Daily Photo by PAUL ENGSTROM
HARVARD SOCIOLOGY Prof. Daniel Bell describes an electronic future to a sizeable crowd at the Rackham Amphi-'
theater in the first part of the William W. Cook lecture series.
Bells 'Third Revolution theory ties
social change to future technologies
(Continued from Page 1)
ts this time," he explained. "It took 100
years for people to realize they were
living through the first technological
volution." That first revolution, Bell
maid; saw the invention of the steam
engine, while the second revolution is
marked by the invention of electricity
and progress in chemistry. "Plastics,
synthetics, and dyes brought about this
new age of 'substitutability,"' he ex-
plained.
The third revolution will come about,
Bell said, with changes within the "in-
fra-structure," the coding system; and
technology of today's society. He
"Oredicted that the "infra-structure,"
the very building blocks of American
society-its transportation, energy, and
communications-will be reorganized
within new dimensions of time and
space.
Our system of coding, which
originated with the picture-symbol and
evolved into alphabetic representation,
will be transformed by modes of video
technology. The crucial change, accor-
ding to Bell, will be a new "centrality"
of image, where the picture and not the
word becomes the means of com-
munication. "We don't know the
ramifications of this shift, of the image
becoming more important than the
word," he warned. Learning, as a
result, will become a different process
of assimilting pictures rather than text.
He said that aesthetically, producers,
artists, and performers will no longer
have complete control over the images
seen by their audiences.
AS.FOR technology, a term Bell
redefines as "techno," a Greek word
linking the concepts of culture and
social structure, Bell said, "The most
significant idea of this country is
miniaturizaiton." He visualizes a day
when "micro-processes" will open
hundreds of radio bands and TV chan-
nels, when "books can be put on the
head of a pin," and "man can rework
nature," with the ability to model
weather.
With these innovations will come
changes within the social structure it-
self. Bell predicted that the *United
States government will be reorganized
into a centralized system of infor-
mation, and that there will be a day
when mass referendum can be prac-
ticed on a national and local scale.
"Technology makes it all possible,"
Bell explained.
IN HIS NEXT two lectures, to be held
at 4 p.m. today and tomorrow in the
Rackham Amphitheatre, Bell will ex-
plore the consequences of a changing
industrial society and the impacts of
technology.
Bell is a leader of the neo-
conservative movement, author of
several books on soical politics, and a
former member of the editorial board
of Fortune magazine.
City Council
urges joint
effort in tax
cut proposal
(Continued from 1 age 1)
school district, about ten per cent to the
county and four per cent to Washtenaw
Community College.
Last year, Council adopted a .5 mill
decrease in the millage through general
city government cutbacks. A total of
18.8mills or 27 per cent of the tax dollar
was levied by the city.
COUNCIL ALSO invited the school
district and the county to form a com-
mittee that would include a city
representative to recommend
legislation to cap property taxes and, if
necessary, to put the proposal before
the voters. Although the Headlee
Amendment mandates that most bond
issues receive voter approval, the
proposed rollback can be enacted by
council vote.
Councilwoman Leslie Morris (D-
Second Ward) cast the ohly vote again-
st the resolution, explaining that the
resolution asking the county and school
district to recommend tax legislation
was "not responsible enough" as
amended.
SCHOOL BOARD President Kathleen
Dannemiller said the most the school
district "can afford to cut is one-half
mill," or about $500,000, from the
budget.
The school district has a $1 million
budget surplus, according to Dan-
nemiller. She added that the board is
wary of adopting a millage rollback
that would "cut out the cushion"
provided by the surplus for unexpected
expenses.
The school board will begin budget
consideration next month. In the June
school board election voters will be
asked to approve a millage renewal.
THE 1980 county budget already has
been preparedbased on a 6.1 mill tax
levy. Since the county has had millage
rollbacks for the past two years, a total
of .5 mills, the Council's rollback
request is aimed primarily at the school
district, according to County Senior
Budget Supervisor Michael Stimpson.
Any further rollback depends on the
size of the year-end balance for 1979,
which has not yet been determined, ad-
ded Stimpson.
which has not yet been determined, add
The tax rate paid by city residents in
1979 was 71 mills or $71 per $1,000
assessed evaluation. According to the
state constitution, all property in the
state .is assessed for 50 per cent of the
market value as determined by the city
assessor.
