4
OPINION
Page 4
Wednesday, January 18, 1984
The Michigan Daily4
Edited and ianaged by students at The University of Michigan
XCIV-No. 89
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board
A matter of equal pay
' ESPITE what you think
we've got to face the
facts: We're not all equal," said the
male bank president to some of his
female employees in the television
movie A Matter of Sex. The remark
comes after the women question the
promotion of a male employee instead
of a more qualified woman. The movie
dramatized a true event on national
television Monday night. It points to a
tragic problem facing women: Sexism
in the workplace.
This movie and recent statistics
demonstrate that despite the gains of
the women's movement in the 1970s,
women are not treated as equals in the
job market. Although women are in
the majority in the United States, new
statistics show they have reason to
fear job discrimination. The Census
Bureau's latest figures indicate that
there was more wage discrimination
against young white women entering
the labor force in 1980 than in 1970.
These numbers also offer ample
reason for women to fear that past
gains are not secure
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was sup-
posed to prevent wage discrimination.
It forbids employers from paying
lower wages to women performing
"equal work" requiring "equal skill,
effort, and responsibility" as men. But
a law can only work if it is enforced,
and the Equal Pay Act has not been en-
forced.
But that may be changing. In
December, a judge in Tacoma, Wash.
ruled that the state of Washington
unlawfully' discriminated against
15,000 women with raises, back pay,
and improved pension benefits -
which could total $1 billion. This is the
first time the courts have enforced the
law. It should not be the last.
Critics say that it is not economically
feasible to compensate women for past
inequalities. Yet this is just a way of
avoiding 20 years of illegal activity.
The time when women's job com-
mitments and educational backgroun-
ds were questioned should have passed
a long time ago. Yet the Census
Bureau statistis prove thisis not true.
The final change could come as
women prove to be a more potent
political force. They obviously have
not been able to get equal pay and
respect as a result of a few unenforced
clauses on a job application.
WASHINGTON (UPI) - There
is an axiom in politics that ad-
vises those in power to "reward
your friends and punish your
enemies." That is the essence of
what the New Right has been
telling President Reagan for
three years.
The argument from ultra-right
has been that Reagan has given
too much influence and position
to Republicans in name only, who
qualify as liberals in all but
name. The New Rightists appear
to find moderate or liberal-
leaning Republicans more objec-
tionable than most Democrats, a
phenomenon not unlike the im-
placable hate of communists for
socialists.
These people, say the super
conservatives, should be driven
from the councils of the mighty
and shunned like the lepers of old.
An example: GOP Sen. Charles
Percy of Illinois has a New Right
Republican primary opponent
this year and the ultra-
conservatives here much
outraged in 1983 whennReagan
went to a Chicago function
honoring Percy but gave no en-
couragement to his opponent,
Rep. Thomas Corcoran.
HOWEVER, now comes infor-
mation from a reliable source in-
dicating that under the rule of
reward and punish, which might
be called "Mayor Daley's Law,"
Reagan should be wreaking'
vengeance in the Senate on Gor-
don Humphrey of New Ham-.
pshire, Jesse Helms and John
East of North Carolina, and
Steven Symns of Idaho.
They are, of course, four of the
Senate's most conservative
members. But with only one ad-
The Senate 's
righ t- win gers
wrong Reagan
By Arnold Sawislak
took a position last year, Hum-
phrey led Senate Republicans in
oppositions to .the president,
bucking him 42 percent of the
time. Helms and Specter, (the
only one of the top seven who,
fluke. The first five were followed
by such stalwarts of the Right as
William Armstrong of Colorado,
Don Nickles of Oklahoma, Mark
Andrews of North Dakota and
Robert Kasten of Wisconsin.
The Republican presidential
opposition situation was just the
opposite in the House, where
liberal and moderate GOP mem-
bers such as Reps. Claudina
Schneider of Rhode Island, Silvio
Conte of Massachusetts, Frank
Horton of New York, James
Leach of Iowa and Stewart
McKinney of Connecticut oc-
cupied the top five spots.
And where were the Senate's
GOP moderates and liberals?
Lowell Weicker of Connecticut
was 10th with a 31 percent op-
position, but Charles Mathias o
Maryland, John Heinz of Pen-
nsylvania, Mark Hatfield and
Robert Packwood of Oregon and
William Cohen of Maine, all were
below 30 percent and John Chafee
of Rhode Island was down to 18.
Percy, who has made conser-
vatives froth for years, opposed
Reagan on 15 percent 'of the
issues. His opposition figure was
higher than Corcoran's 10 per-
cent in their House, but in CQ's
compilation of votes actally sup-
porting the president, Percy beat
his primary opponent, 80 percent
to 70 percent.
