OPINION . Page 4 Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan Sunday, November 1, 1981 The Michigan Daily Feiffer MV'i VW! AV Z 1l(r - Vol. XCII, No.46 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor,, MI 48109 M' C-i0,'ek, k RI l tow; 1f1 l p6B 5;, IrS W45Ei/ II 7 ~~ A f'1 Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board Another Tisch plan I 4'X'R6 FI~ IF ROBERT TISCH had a dog and it died, he'd probably kick it. Beating dead dogs seems to be a big part of, the Tisch plan. The tax-cut crusader told the Daily, in an interview Friday, that' he plans to submit a third property tax relief plan to the voters in 1982-despite the fact that his last two plans failed miserably at the polls. It should be evident to the Shiawassee County Drain Com- missioner that the majority of Michigan voters aren't willing to ac- cept a tax cut if it means drastically cutting back in state services. But he seems-determined to put such a plan on the 1982 ballot. But perhaps Tisch has another reason for -devising a third tax cut plan. He's running for governor. And what better way to get volumirius-and free-publicity than threatening once again, to butcher the state's budget. After all, tax cutting is how Tisch got his name. Prior to his 1978 tax slash plan, its's doubtful that much of Shiawassee County, let alone the state of Michigan, had heard of him. But today, Tisch is a household word throughout the state. Of course, Tisch does have a point. Many citizens throughout the state do feel that their property taxes are too high. But right now, as Lansing is con- tinually forced to trim the state's existing budget, a tax cut seems almost unthinkable to most citizens. However, proposing such a cut can get one's name in a lot of newspapers. Maybe Tisch really isn't beating a dead dog. He might just be exercising extreme political prudence. 11f A FANJHIV( car Wosr I BVt f915 t5 Aiou~f ftIVtY NAMP CtA%1fV AN0 A55OJ! A MW f r AID G N A V f MAW' C46.PV9ff AJP V'-fA'ASAlt7! ti- G F I t a !4 Will 'newfederalism 'backfire? Some promise NDICATIONS ARE coming from Washington that one of the most sacrosanct of the Reagan campaign pledges-the one that the federal budget would be balanced by 1984-is about to be broken. Treasury Secretary Donald Regan testified before a Senate committee last week that he believes it is "not probable" that the 1984 budget will be balanced. :The admission comes as just one more reminder that the Reagan ad- ministration's economic program is in .serious trouble and faces the prospect of not meeting even its most basic goals. In the last few months government services have been cut, and they will be cut further as the administration in- creases defense spending while cutting taxes. While the administration is cutting personal and corporate income taxes, it is being forced into selective tax in- creases just to Keep its head above water. These proposals may lead Congress to rescind parts of the personal tax cuts-scheduled for 1982 and 1983-ap- proved last summer. All of the deviations from the original Reagan proposals are in- dications of the severe difficulty the government is having with the economic program. The changes are making it more apparent every day that the essence of the Reagan- ad- ministration policy is not so much a reduction in spending at the federal level, but a huge shift, in the allocation of federal funds from social programs to the military. This military spending is extremely inflationary, wasteful of the nation's-indeed the world's-resour- ces, and threatens world peace. If the economy is to be saved from further deterioration and the world saved from a disastrous arms race, Congress must mutter the courage to stand up to the Reagan program. Regan's subtle admission of failure on Friday may just help Congress to do that. By Alan Ramo On the same day President Reagan an- nounced his plan to revive the nation's nuclear industry, a federal appeals court, in the spirit of the president' s new federalism," dealt that same plan a severe blow. In early October a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Fran- cisco unanimously upheld California's "nuclear laws," stating that the state has the power to regulate or prohibit nuclear power for economic, environmental or any reasons other than protection against radiation hazards. "THE COURT HAS explicitly recognized the states' ability to decide if they want to pursue nuclear power," explained Kathryn Dickson, special counsel for California's Energy Commission in the case. "It should have An impact in all 50 states." The state's highest nuclear laws include a moritorium on new nuclear power plant con- struction until the state Energy Commission certifies that there is a federallynapproved nuclear waste disposal method. No method yet has been approved. California utilities had challenged the laws on the basis that they were pre-empted by the U.S. Atomic Energy Act and its amendments: setting up the Nuclear Regulatory Com- mission. Two lower federal district courts in San Diego and Sacramento had agreed, striking down the statutes. BUT JUSTICE BETTY Fletcher, writing for the court, diagreed, siding with the Energy Commission and the National Resources Defense Counsel position that Congress -did not intend to pursue nuclear power "at all costs." "Inherent in the states' regulatory. authority," she wrote, "is the power to keep nuclear plants from being built, if the plants are inconsistent with the state's power needs, or environmental or othor interest." The court's decision thus allows any state to enact legislation prohibiting nuclear power plants-an assertion of states' rights that normally would please conservatives. But the economics of nuclear power and strict state; regulations like California's have put conser- vatives supporting the nuclear industry behind centralized federal regulation. "THE