Parker: Corporations rule as new barons
By PAUL TELLES
01 the Emerald
Prompted by the rise of mul
tinational corporations, a “new
feudalism” is emerging in
America, charges Richard
Parker, a former editor of
Mother Jones magazine
Speaking to about 350 people
in the EMU Ballroom Tuesday
night, Parker lambasted the
typical view of America as a
democratic, egalitarian society.
“We’re finishing a period in
which the state is central, and
corporations are taking over as
the new baronial rulers of the
planet," Parker said. “Corpora
tions now, in effect, can operate
outside the law of the state
because they can move outside
the geographical control of the
state."
Parker said an examination of
American income distribution
refutes the notion that America
is "one large and relatively
homogeneous middle class.
"The bottom fifth of the
American population has rou
tinely collected less than 4 per
cent of the national income. The
top fifth, by contrast, has rou
tinely collected nearly half," he
said.
In terms of job composition,
"there has been a dramatic res
tructuring of American society”
as the economy has moved from
a blue-collar work force to a
white-collar force, said Parker,
who holds a doctorate in econ
omics from Oxford University.
While this trend frequently is
cited as proof the United States
is becoming more egalitarian, it
actually has caused an increase
in the number of unskilled
workers, he said.
Additionally, Parker said,
American wealth is increasingly
concentrated in only a few
hands.
These developments will lead
to the rise of a "techno-peas
antry” almost completely
A correction from last week's question “Will
antibiotics alter the effectiveness of birth-control
pills?” The Drug Information Center says the
antibiotic ampicillin, taken in combination with
the birth-control pill, may reduce the effective
ness rate of the pill and may cause breakthrough
bleeding.
Why is it that I can masturbate to orgasm, but
I often fail to reach orgasm through intercourse?
Sometimes in sexual intercourse, women do
not communicate what is sexually pleasing. Also,
at times a woman’s clitoris, the small mound of
tissue located outside and above the vagina, is
not stimulated sufficiently through intercourse
alone. By masturbating, a woman can achieve
orgasm by direct stimulation of the clitoris.
How do you say “No" if a gay friend ap
proaches you?
Pretty much the same way you would say
No’' to someone of the opposite sex. If a friend
approaches you and you do not want to get
sexually involved, you should make your feelings
clear. Your friend may have mistaken some clues
you gave out and may think you are interested in a
sexual relationship. Let this person know, through
both words and actions, that you want to be
friends — not lovers.
Please comment on "blue balls." What is it
and what causes it?
There are two answers — one medical and
one fictional After surgery or a trauma to the
testes, blood will accumulate in the scrotum. The
effect, a natural response, is called “blue balls’’
and usually lasts several weeks.
On the other hand, men perpetuate a popular
misconception when they complain of ’’blue
balls’’ when deprived of sex This is primarily a
psychological feeling — not a real physical phe
nomenon — but not without merit in the male
culture, since many a helpful female has been
persuaded to rescue the poor lad in distress who
applies this tactic.
This column is written by Planned Parent
hood, 134 E. 13th Ave., 344-1611 or 344-9411.
Please submit questions to the Emerald, EMU
Suite 300, or to Planned Parenthood.
“I’M A COLLEGE
GRADUATE’
TNATHASANKE
RING TO IT.
een tough. A lot of work. But you'll make it.
nothing tells the world "I made it" better than
a Jostens College ring on your linger. It s your
lifelong symbol of achievement and your constant
reminder ol your total college experience. See the
great selection of Jostens rings, available in 10K gold.
14K gold and Lustrium. From $82.95
DATE_
TIME
PLACE
JOSTENS
uo
THE RING PEOPLE.
Today and Tomorrow
9:00-4:00
13th & Kincaid
Mon-Fri 8:15-5:30
Sat 10:00-2:00
BOOKSTORE
Textbooks 686-3520 • General Books 686-3510 • Supplies 686-4331
Paae 8 Section A
subservient to the corporate
barons, predicted Parker, who
has written on economics for
several major publications.
