OPINION
Wage 4
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Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan.
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Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Editorials represent a majority opinion of The Daily's Editorial Board
4
Reagan takes himself on
ONALD REAGAN is in trouble. the frightening implications of
Immediately after the Republi- Reagan's economics seem to be having
San convention, political pollsters ad- an effect on workers. Why vote for a
udged him the leader by a con- man who will move to help the rich get
siderable margin, both popularly and richer and who will simply trust the
in Electoral College votes. Today, only rich to see to it that the poor don't get
two months later, polls show Carter any poorer?
lust about even with the challenger While Reagan's economics may be
among the voters, with some even disconcerting to the poor, their effect is
giving the edge to the incumbent. at least mitigated by the president's
; The Electoral count still shows, poor performance in that arena.
Reagan ahead in many of the populous Another problem-one that must
Industrial states, but in most his lead prove worrisome to all voters regar-
,ias been diminished and in some dless of wealth-is Reagan's frequent
reversed. Texas and California, for in- mishandling of facts, figures, and just
Stance, both of which once looked to be plain logic. And that problem is
solidly behind the former governor Reagan's alone.
now have been deemed toss-ups. The governor's latest display of
The reasons for Reagan's slippage ignorance came during Sunday night's
ire many, but none is particularly dif- debate, when he assailed John Ander-
.icult to understand, and all but one are son's "50/50" proposal, a centerpiece
Reagan's fault. The exception, of cour- of the congressman's campaign.
e, is Carter's incumbency. Under the Anderson plan, a 50 cent
Since September, Carter's cautious tax would be added per gallon of
havior has given him a boost in the gasoline. At the same time, the plan
rlls. Despite the nation's troubles, would cut Social Security taxes by 50
arter has at least come to represent percent. Thus, consumers would have
-isible stability, whereas Reaganis a clear economic incentive to conserve
domparatively an unknown quantity, gas, yet would have the expense com-
and therefore is viewed as a possible pensated. It seems to be an excellent
Yanger. His warlike words during and idea and it has been acknowledged as
re the campaign have not helped such by many press and political ob-
im on fron servers, including some who do not
Only four weeks ago, most black support Anderson's candidacy overall.
leaders indicated little preference for
either the Democratic or Republican Despite the attention the "50/50"
nominee. More recent days have plan has brought, Reagan seemed
lirought news of a change in that stan- unaware of its provisions or
c, and with it, glad tidings for Carter. philosophy. He commented: "I cannot
The National Association for the Ad- see where a 50-cent-a-gallon tax ap-
vancement of Colored People, for in- plied to gasoline would have changed
stance, has signalled its intent to the price of gasoline.... It would be a
publish a candidate scorecard on tax paid by the consumers, and then
black-related issues, which would we're asked to believe that some way
clearly make the president look better they would get this back.... Why take
than his opponent. it in the first place if you're going to
The drift of black opinion toward give it back?"
Carter, which he clearly cannot do It's difficult for pollsters to ferret out
without, is explained better by his op- the specific factors that have been
ponent's proclamations than by his puncturing Reagan's lead. The urban
own. Reagan's economic proposals centers are essential to Reagan, and
center around the standard conser- the growing opposition to the prospect
vative dictum: Ease restrictions on of a Reagan presidency among blacks
business, lower or eliminate the has certainly played a part in his fall.
minimum wage, and watch the dollars His ubiquitous flubs, too, have under-
iyoll in as a result of increased produc- standably aroused fear among the
tivity. The poor, it is argued, will electorate that President Reagan
benefit as well, via the "trickle down" would be thoughtless, narrow-minded,
theory of business prosperity. and ill-informed.
For a while, it looked as if Reagan Fortunately, it's beginning to look
might have had poor blacks and others less likely that we'll have the oppor-
fooled, but as November draws near, tunity to find out.
Wednesday, September 24, 1980
The Michigan Daily
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Taiwan support safe for U.S.
According to press reports, certain
Republican governors have advised Ronald
Reagan to cease making comments on
foreign affairs and to concentrate upon
domestic issues. This is like advising the cap-
tain of the Titanic to concentrate upon the
comfort and entertainment of the passengers
and to pay no attention to the surrounding
waters.
It must be obvious to the meanest intellect
that the well-being of the U.S. people is inex-
tricably intertwined with events taking place
in foreign countries thousands of miles away.