CASE presents an interesting con- trast to traditional cases of states' rights," said Dian Grueneich, deputy general counsel to California's Energy Commission. The nuclear industry claims that state and public participation in licensing procedures and a sea of overlapping regulatory agencies have increased the costs of nuclear power to the point at which it no longer is feasible to build new plants. Reagan's program clearly was a response to these industry complaints. He directed that waste disposal facilities be put into place swiftly and that the regulatory and licensing process of the NRC be streamlined so that plants could be planned BUT WHATEVER hope the industry still had that improved economic conditions and leadership from the Reagan administration might change the fortunes of nuclear power has been nearly dashed by the Ninth Circuit's affirmation of states'.rights. Justice Fletcher explicitly placed her opinion in the framework of the, "new federalism" philosophy by concluding with a quote from the Supreme Court's leading proponent of federalism, Justice William Rehnquist. "Time may prove wrong the decision to develop nuclear energy," Rehnquist stated in the case of Vermont Yankee, Nuclear Power Corp. vs. Natural Resources Defense Coun- cil, "but it is Congress or the states within their appropriate agencies which must even- tually make that judgment." IN DECISION AFTER decision, Rehnquist has forged a majority that has articulated this more restrictive role of the court. In 1975, Rehnquist held with a plurality of his colleagues that Congress improperly extended minimum wage and maximum hour protections to state and municipal employees because it interfered with "state sovereign- ty." In 1976, Rehnquist wrote for a majority of the court that a lower federal district court has exceeded its powers when it ordered the 'Philadelphia police to set up a civilian com- plaint procedure. Rehnquist stated that the .court violated principles of federalism by not respecting the integrity of local government. In 1980, Rehnquist adhered to his principle of federalism even though it produced an ex- tension of what usually are considered liberal principles of free speech. Rehnquist led a majority of the court in upholding a California Supreme Court decision allowing petitioning in shopping centers, even though the federal rule allowed shopping center owners to prohibit it. Rehnquist said the federal Bill of Rights did not "limit the authority of the state to exercise its police power or its sovereign right to adopt .., individual liberties more expansive than those inferred by the federal Constitution. THIS NEW federalism, as it is voiced in the courts, fits the administration's ethic of in- 0 dividual liberty, states' rights, and decen- tralization. But now these same principles have been turned against the administration and one of its pet constituencies. The long-delayed Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in San Luis Obispo, Calif., still faces at least one more hurdle beyond the temporary delays recently imposed by federal nuclear regulatory authorities. The plant must obtain a state permit allowing it to discharge heated coolant water and certain pollutants into the ocean. The regional branch of the state water control board now has a clear statement from the federal courts that it has the power to shut down the plant if it sees fit. Ramo is a California lawyer. He wrote this article for Pacific News Service. t t 'SOLPIER, WELL TIAT ARE ~--- , IV3 h, I 4 . , r ... MAKE ALLThE PUM STATEMENT6 NEES$AY AROUtP HERE, \e0 /~'.-Y --~~ f - A protester carries food and provisions to his campsiteduring demonstrations last mon- th at the Diablo Canyon power facility near San Luis Obispo, California. President Reagan's "new federalism," when applied through the federal courts, may enable the state of California to prohibit operation of the, plant. and built in six to eight years instead of 10 to 14 years. MANY EXPERTS believe the nuclear revitalization plan probably would have had rouble saving the industrry even without the Ninth Circuit's decision. A report of the House Government Operations Committee released last. month states that delays due. to the regulatory process are "grossly exaggerated." Physics professor Joel Primack, who was an NRC consultant during its internal review after the Three Mile Island accident, also discounted the importance of the regulatory process. "A rapid escalation in construction costs, a drop in the rate of increase in elec- trical consumption, and the cost of engineering each plant individually has made nuclear a less desirable option to utility owners," he said. Across the country the trend away from. nuclear power has been evident: No plants have been ordered the past four years and nearly three dozen have been canceled. . . .; LFTTERS TO THE DAILY: ,.r a /: ,Ir, !_ . , . , f .. % J ". ,", i f f /: tz is " %"Y ,.... ,. ,,' " l? a J- ' 'r Ufer brightened so many lives To the Daily: It finally hit me. Suddenly I became aware of the differences in ages of those seated around me. Suddenly each. tear I had seen swell in my mother and father's eyes became extremely important to me. Suddenly, I thought I had relating to Michigan was a thought that had been influenced by one man. One man whose enthusiasm never wore out. One man whose en- dearing love for something he truly believed in was respected and admired by all who knew moment with all of the vigor and enthusiasm that you can possibly muster, to push yourself, to achieve. "The guts and glue of the maize and blue ... "General Bo Patton ... " Dr. Strangelove and his ber about Robert Pormann Ufer. Bob Ufer was, and more impor- tantly is the spirit of Michigan. I feel fortunate and extremely thankful to have shared in his spirit as it will always live within me. I God bless his cotton-pickin 41-N f I IT ' A&