Sawislak is a reporter for
United Press International
'Under the rule of reward and punish,
which might be called "Mayor
Daley's Law," Reagan should be
wreaking vengeance on . . . the
Senate's most conservative mem-
bers.'
ded starter, Sen. Arlen Specter of
Pennsylvania, they lead the 1983
Congressional Quarterly list of
Senate Republicans most in op-
position to Reagan's policies.
According to CQ, which com-
piled congressional voting recor-
ds on issues on which Reagan.
could be described as moderate*
or liberal) were tied for second
with 41 percent, East was fourth
with 38 percent, and Symns fifth
with 35 percent.
THIS convergence of Senate
Republican conservatives at the
top of the opposition list was no
Sinclair
5&tA 4-
Kroc: Fast food for thought
NE OF THE surest signs of age is
the feeling of nostalgia for a time
long (or not so long) past. With the
recent death of Ray Kroc - the foun-
der of the McDonald's corporation -an,
entire generation came -of age. Past
generations had their corner candy
store or ice cream parlor, but with a
good dose of sentimentality ours can
look back at those golden arches.
The culture that McDonald's helped
to define suffered from a lack of
heroes. Kroc could very well have ser-
ved as a hero for all the kids weaned on
Big Macs and chocolate shakes. He
reinforced those traditionally
American, but not often exhibited,
traits of individualism,.
humanitarianism, and even
motherhood - feeding that many kids
is no easy task. Those lucky enough to
have grown up in the Chicago area in
the early 1960's witnessed the birth of
an idea that would transform the shape
of our culture. Fast food didn't arrive.
with the Pilgrims, it was envisioned in
classic American style.
While many view that vision as a
nightmare, its impact cannot be
denied. Spawned were the likes of
Burger King, We-ny's and even Ken-
tucky Fried Chicken. Ten or fifteen
years ago you could feed yourself for
under a dollar and be on your way
within fifteen minutes - conveniences
to which Americans eagerly respon-
ded. Kroc didn't lead the trend toward
mediocrity in food preparation, he ex-
ploited a need for it.
But Kroc did more than create a fast-
food empire. He dist4nguished himself
with his numerous humanitarian effor-
ts, among them the founding of the
Special Olympics, and numerous
Ronald McDonald houses, which aid
families with hospitalized children.
They showed him to be.a man who did
more than just talk about helping
others.
One has to wonder, though, if Mc-
Donald's is as fun as it used to be. After
all, now we have the choice of Chicken
McNuggets, filet of fish, Mc-
Donaldland cookies, and Shamrock
shakes. In marking the passing of Ray
Kroc, we also mark the passing of a
simpler time. Just a burger, fries, and
chocolate shake, please.
'Rio QAINt.,
71i
(Ott
- ----.
r--
_ =
LETTERS TO THE DAILY:
Opposing school prayer in spirit
- I
To the Daily:
The First Amendment to our
Constitution is probably the most
ingenius statement ever con-
ceived to guarantee personal
freedom of belief, speech, press,
assembly and petition. Recurrent
attempts to modify or ignore its
clear meaning emphasize the
validity of the warning, "Eternal
vigilance is the price of liberty."
There have been previous
assaults on the principal of
separation of church and state
such as the ill fated Becker
Amendment attempt to mandate
prayer and Bible reading in the
public schools twenty years ago.
But each generation must learn
again the devious ways of some
politicians.
Gary Wills spoke devotedly to
this issue on August 26, 1982 and I
quote from that column:
"The School-Prayer issue is not
really about prayer at all. It is
about other people's having to
pray in public, or paying atten-
tion to advocates as they pray in
public. It. is about getting one's
prayer amendment say it
violates the Constitution. Maybe
so. But I am less sure of this than
that it violates the Christian
gospel. It is clearly opposed in
spirit to the Spirit, which
breathes where it will and sur-
prises us when we are least
religious in the ritual sense."
Thus it is evident that most in-
sidious threats to freedom are not
the well * advertised ones from
abroad but those from within
which are proclaimed, either
through ignorance or malevolent
design, as crusades for freedom.
And since I have personally
referred many bf the most vocal
advocates of public prayer to
their alleged supreme authority
(inasmuch as they call them-
selves "born again" Christians),
they cannot readily plead
ignorance.
The fact is that they are not, as
Wills points out, concerned about
praying. They simply cannot
spell or tell the truth. The interest
is political and has everything to
do with preying upon and
shearing the sheep Jesus ad-
monished them to feed.
- R.F. Burlingame
January 16
We encourage our readers to use this space to discuss and respond to
issues of their concern. Whether those topics cover University, Ann Ar-
bor community, state, national, or international issues in a straightfor-
ward or unconventional manner, we feel such a dialogue is a crucialfun-
ction of the Daily. Letters and guest columns should be typed, triple-
spaced, and signed.
-'WA , * * - V, l ifIfm R i 'i;; il WI 7