Summer Daily Summer Edition of THE MICHIGAN DAILY Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan Tuesday, August 21, 1973 News Phone: 764-0552 Cause of shortages is our own gluttony EARLY THIS YEAR, Americans screamed that m e a t prices were skyrocketing and something had to be done. So the administration froze the price of meat. But the costs of the food for the cattle was not frozen and the marketing of cattle became unprofitable. So the farmer did not bring his cattle to market and there was a meat shortage. And the American people are screaming again-now for more meat. We, Americans, are spoiled gluttons who want cheap and plentiful supplies of everything from meat-to lumber. But we are slowly realizing that quantity, even if it lacks quality, is going to cost in the future. THIS COUNTRY consists of six percent of the world's population, yet we use 50 per cent of the world's re- sources. We have become accustomed to having all we want and not having to pay much for it. Now, we are finding out that we are getting less and paying more. Without doubt, the ineptitude of the Nixon admin- istration in controlling inflation has, to a great degree, in- creased the severity of the multiple economic crises. Each Phase has been a successive greater failure. And, the infamous wheat deal with Russia, wherein we gave the Russians grain at below cost prices, and then now pick up the tab on the difference, has brought rising prices for Americans. And, the monopoly in the oil industry, has reduced competition to such an extent that needed oil was not produced and we now have resultant higher fuel prices. FHERE ARE OTHER FACTORS that have contributed to our present situation: high prices and little quan- tity. But, the primary cause remains that we use just too much. We have become addicted to meat and potatoes at every meal, a full two-car garage in every home, and the individual home for every family. A dirty environment is another consequence of our fascination with quantity and eventually, we will have to pay a high price for that, too. Compared to most countries in the world we have more of everything at a cheaper cost. But we have always measured ourselves by a separate standard - not against other countries but against our own country at early years. It is understood that inflation in our country hurts the poor most and we must not change our living stand- ards at their expense. BUT, FOR THE VAST MAJORITY, we must realize that we cannot expend our resources using them to excess, and still expect that they will remain cheap and plentiful. u 1 j /J _.. '' ..: } a (- .n. " j J t r .. t ' _.. _..,... y" .,r _ ,, .. .,.ยข 4 LOW FIXED NCOME PENSIONERS - IE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL rulbers-Tull syndicate,1974 Listen, m0y good woman! Even with these record high food prices you housewives have it better than most people in the world!' In-state tuition: Heads or tails? By GORDON ATCHESON WHAT'S ALMOST as good as winning the Michigan lottery and definitely better than finding a ten dollar bill? Why being grant- ed in-state residency, of course. For those of us not lucky enough to decide our college plans during our pre-natal existence, becoming a Michigan citizen has turned out to be the biggest challenge since beating the draft board. With the cost of a University education, such as it is, rising fast- er than the price of ground beef, bread, and just about every other necessity, impoverished out-state students see the bestowal of in- state tuition as an elusive salvation which will allow us to continue sinking in the academic mire here. UNIVERSITY "officials", those senile gnomes who populate the numerous local ivory towers, claim the new residency guidelines make, it easier for people from foreign lands like New York and Nebraska to be counted among the 1 o y a 1 Wolverines. But after examining the n e w regulations, obviously the only peo- ple who easily qualify are students who already practice law, o w n tenements, or have been members of the Michigan National G u a r d since kindergarden. For that select few just a little advice-don't spend your windfall in one place. THE REST OF US, however, will have to tighten belts, h o c k socks, or hawk dope in self defense against the coming tuition bills. Clearly the group responsible for drawing up the guidelines has fol- lowed in the foot steps of t h e mighty Warren Commission and Nixon's Watergate investigative team, yet may well top both august bodies for vague, incomprehen- sible, and arbitrary results. The four committee members ad- mitted they really don't have a clear concept of how to apply the specific regulations. "The decisions just aren't simple ones," one mem- ber said. "The circumstances vary so much." AND TO complicate matters the committee has also added a few special guidelines of its own, such as: -on Tues. and Thurs. all type- written requests are denied. -any petition with mustard stains is granted except if a com- mittee member just had coneys for lunch, -every 43rd applicant must at- tend an interview _session sched- uled for 6:15 a.m. But after ar- riving he finds out the meet has been postponed until noon the next day. Once the committee turns down a request the applicant can appeal the decision to Vice President for Academic Affairs Allan Smith, the man with the second biggest ivory suite in the University. NEEDLESS TO SAY convincing Smith, when the four who giveth and takety away don't giveth, is about as easy as coming to grips with a half set bowl of jello. After grappling with Smith, there can be no appeal - not even to President Gnome himself. That's where the buck finally stops and of course its in the Univesity's pocket. So when the autumn breezes be- gin to blow and most students start thinking about football, we unfor- tunates lacking Michigan residency will spend our time walking around with noses to the ground looking for ten dollar bills. Energy crisis answer: Let the sun shine in By DICK WEST WASHINGTON (UPI) - Whither and whence, you may well ask, shall we derive our energy once present power resources are ex- hausted? The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind. Government ex- perts tell us we shall obtain energy by harnessing the passing breeze. And likewise from the golden-helmeted sun. Converting solar energy to practical uses above and beyond getting a good suntan looms large in current government planning. EXCELLENT: The sun and the wind-friends to man. But what of the falling rain? Vast amounts of energy are expended by the gentle rain that droppeth from heaven. Could not the pitter-patter on the roof also become a power producer? * Time will tell. Meanwhile, employment of these natural forces in the tasks now performed by coal and oil is pleasant to contemplate. For the restless wind and the burnished sun surely beat digging up West Virginia and haggling with the Arabs. But some little worries intrude upon this gladsome prospect. Will the technology for wind and solar energy be available in time to prevent power shortages? To be on the safe side, additional incentives and inducements are needed to spur development in this field. TOWARD THAT END, I should like to become the first to propose a sun depletion allowance. The sun isn't going to last forever, you know. Best present esti- mates are that it will burn itselfout in roughly five billion years. In some cases there may be a question as to whether five billion years provides enough time to recover the capital outlay and still make a decent profit. BEAR IN MIND that these installations aren't going to be worth a plugged nickel once the sun goes out. They'll be lucky to sell it for scrap. Such doubts could be removed by amending the Internal Revenue Code to include a sun depletion allowance. Under that provision, solar energy developers could write off a cer- tain percentage of their taxes as compensation for investing in some- thing which has a limited future. Considering that the sun is burning itself out at a continuous rate of 390 sextillion kilowatts of power, I would say a depletion deduction of 26 per cent would be a fair allowance. THAT WAY, most solar energy developers could amortize initial plant and equipment costs in about 25 years. Leaving them 4,999,999,975 years in which to turn a modest profit.