The Michigan Daily-Saturday, August 2, 1980-Page 11
Milliken says
import share of
car market will
soon decrease
GRAND RAPIDS (UPI) - Gov.
William Milliken says he feels imports
will not hold their current share of the
U.S. auto market, but concedes the
domestic industry may not return to the
high employment levels of a few years
ago.
MIlliken, appearing on the television
show Michigan Forum to air across the
state tomorrow, said even though other
states have not followed Michigan's
lead in offering incentives to boost car
sales, he hopes to see action when
legislatures begin returning in the fall.,
IN A wide-ranging interview, the
governor also discussed his differences
with GOP nominee Ronald Reagan, the
ill-fated bid to put Gerald Ford on the
ticket and prison overcrowding.
Milliken said the unemployment-rid-
den auto industry, mainstay of
Michigan's economy, "will be fun-
damentally changed" by its current or-
deal.
"That it will come back I have no
doubt," he said, however.
"WHETHER employment will ever
reach the peak levels . . . of the past
five years, I don't know and I don't even
think the industry knows," he said.
However, he insisted imports -
which have cornered 27 per cent of the
domestic market - will not expand that
share and in fact will begin to lose some
of it in the coming year.
Milliken said he hopes Michigan's 50
per cent sales tax break on new cars
will be copied elsewhere, but said the
state cannot afford to extend the offer
beyond July.
TURNING TO the recent GOP con-
vention, Milliken said Reagan's unsuc-
cessful bid to put Ford on the ticket was
an important signal of his willingness to
broaden the base of his campaign.
The moderate governor conceded he
and the conservative Reagan have
"some very serious differences in point
of view" but insisted the nominee offers
great hope for the country and has
suggested "innovative approaches" to
its problems.
He predicted Reagan will win the
election and said it is "clearly possible"
for Republicans to seize control of
Congress from the Democrats for the
first time since the 1950s.
GAINS ALSO can be made in the
Democrat-dominated state legislature,
although it will be "no cake-walk for
Republicans," he said.
Milliken said the move within the
Democrgtic Party for a compromise
candidate "will not materialize as a
serious effort" and Carter will be
renominated.
Milliken said voter approval of a 0.1
per cent income tax to build new
prisons is needed to avoid "major
steps" to reduce the population or a
federal court takeover of the system.
ED CLARK, PRESIDENTIAL candidate of the Libertarian Party urges his
supporters, during a campaign stop in Lansing yesterday, to help him qualify
for the November election. Clark will need about 4,000 votes in the primary to
get on the state ballot this fall.
C krksays state law
limits voters' choices
LANSING (UPI) - Libertarian Par-
ty presidential candidate Ed Clark said
yesterday Michigan's tough ballot
requirements for minority parties vir-
tually prevent voters from being ex-
posed to new ideas.
'Clark, who addressed students at the
Cooley Law School, is fighting to win a
spot on Michigan's November ballot.
His Libertarian Party earlier this year
submitted 18,000 signatures to meet the
first step for ballot eligibility - but
must win about 4,000 votes in the Aug. 5
primary election to assure him a spot in
November.
PERSONS VOTING Libertarian next
week must not select candidates in
other races or their ballots 'will be in-
valid.
"A lot of people will vote for us, but
they'll slip up and vote in other partisan
races," said the 50-year-old California
attorney.
Independent presidential hopeful
John Anderson and Citizens Party can-
didate Barry Commoner also face
similar difficulties in winning spots on
the November ballot.
MICHIGAN'S third-party
requirements - considered the
toughest in the nation - are "designed
to keep new ideas from coming before
the voters," Clark said.
Clark, who will debate Commoner at
the University tomorrow, said Illinois
congressman Anderson's candidacy
does not offer voters the change they
are looking for.
"The American public has been
looking for alternatives for a year and
Anderson attracted a lot of people," he
said. "That shows the depth of desire
for new alternatives, but Anderson has
not offered any alternatives.
"ANDERSON OFFERS only a dif-
ferent personality."
Clark called for a reduction in U.S.
military strength in foreign countries
and a greater emphasis on domestic
protection. He also proposed a massive
tax reduction as a means of producing
new jobs and lowering the unem-
ployment rate.
HOW TO
GET BETTER MILEAGE
FROM YOUR CAR...
Obey the 55 mph speed limit. Keep your engine tuned.
Avoid hot rod starts. Drive at a steady pace.
55
) \
For a free booklet with more easy energy-saving tips,
write "Energy," Box 62, Oak Ridge, TN 37830.
ENERGY.
We can't afford to waste it.
U.S. Department of Energy