study of the regional
sewage treatment system - a study
which will, in all likelihood, prove
that the regional system is too costly
and detrimental to Lake Erie.
Expansion of Ann Arbor's local sew-
age treatment plant does, in fact, of-
fer the solution to tomorrow's water
quality, but it was due to Mayor
Harris' convincing presentation to the
annual meeting of SEMCOG that the
possibility of that solution still exists,
-Stephen F. Loebs, grad
Vah
In 1954, after the Viet Minh had won their war against the French,
Ho Chi Minh again trusted the West. He accepted the Geneva agree-
ments for a temporary partition of his country, with nationwide elections
to follow in 1956. The Americans canceled those elections when it be-
came clear from intelligence reports that Ho Chi Minh would win.
Again the Vietnamese took up the gun.
Now they are about to win again. It took the Americans more than
'seven years, $120 billion, and 55,000 American lives to understand that
*'
they could not win because they should not win. We went up against
Asia, and in the process twisted our national psyche into a guilt-ridden,
clenched, dreary mess.
Our cities began to rot, while the money flowed to Asia. An