In proposing the tax reduction,
Fisher said, "I think we need to deal
with this and deal with it (tax relief)
positively, because it is becoming more
of a burden, not only on the single
family home, but on the renter."
ALTHOUGH fluctuations in property
taxes are not directly correlated with
rent, Fisher explained, yesterday, if
property taxes aren't increased rents
may not increase as much as in
previous years.
Fisher, who is running for reelection
in the Fourth Ward, countered charges
that the proposal was merely campaign
rhetoric. "I've been working on it for
two years . . . My gain is to try to do
what is popular in Ann Arbor.," he said.
FEATURING
GOZO YOSHIMASU
Japanese Poet in .Residence, 1979-80
Oakland University
i'
The Univehrsity of Michigan
Center for Japanese Studies &
Department of English Language and
Literature
POETRY READING
The Michigan Daily-Wednesday, January 23, 1980-Page 7
The AnnbAtorFilm Coopert Presents at Aud. A: FREE
Wednesday, January 23
DIARY OF A COUNTRY PRIEST
(Robert Bresson, 1951) 7 & 9--Aud. A-FREE
Winner of the Grand Prix du Cinema Francaiss, Bresson's only masterpiece is
the story of an ailing priest who feels that he has failed to raise the mora
level of his parish. "One of the most profound emotional experiences in the
history of the cinema."-Pauline Koel. French with English subtitles.
Tomorrow: ,Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
at Aud. A $1.50
Thursday, January 24, 1980
Pendleton Room, Michigan Union
3:30 pm
STU DENTS!
The peer counselors of 76-Guide at
Counseling Services are offering a
FREE WORKSHOP IN
ASSERTIVENESS TRAINING
Assertiveness Training is:
" Learning to speak up for your rights, feelings,
and opinions in a direct and honest manner.
* Learning to distinguish between assertiveness,
non-assertiveness, and aggression.
" Learning how these principles may be applied
to your everyday interactions.
Join other students in a participation-
oriented small group setting.
ThU rs., Jan. 3l -7-9pmn
Thr. fn 3100 Michigan Union
* Enrollment limited
* Register in advance by calling 76-Guide or
come to the 76-Guide desk, 1st Floor Michigan Union
FIVE PLANS CONSIDERED:
(Continued from Page 1)
deductions with inflation and limit
millage elections to two per year without
a public petition.
The plan would lower the state spen-
ding cap, as required by the 1978
Headlee Amendment, by another $250
million. "The state is already under-
pending Headlee bf a half billion,"
Siljander explained.
While the tax cuts in his program
would reduce state revenue by ap-
proximately $1 billion, Siljander.
proposes to earn back half that total by
increasing the sales tax from four to
five per cent. He also predicts the
property tax reduction would save the
state money it now loses on tax credits
and would leave approximately $250
,-illion in budget cuts to make up for
e lost revenue.
ANOTHER TAX shift, sponsored by
gen. Gary Corbin (D-Clio) also would
raise the salestax limit to five per cent,
thus offsetting property tax reductions.
The property tax relief would be
achieved through legislation if voters
approve the amer.dment, according to
Doug Drake of the House Democratic
Research staff. "It is a total package
contingent on approval of the con-
titutional amendment," said Drake.
'his legislation already has been for-
mulzted, and "it would provide a $3,000
reduction in assessed value (of proper-'
)IS urge
ty) and the equivalent for renters,"
said Drake.
Renters would receive income tax
credits in the Corbin plan since they
would be hit by a higher sales tax and
landlords may be unwilling to pass
property tax reductions -to the tenant
through decreased rent, said Howard
Heideman, Corbin's Senate Finance
Committee aide.
CORBIN PROPONENTS claim the
shifts would emphasize less regressive
taxes and relieve the burden on those
least able to'pay. "More than 20 per
cent of the sales tax would be paid by
businesses or non-residents," added
Heideman. "And to reduce the
regressivity of the sales tax, we are
proposing to give persons with annual
incomes under $15,000 an income tax
credit."
Another tax shift plan aims to
eliminate property tax as the local
source of support for education. The
proposal, sponsored by Rep. Roy Smith
(R-Ypsilanti) and Rep. Perry Bullard
(D-Ann Arbor) would establish a
property tax ceiling and give school
district residents an option of a one per
cent local income tax.