“We now live in a world in
which we are so completely tied
to the process of production
that we are no different from the
peasants of France or England
in the 12th or 13th centuries,”
Parker said in an interview
before the speech.
This development is illustrat
ed by the declining standard of
living for American workers and
by the increasing incidence of
functional illiteracy, Parker said.
Inflationary pressures and a
prejudicial tax structure are
widening the gap between the
classes, Parker said, referring to
the current housing market as
an example of how most Amer
icans are being deprived of
economic choices
For instance, two-income
families that annually earn
$60,000 are insulated from the
effects of high housing costs
and high interest rates because
they can deduct large parts of
the expense from their taxes.
‘‘If you're in a 50-percent
bracket, the federal government
has made a pledge to you that it
will pay 50 percent of your
15-percent mortgage. You were
able to go out and buy a
$116,000 house, if you earn
$60,000 a year, for a 7.5-percent
mortgage.”
But those in a 10-percent tax
bracket get a discount of only
1.5 percent and may not be able
to buy houses at all, Parker said.
Consequently, he predicted
the 1980s will bring a growing
gap between income levels.
Criticizing newly inaugurated
Pres. Ronald Reagan for being
"as much a servant of the cor
porations as when he sold
Chesterfield cigarettes and Van
Heusen shirts,” Parker said
Reagan’s administration will
accelerate the development of
the “new feudalism.”
He predicted that implement
ing the 30-percent Kemp-Roth
tax cut will further exacerbate
the differences in American in
comes because it will benefit
Americans with high incomes
more than those with low in
comes.
Reagan is a “small, stupid
man guided first by the Evita of
North America, his wife Nancy,
and secondly by the dark and
shadowy figures that surround
American corporations,” Parker
said.
Parker's campus appearance
was sponsored by the EMU
Cultural Forum.
CLASSIFIEDS
JEWELS This is you first personal. How does it
feel? I hope that all your men can fix a car
Love SIS PEANUT 1-22
THE SPECIAL YOU AND PREGNANCY Free
pregnancy testing, Birthright 687-8651
___ _ _4683:H
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE Organization Meet
ing: Thursday. 5.00 pm, EMU Room number
to be posted on EMU daily schedule. All are
welcome._ 170Q:H
GET FAST. DEPENDABLE SERVICE
on Alterations at
Siegmund's Cleaners 821 E 13th Ave
181 UWH
CRISIS CENTER
U of O Telephone Hot Line from 5 pm to 8 am
Help with personal & emotional problems.
Strictly confidential. Call 686-4488 164 MH
installed for
$1.50 '3^2-4878
_ SHOP
\ 0 0 east II th /
PEANUT This is what you've been waiting for.
Super Sunday is coming up. How about dinner
Saturday night. Love, #51 _ 1-22
Why wait for your new contacts One day
service at the
Contact Lens Clinic
of Eugene
401 E 10th 683-2224
_ ‘ 1699:H
DUFFYS-MILLER'S
Pool
Tourney
THURSDAY JAN. 22
Two divisions
Registration 7 pm
Tournament 8 pm
1-22
Massage Therapy
Relieve stress and tension. Feet better
immediately. Deep relaxing massage
therapy Reba Townsend, 344-4629.
State licensed. 1 -28
On Tour For NWSA
D.
with
Adrienne Tort
A Fundraiser for the National Women's Studies Association
Hosted by:
WOMEN S STUDIES OF U OF ORE
& L.C.C.. WOMEN'S CENTER LCC. SWS
JAN. 30. 1981 8 PM
E M U BALLROOM
TICKETS SOLD AT WOMEN S STUDIES
& CENTER. BOOK & TEA SHOP
HOUSE OF RECORDS
S6 50
Wheelchair Accessible
°ASL Interpreted
0 No Alcohol
A Non-profit
Organization