The Winkler County News (Kermit, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 86, Ed. 1 Monday, January 12, 1976 Page: 8 of 18
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Monday, January 12, 1976
TheWinkler County News
GOLDEN WEST FREE PRESS, INC. KERMIT, TEXAS
*** 109 S. Poplar Telephone 586-2561
';
* % Zip Code 79745
Second Class Postage Paid at
* % Kermit, Texas 79745
M. M. Donosky.....................••■•••••.....
Bill J. Beckham................Vice-Pres. and General Manager
Phil Parks ................................Managing Ed. or
JannieLee ...................................b?c,e*y “itor
Tim Bryant................................ .. .Spdrts Sdrtor
Jane Inskeep .......................... • • Advertising Manager
Marie Butts..............................Circulation Manager
Chris K. Young........................Camera Superintendent
Robert Wingrove.........................Press Superintendent
This newspaper is dedicated to the spirit of civic progress; to the
unification of the townspeople in a common purpose for the
betterment of our community; to our churches, schools, and
homes, that Kermit shall ever be a good place in which to live
and rear our children. And, above all1; honesty, decency justice,
tolerance, faith in Almighty God — These shall be our citadel.
MEMBER-
TEXAS
ASSOCIATION
The *5 Billion
Giveaway
^ Most literate Americans know that the White House and
Congress have been locked in a continuous fight over federal
spending and taxing programs. How many know, however,
that while the government has been haggling over how best
to sock it to us taxpayers, it has quietly wiped out more than
•$5 billion in foreign debts over the past three years? That’s
about S24 for every man, woman and child in the United
States.
- Under the direction of the President and Secretary of
State Henry Kissinger, several huge debts owed by foreign
governments to the U. S. were “settled” for about two cents
bn the dollar. The governments involved owed us more than
$5 billion; they paid us SI 12 million.
1 Naturally, the biggest winners were governments who like
us least. The Soviet Union, which owed us $2.6 billion in
claims dating back to the lend-lease program of World War 11,
led the list. It settled the claim for $48 million!
India, which clamped a dictatorship on its people during
the last year and, at any rate, has been no friend to the
United States, owed us $2.2 billion. The slate was simply
wiped clean on that one.
Lest we seem like Scrooge in criticising the India
transaction so soon after Christmas (which is, after all, the
time for giving), let us take note of what Sen. Jesse Helms
(R-N.C.) recently said to his constituents about that
'transaction: “We provide financial assistance of every kind to
llndia — yet she is hostile to the United States . . . While it is
true that there is hunger in India, it is also obvious that India
has diverted hundreds of millions of dollars o! the aid that
we sent to the government. And diverted it to what?
- “On May 8, 1974, India detonated her first nuclear
explosion — after spending hundreds of millions of dollars in
its development. This was money that India could have spent
improving its agricultural system, so that their millions of
“hungry people could have food.”
Although Helms introduced a measure to cut off aid to
India unless that country agrees to stop spending huge sums
■on the development of nuclear bombs, a liberal coalition led
by Sen. Hubert Humphrey defeated the move. As Helms
noted, it isn’t difficult to see why the federal government is
in debt to the tune of a half trillion dollars.
Salt Talks:
Keep Kissinger Home
with play areas, and un- too far.
Virginia Payette
Really Out Of Things
Kissinger should not be
to continue SALT talks
going to
with the
Secretary of State
5}Moscow next month
^Soviets.
£/ There are two main reasons why we say this. First, Dr.
^'.Kissinger is not the man to negotiate any more arms
^agreements with the Soviet Union. His record to date has
,r*been a disaster. To get his first treaty, he accepted ambiguous
.^language and settled for “unilateral U. S. statements” of'
"^interpretation which may have satisfied the U. S. Congress
>but which did not bind the Russians - at least not in their
’eyes. Having done that, he now indignantly quibbles with
those who charge Soviet violations by arguing the strictly
legalistic view that the Soviets have been technically within
their rights to use the SALT loopholes which he, Kissinger,
'negotiated in order to gain further strategic military
^advantage over the United States. The whole argument over
-whether the Soviets have or have not cheated on SALT is in
■fact beside the point. The only point that matters is that
. Russia has not been deterred by the first SALT treaty from
‘increasing her lead over the United States in strategic arms.
