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. 7 :f .3 U U' U -U U ARE NOT YOUR' TYPICAL ENGINEERSERS Use your unique CIVIL, MECHANICAL,. INDUSTRIAL,' HYDRAULIC, or ELECTRICAL Engineering skills in AFRICA, ASIA, or LATIN AMERICA as a PEACE CORPS - WEST ENGINEERING BLDG. JANUARY 24, 1980 (313) 226-7928 IN DETROIT . 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