The Michigan Daily-Saturday, July 19, 1980-Page 5
U.S. economy
plunges again;
worst decline
since WWH
WASHINGTON (AP) - The nation's
economy plunged at an annual rate of
9.1 per cent from April through June,
matching the worst quarterly drop sin-
ce World War II, the government an-
nounced yesterday.
"The 1980 recession struck with full
force during the second quarter,
causing large declines in production
and employment. These declines con-
tinued unabated throughout the quar-
ter," said Courtenay Slater, the Com-
merce Department's chief economist.
SLATER AND other economists -
inside and outside of government -
also cited emerging signs the rece-
ssion should end between October and
December, after another large decline
in the economy during the July-
September quarter.
But they emphasized the need for
quick enactment of a tax cut, which
President Carter wants delayed until
next year after the general election.
Without rapid tax-cut action, the
recession could be prolonged, said
Robert Gough, vice president of Data
Resources, Inc., of Lexington, Mass.
SLATER WARNED that delay would"
make a slow recovery even more
sluggish.
Last quarter's economic plunge, as
measured by real gross national
product (GNP) - the inflation-adjusted
output of goods and services - was
widespread and steeper than the ad-
ministration expected.
Officials had earlier predicted a
decline of about 8.5 per cent, following a
first-quarter increase at an annual rate
of 1.2 per cent.
ABOUT 90 per cent of the second-
quarter drop was attributed to two sec-
tors of the economy: the auto and
housing industries.
The Commerce Department reported
that from April through June, people
slashed their overall spending at an an-
nual rate of 9.4 per cent. There was a
39.4 per cent decline in the annual rate
of spending for durable goods, par-
ticularly autos.
An annual rate figure indicates what
would happen over the course of a year
if the quarter's economic conditions
continued for three more quarters.
BUSINESSES, MEANWHILE, cut
their investment at an annual rate of 31
per cent, exports were down at an an-
nual pace of 8.7 per cent, and imports
fell at a 24.5 per cent rate, the depar-
tment said.
The after-tax income of Americans
tumbled at an annual rate of about 5.5
per cent from April through June.
U.S. DIPLOMAT RICHARD Queen, former Iran hostage, is helped out of an
ambulance yesterday at the Rhine Main U.S. Air Force Base near
-Frankfurt, West Germany. Queen was greeted by Secretary of State
Edmund Muskie on his arrival in the U.S. later yesterday.
Freed hostage Queen
returns to A merica
WASHINGTON (AP) - Freed
American hostage Richard Queen
returned yesterday to the United States
on shaky legs, in good spirits, and ex-
pressing hope that the 52 Americans
still held in Iran will follow him soon.
The young diplomat stepped unstead
ily from an Air Force flying hospital
plane, clearly showing the effects of his
neurological ailment and 250 days' cap-
tivity.
"I REALLY can't express with words
what it's like to be back to America
again," Queen said. "I really can't say
A three-man assassination squad
attempted to kill former Iranian Prime
Minister Shahpour Bakhtiar in Neuilly,
France yesterday. See story, Page 14.
much more. I just wish there were 52
more with me."
He managed a smile and was eased
into a wheelchair by a nurse, where he
waited as Secretary of State Edmund
Muskie appealed for the release of the
remaining hostages.
"We've been waiting a long time to
welcome Richard and his fellow
hostages home," Muskie said. "It's dif-
ficult to find words to express the depth
of our feelings as we do so."
MUSKIE SAW in Queen's release last
week - ordered by, Iranian leader
Ayatollah Khomeini due to the need for
sophisticated medical care - the first
indication that the hostages' captors
understand they are holding people, not
simply representatives of the U.S.
government.
Like Queen, he said, the other
hostages have hopes and frailties,
relatives and friends. In a plea to their
Iranian captors, Muskie said, "We ask
them to understand that fact with
respect to the other 52."
Louise Kennedy, wife of hostage
Moorehead Kennedy and head of a
loose-knit organization of hostages'
families, greeted Queen at Andrews Air
Force Base with a bouquet of yellow
and white chrysanthemums.
THE FLOWERS were tied with broad
yellow ribbon, which has become a
symbol of remembrance for those
Americans still in the hands of Iranian
revolutionaries.
Queen's parents, who flew with him
from West Germany, where he under-
went preliminary tests at the Air Force
Hospital in Wiesbaden, also spoke
briefly at the airport. His mother,
Jeanne,.gave thanks for his return.
His father, Harold, said, "The three
of us expect to be here in the very near
future, I hope, to be greeting 52 other
Americans and their families in the
same way we've been greeted here."
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