Kissinger must bear the primary responsibility for this.
* The second reason for calling off the trip is that the U. S.
■ will be negotiating with a hand of extraordinary weakness.
How can Kissinger or any one else speak firmly to the Soviets
tin the light of the Kennedy Amendment in the Senate to
- close down our one remaining ABM installation at Grand
< Forks, North Dakota? By this action the U. S. unilaterally
• altered the SALT treaty in Moscow’s favor. The Senate voted
! to toss nearly $6 billion in research and production on an
‘ ABM system down the drain and got nothing from Russia in
return.
Until the U. S. people - perhaps through their votes next
November — determine whether they want to continue a
detente policy that is handing the Soviet Union one political
and military advantage after another, the question of another
SALT agreement should be put on ice.
Not to start the New Year
on a disconsolate note, there
are times when I really feel
out of things. I never, for
instance, had an affair with
John F. Kennedy.
Which, if you can believe
the gossips, puts me in some
kind of a minority. Ladies -
well, women anyway — are
crawling out of the
woodwork to proclaim their
status as one of the “other
women” in his private life.
Notice that plural. He was,
according to the San
Francisco divorcee who
claims the three-year
relationship, “a very busy
fellow.”
Busy is the right word for
it. There’s one historian who
,has beep... v doing some
undercover work on JFK’s
.lighter moments in public
office. He cites some startling
statistics.
Like the fact that, on the
morning of his inauguration,
“Kennedy made love to three
different women” before he
strode out into the icy wind
to take his oath of office.
And that, by his own tally
(did he keep score in a little
black book?) he had dallied
with some 600 women during
his years in the Senate.
He slowed down a little as
President, but not much.
That’s when you began to
hear stories of his
mini-romances with
motive actresses, staff
assistants with vague duties,
and (although he flew only in
Air Force One) airline
stewardesses. Even (showing
how diligent some of my
colleagues are to keep on top
of things) a columnist.
Trouble is, this isn’t the
first time I’ve been passed
Computer Art, Music
Eligible for Fair
over. I didn’t make Nixon’s
“enemies list,” either. And I
have never been bugged by
the FBI, the CIA or the PTA.
I’ve been to the White House
for dinner, but no president
ever asked me to slip upstairs
for a guided tour of the
Lincoln Room.
Back in my Hollywood-
beat days, I wrote thousands
of words about Frank
Sinatra, and they weren’t all
complimentary. But,
although he has been accused
of trying to run down
reporters with his
automobile, he never once
aimed his headlights at me.
Nor did he recommend me to
any presidents.
And take the time I
cornered Errol Flynn in his
dressing room for an
exclusive interview when he
was up on charges of
statutory rape. I thought 1
had begun to live dangerously
when he invited me to sit
beside him on the bed.
“You’ll be safe,” he
grinned. “You’re much too
old for me, doll.” (I was 22 at
the time.)
You can always tell
yourself there are
professional advantages to
remaining aloof. That the
only way to cover the snake
pits of the world is to stand
back and view the hanky
panky with detachment.
Whole books in fact, have
been written on the perils of of Virginia said recently:
too chummy with for the Federal Government to
NATIONAL EDUCATION PROGRAM
Searcy, Arkansas
DEFICIT GOVERNMENT sentence of that story began: derground parking with at-
The deficit in Federal “A federally subsidized housing tendants 24 hours a day. This is
spending last year was ap- project for the poor is scheduled the New York City provision for
proximately $50 billion dollars, to open in East Harlem in about jts welfare recipients, and New
The deficit this year will exceed two months with luxury York City wants all the tax-
$70 billion. This two year deficit features never before included payers of America to be taxed
is more than the entire Federal in low-income housing in the pvpn more to sumx>rt this kind
budget just 11 years ago and by United States.” Now, here is the of thtaktag!
the end of this fiscal year, the cost to the taxpayers of the
total national debt of our entjre country. The average How many tax-paying
Federal government will be construction cost per apart- American families who are
right at $600 billion. Thirty-five ment is $63,597. There are four, right now subsidizing these
percent of that total debt will 35 story buildings in the Taino NYC apartments for welfare
have been created during the Towers. They are centrally air- families can afford a $68,597
Pa£ six yeafs- conditioned, will have an indoor apartment of their own?