"THE STATE government could also
levy a state-wide property tax on all
types of real estate, except residential
and agricultural property," explained
Bullard aide Dan Sharp. "This insures
tax cuts
that you have equal per pupil state
financial support."
Under the Smith-Bullard plan, senior
citizens would get an exemption on the
first $25,000 of their property's value.
"Senior citizens really get hit," said
Sharp. "They may have been holding
on to some place for a long time where
property values have increased," but
their income has not. This is especially
true in Ann Arbor, said Sharp, where
"the market has gone bananas."
Under yet another program, s spon-
sored by Rep. George Montgomery (D-
Detroit), a higher state income tax'
would offset the revenue loss from
property tax cuts. Montgomery's
system would raise the state income
tax from 4.6 to 5.4 per cent. This move
would generate an additional $40 billion
for the state, according to House
Taxation Committee aide Paul
Crowley. Of this, $300 million would be
used for property tax relief and the ad-
ditional $A10 million would make up for
more personal income tax exemptions.
THE MONTGOMERY. proposal
would allow renters to use a percentage
of their rent as a tax credit, to parallel
landowners' property tax reductions.
"The measure would benefit the lower
classes," said Crowley.
Each of the four proposals sponsored
by legislators would shift, rather than
reduce, taxes.
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Scramble for off-campus housing underway
(Continued from Page 1)
pus; most are furnished; nearly all are
xpensive. A survey of Ann Arbor's
'argest rental agencies shows that rent
will jump between nine and 14 per cent
over current rates. At least one com-
plex - Tower Plaza - will increase
rent only about five per cent.
MYRIAti FACTORS are given 'for
what has been an annual rent increase.
Odug Milkey, general manager of
(campus Rentals, said inflation, the cost
of living, and fuel, material, and labor
osts contributed to the need to hike his
ompany's rent ten per cent.
Sang Nam, who owns several apar-
tment buildings, explained that before
setting his rentfor next fall, he checked
the rent increases of his competitors %
and the expected increase in dormitory
room and board costs.
But Claude Behling, manager of Post
Realty, said that agency rarely checks
the prices of other rental agencies
before setting rent. Taxes, insurance,
' s, and electricity, Behling said, are
e contributing factors to rent hikes.
Duane Black, whose 100 units make
him one of the largest individual
property owners in the city, said taxes
were the most significant factor in
raising rent. But Black complained
about the assessment procedure by
which taxes are levied. He said rent
must be increased to keep up with the
reassessed value of the property. But
since property is assessed according to
current rent, a vicious cycle sends rent
spiralling annually.
BLACK SAID that even though the
market could probably bear a larger
annual increase, rent is kept lower out
of "fairness" to the tenants.
"I'm just stunned at what it costs to
live here," said off-campus housing
chief Williams. As do the many rental
agents and landlords, Williams gives a
different list of factors for the high rent
hikes, including utility costs, property
taxes, and the selling price of proper-
ties coupled with high interest rates.
She said more and more people are
asking about fraternities and sororities
as alternative housing, "because of
changing student temperament," and
because Greek living is often
economical and convenient.
According to a booklet prepared by
the Off-Campus Housing Office, studen-
ts should expect to pay at least $290 per
month for single bedroom apartments,
$440 a month for two-bedroom spots,
and $520 per month for three-bedroom
housing. Most students can count on
paying electricity, while some landlor-
ds also push the cost of gas and water
onto the tenant.
WILLIAMS CAUTIONED that
students should not be rushed into
signing a lease.
''Don't take the first thing you see,",
she said, explaining that students
should look around to see what kind of
housing is available. She suggested that
groups of people interested in living
,together should find a place by the end
of the term and sign a lease. This avoids
the potential problems of roommates
being dissatisfied with the choice made
by an individual, whose summer task
was to find housing for the lot.
Students also should exercise caution
when signing a lease, Williams added.
If something about a lease is
questioned, Williams suggested the
lease be brought for review to either the
off-campus housing office in the
Student Activities Building, or the
Student Legal Services, or the Tenants
Union, both of which are-located in the
Michigan Union.
Williams said students also should be
aware of "joint and several" clauses in
leases, which make each of the tenants
equally responsible for paying rent.
BERNARD, WELLS, LOVING AND C0.
Certified Public Accountants
Renaissance Center
will be on campus for the recruitment of all interested