The production of attractive and relatively
inexpensive cars in Japan results in the
unemployment of workers in the U.S.
automobile industry; the escalating price
demanded for the oil of the oil-producing
countries contributes to the inflation which
reduces the amount of food which can be pur-
chased by the dollar of the American
housewife; and the "inescapable duty" to
cooperate with the "historic forces" which
have ordained that the entire world shall be
ruled by communists has led the Soviet
leaders to create a mighty military machine
which can only be matched by prodigious U.S.
expenditure. Any president concerned about
unemployment, inflation, education, and
crime must pay attention to foreign affairs.
THE CENTRAL PROBLEM of foreign af-
fairs is the existence, nature, programs, and
objectives of world communism, which exert
great influence on the lives of the citizens of
every country. To assume that the American
people are so stupid that they cannot see and
understand this is to hold them in low esteem
indeed.
Theeadvice lavished upon Ronald Reagan
was stimulated by his statements concerning
the advisability of reestablishing official
government relations with Taiwan. These
statements induced nightmarish visions in
certain quarters of an insulted Communist
China breaking relations with the United
States and leaving this country to face the
might of the Soviet Union in lonely isolation.
Some feared that, if such relations were
established with Taiwan, it might cause a
reconciliation between China and Russia.
I recently returned from a visit to Taiwan.
This visit was not an official junket, but was
privately arranged so that I could deliver a
series of lectures on the nature of com-
munism to a conference of students. The con-
ference was arranged by an organization
called Chinese for Christ.
By Fred Sch warz
I LAST VISITED Taiwan 20 years ago, and
to say I was impressed by the transformation
that has taken place in the interim would be
an extreme understatement.
Each citizen of Taiwan produces six times
as much as his mainland cousin, and he or she
is obviously enjoying the fruits of productive
labor. Homes are being constructed
everywhere while the streets are full of cars
and motorcycles. Driving is an exercise of
faith-faith in the brakes of all the other
vehicles.
From the manufacture of ships to the
microscopic components of computers, the
Taiwanese economy is booming. The labor
force is obviously highly skilled because the
most sophisticated products are produced.
THE CONVICTION THAT the Chinese
Communists would abandon their relation-
ship with the United States if this country of-
ficially recognized Taiwan reveals a failure to
understand the dynamics of the policies
chosen by the mainland Chinese. Their'
leaders have not developed their present
relations with the U.S. because they like the
American political and economic systems or
policies, but rather to serve their own in-
terests.
The current Chinese policy of alliance with
the U.S. is grounded in devotiontocom-
munism and in the leadership's deter-
mination to continue ruling China and,
ultimately, the world. They would renounce
the advantages their association with the U.S.
offers only with the greatest reluctance.
Whatever attitude the U.S. adopted toward
Taiwanv it is probable that the
pragmatic-pardon me, dialectical-Chinese
leaders would find a face-saving way of adap-
ting to it.
An understanding of the foregoing places
Chinese Communist foreign policy in true
perspective. Surveying the world, they
profess to observe two imperialisms, namely,
the imperialism of the United States and the
imperialism of the Soviet Union. They
acknowledge that the Soviet Union was
originally a socialist country, ruled by true
Marxist-Leninists, but they affirm that it has
ceased to be socialist and has become Social-
Imperialist. As such, it is actively seeking
world hegemony.
OF THESE TWO imperialisms, the Chinese
Communists have decided that Soviet im-
perialism is the more dangerous. They
believe the power and aggressiveness of the
Soviet Union is increasing while that of the
United States is diminishing. Therefore, the
conflict with the Soviet Union is the major
contradiction. The attention and energy of the
entire Chinese nation must, therefore, be
focused upon- defending the challenge im-
posed by Soviet imperialism.
Applying these principles, the Chinese
Communist leaders are seeking, with con-
siderable success, to build an alliance of anti-
Soviet nations. The sole criterion for mem-
bership in such an alliance it antagonism to
the Soviet Union. Thus, China seeks to build
an alliance with the USA, Japan, western
Europe, Southeast Asia, and the nations of the
Third World. The nature of the government of
each country, and the way the government
treats its own citizens, is irrelevant.
This does not mean that the Chinese Com-
munists have renounced communism. They
are acting scientifically or "dialectically.'
