Editorial
Action needed now
to reduce the deficit
The stock market’s greatest plunge in history focuses
new attention on the negligent economic policies of the
Reagan administration toward reducing the federal budget
deficit.
According to Wall Street analysts, the market’s crash
has been caused partially by a large trade deficit and by a
huge, out-of-control budget deficit — a deficit that has in
creased dramatically during the Reagan administration.
The mendacious Reagan administration can no longer
make the empty rhetorical promise that it will take measures
to reduce the deficit and balance the budget, a promise
Reagan made an integral part of his 1980 presidential and
1983 re-election campaigns.
If the administration is to help the market recover fully,
it not only must pledge to take action, but also must do it.
Furthermore this action must take the form of an increase in
taxes and a decrease in military spending.
For the administration, it can no longer be business as
usual; it’s time to rethink the economic policies that landed
the market in such an unfortunate predicament.
In previous years, the administration has refused to
raise income taxes; instead, it made across-the-board cuts in
domestic welfare spending.
The savings incurred from these cuts, however, nave
been offset by wasteful, unnecessary increases in military
spending and foreign policies requiring an excessive pro
portion of the federal budget.
By attempting to stamp out the red threat in the Third
World, the administration's foreign policies have con
tributed to placing the budget further in the red.
The Reagan administration s 1988 budget proposal, for
example, calls for increasing defense spending by about $14
billion to $312 billion and international affairs spending by
$2.9 billion to a total of $18.1 billion. The administration,
however, proposed spending only $28.9 billion on educa
tion. jobs and social services.
Nevertheless, after pressure from Monday's crisis.
Reagan has considered meeting with legislators at an
"economic summit" to discuss policies for reducing the
deficit.
At this domestic economic summit, if it indeed takes
place, the Reagan administration must compromise with
congressional democrats if it is to solve the current crisis
and avoid a future one.
So far. however, the administration has refused to com
promise. placing the blame on Congress for its own in
competence toward reducing the deficit. The result of this
reluctance to compromise resulted in an economic crisis that
poses the possibility of a new recession.
America currently faces a crucial choice: either accept a
tax increase now or accept the economic costs of a deficit
induced recession later.
If the American public accepts the latter, or is forced to
accept it by the continuing negligence of the Reagan ad
ministration. then the long-run costs of the deficit in terms
of a recession will outweigh significantly the short-run
reduction in wealth from an income tax.
Without a tax increase and appropriate spending cuts.
Americans will further suffer from economic neglect and
mismanagement.
Life Expectancy Statistics
Hitt
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FReSIWNTlAL CANWDWES
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Letters
Unfair seating
If all students are required to
pay a tee along with tuition that
is to go toward free admission to
University athletic events,
shouldn't everyone who pays
have access to the free tickets?
With only 6.000 football
tickets reserved for more than
17,000 students. 11.000 or more
students are paying for nothing
There must be a better way to
allocate these tickets. 1 realize
that the incidental fees charged
at registration are reasonable for
anyone who plans to attend a
few events. Maybe it would be
Iretter to charge a higher in
cidental fee to students who
want free tickets, but not re
quire that everyone pay if they
do not plan to use the free
tickets.
The students who pay the fee
would have free tickets
available to them if they want to
claim them, and those who
don't pay the fee would have to
pay for general admission
tickets if they decide to attend.
What really upsets me about
this plan is the seating ar
rangements at the football
games.
Students who get fret* tickets
are restricted to certain seating
sections, while other students
who pay for their general ad
mission tickets must sit in
another area.
I went to the USC football
game Saturday with five stu
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deni friends, but only two of us
were able to get free tickets. The
other four paid for general ad
mission tickets. We tried to get
seats in the student section, but
the ushers would not let the
people who purchased general
admission tickets sit in that
area.
So we went to the general ad
mission taction, walked past an
usher who did not check our
tickets, and sat down.
During the first quarter, 1 left
my seat to get a drink. When 1
tried to return to my seat, the
usher asked to see my ticket. I
showed him my "student"
ticket, and he told me that 1
could not return to my seat... I
would have to go to the student
section.
I think that charging a one
time per-term fee for free admis
sion to athletic events is a great
idea, but everyone who pays
this fee should have access to
free tickets
if we can't work out a fair
allocation system, students who
get free tickets should at least be
allowed to sit with those who
are unable to gel their tickets for
free.
Turn lohnson
Student
Confronting
Local humanist. Laurence F.
Hawkins letter. "Faith vs.
reason" (R-G, Sept. 23).
describes Sir (and "Saint”)
Thomas Store’s suggestion in
his book "Utopia" that a
"young couple wishing to
marry should be compelled to
confront each other naked, lest
either find the other
unattractive."
Newspaper reports lead us to
know that not only did several
of our Christian presidential
candidates follow that sugges
tion. but as one could expect,
found it as difficult to "look but
don't touch." as it is to “show
but not tell."
Humanists who know the
history of American social
mores are inclined to smile in
dulgently at the sanctimonious
posturing of Christian moralists
in this regard.
Ethnologists may find it of in
terest to know that for many
hundreds of years, until but a
few generations ago. it was the
custom in many Slavic coun
tries for rural bachelors to
gather together naked on the
frozen surface of local ponds
and rivers in mid-winter, in the
presence of area maidens and
their mothers, to plunge into
the icy waters in a riotous
display of vigor and courage.
The women thereafter dicussed
the qualities of prospective
suitors; it was believed that sur
prises thereafter were apt to be
pleasant.
Women were exempted from
this ordeal Polish gallantry
recognized the blush of the
maiden belonged on the upper
cheeks and not the lower
Bert P. Tryba
Eugene
Needed service
Sunday afternoon, at approx
imately 4:30, 1 was headed nor
thbound on 1-5 when I was
driven off the road by a semi
truck that obviously thought it
too much trouble to look before
changing lanes.
After gathering my wits. I
managed to get the license
number of the truck and report
the offense, loiter I called the
police back to find out if
anything had come of my com
plaint. Absolutely nothing!
The officer was very sym
pathetic, told me that there had
been numerous complaints that
day about truck drivers, but
there was nothing they could
do. There was only ONE patrol
car available between Eugene
and Albany and it was already
tied up!
I’m not angry with the police.
They did all they could. But 1
find it appalling that the
citizens of this, and other areas,
do not find it necessary to sup
port those organizations which
are essential to the welfare of
our communities.
Time after time, we fail to
pass budgets which are badly
needed in order for these
organizations to function effec
tively. The police department is
one such organization.
1 am angry because a careless
driver got away with almost
causing a very serious accident.
Please .. the next time the
police department needs
money. PASS the budget!
Julie N. Rawland
Student