This often demands retreat in order to advan-
ce. The Chinese Communists believe that the
Russian Communists are apostate heretics;
they are not true communists. Their plans to
conquer the world must be defeated.
THE MORE INTENSELY people believe,
the more bitterly they quarrel. The conflict
between the Russians and the Chinese is
very intense. It is fueled by the conviction of
the leaders of each side, that they represent
the ''Forces of History."~
The favor of the Chinese Communists is
lavished upon those nations which oppose the
Soviet Union effectively. They desire a
United States which is militarily strong and
which has the will to resist Soviet advances.
To build U.S.mmilitary strength and to oppose
Soviet hegemony is the pathway to the
respect and affection of the Chinese Com-
munists.
To believe that the Chinese Communists
would jettison their entire philosophy and in-
ternational program because the U.S.
established formal relationships with Taiwan
is extremely simplistic. It is sound foreign
policy for the U.S.A. to prove that it is a faith-
ful ally to its established friends and that it
will not forsake them in order to curry favor
with new allies because they appear more
powerful.
Fred Schwarz has been president of the
Christian Anti-Communism Crusade sin-
ce its inception 26 years ago. This article is
excerpted from the CA CC newsletter, of
which Sch warz is the editor.
0
LETTERS TO THE DAILY:
Mr. Tisch jilts Ann Arbor crowd
To The Daily:
May I share with your readers
the following letter I have sent to
Robert Tisch?
Dear Mr. Tisch:
On August 28 you and I had a
telephone conversation in which I
invited you to speak at a forum in
Ann Arbor at which proponents of
each of the three tax proposals
would speak.
After hearing my explanation
of what we were asking you to do,
you accepted my invitation and
agreed to come to Ann Arbor at 8
p.m., September 18. To make cer-
tain that everything was clear, I
sent you a letter on August 28 con-
firming what was said on the
phone and giving you my name,
address, and telephone number
in the event there were" any
misunderstandings, changes in
plans, etc.
Two days before the forum was
to take place, I again got in
touch with you by telephone in
Corunna. You were at a Board of
Canvassers meeting, but your
secretary assured me that our
forum was on your calendar and
you would be there.
Last night the forum was held.
We packed the room at the Ann
Arbor Public Library to over-
flowing, but you failed to show
up. Moreover, you failed to give
me any advance notice that you
would not be there. Why?
There were reporters there
from three newspapers and four
radio stations. The fact that you
would be there had been widely
publicized, so I felt that I owed an
explanation to the audience and
the press and radio reporters.
And incidentally, there were that
many reporters there because
you made it a condition of your
coming that we have, as you put
it, "heavy media coverage." I
explained that you had simply
broken your promise to come.
The forum was a success and
its sponsors, the Ann Arbor
Democratic Party, were
gratified by that. Neil Staebler
and Perry Bullard lucidly ex-
plained proposals A and C. Dan
Fuself, the moderator, did a
superb job of presenting-and
defending-the logic behind the
Tisch Proposal.
So, you might wonder, why do I
bother you with my letter? I
bother you, Mr. Tisch, because
your behavior was rude and
irresponsible. Since you're a
public official, I think you and the
public need to know about such
conduct when it occurs. Do I im-
ply your, proposal is without
merit because you were, in this
instance, boorish and irrespon-
sible? I do not. Fortunately for
you, you and your proposal must
be judged separately.
-Robert Weeks
professor, College of
Engineering
September 19
*
AIRPORTJ 'aOA
BUR S.. * "MYA Iy
The rich run the show
Pentagon poses danger
To The Daily:
"The best defense is a good
offense," says the Pentagon,
slipping a bloody hand into the
social programs till and slipping
out $150 billion. Meanwhile, Mur-
and discreetly checked out of the
USA. Pentagon officials, noting
the departure of a much-disliked
guideline, threw a party.
Newspapers across the country
did not carry news of the depar-
To The Daily:
The quest for the presidency
of the United States has con-
sumed needless amounts of press
space and broadcast time. The
characteristics and capabilities
of the person rich enough and
privileged enough to get on the
ballot have been well known
without that ballyhoo. Space and
time~ wunui1R have hPin h t impa
will we realize that it is we, the
people, who have designed: the
tools and machinery of produc-
tion 'and have operated them.
Why should a few rich and super-
rich own them or use their wealth
to control both industry and
government in their narrow in-
terests?
How can we most effectively
0