These facts are chilling in- swimming pool, a gymnasium, Helping the needy has always
deed to every American who is an auditorium, a theatre, a been a trait of the Americar
now a little more conscious of greenhouse roof laundry rooms character, but this is carrying il
the seriousness of unchecked - - ' --
deficit spending due to the
condition of New York City. We
have pointed out time after time
that there has to be a bottom to
every barrel, even the barrel of
printing press money spewed
out by the Congress of the
United States. We have warned
that what is happening to the
City of New York and to several
States, can ultimately happen
to the Federal government. We
now believe the groundwork is
being laid for the repudiation of
our national debt.
Bankruptcy Law
Changes Foretell
The Future
What has been proposed as a
change in the bankruptcy laws
of the land would permit the
City of New York to default on
its Bond obligations and still use
current income to pay
operating expenses. In other
words, the debt would just be
pushed to the back of the
economic burner and if and
when the City ever ac-
cumulated enough surplus,
those bond obligations might be
paid off. The important fact in
this proposal is if a city can be
accommodated thusly, the
federal government can also
default on its debt under the
same law. If not, why not?
As Senator Harry Byrd, Jr
have to write
getting
folks you
about.
It’s probably good advice.
But you miss out on a lot of
behind-the-scenes excitement
that way.
The closest I’ve come so
far is a long evening of
converlation back in 1968
with Hubert Humphrey.
(Well, he conversed, I nodded
a lot.) And deep in my
,di s,t.an.t past I once
interviewed a young actor
come to New York’s rescue
would be an invitation for
politicians everywhere to give
in to every demand of every
pressure group, with the
knowledge that if a particular
city or a particular State could
not finance those demands, the
Federal Government would
pick up the tab. New York City
has been living beyond its
means; the per capita costs of
government there is four times
that of the average large, city.”
What is being proposed is that
the American taxpayer
named Ronald Reagan. I guarantee Bondholders of NYC
have even danced an expert
cha-cha with a young Texan
named George Bush.
It just happens that all
three of them now have their
eyes on the White House. So
maybe there’s hope for
yet.
me
Paul Harvey
News
[The Professional Unemployed
As one of those most fortunate men who so enjoys his
work that he prefers it to what most people call play, once in
a while I have to remind myself that not everybody is so
fortunate.
The guy who stands on a production line punching out
widgets all day has seen his uninteresting job automated, yet
I do remember sacking groceries 17 hours a day for a dollar,
and I do visit enough industries during my travels to
recognize that many jobs are more tedious and less fun than
others.
Even first graders are invited But the day this j°b fails to feed mY farnilY 1 will g° back
to participate in the 1976 Stu- t0 sacking groceries or digging potatoes or whatever it takes,
dent Computer Fair, to be held . ^ there is no more damning commentary on our
once-proud American society than the fact that our
government maintains an idle army of unemployed while
American industry is begging for workers willing to work.
We have neighbors in our Chicago suburb who offer a
thousand dollars a month for housekeepers to do domestic
work - yet area employment agencies will tell you nobody
wants to cook and clean at any wage!
Nor are industrial jobs any more appealing to the idle.
Chicagoland reports 9% - plus unemployed.
Yet a suburban industrialist, James Olive, writes, “I’m
tired of all the clamor about high unemployment. My small
manufacturing company has been trying to hire people and
bonds the high tax-free interest
they hoped to gain when they
bought the bonds in the first
place. We need to remember
that municipal bonds and the
earnings thereon are tax-
exempt. In other words, an
individual or bank or company
can invest money in municipal
bonds and not pay taxes on the
earnings.
The major bondholders are
the New York City banks, and
the interest rates on NYC
municipal bonds have run as
high as 11 percent in recent
years. Along with that high, tax-
free interest must go some
risks, and the risks are now
becoming apparent. The
bondholders have received
liberal tax-free income, yet now
they want the taxpayers of
America to guarantee their
investment.
Why Is New York
City in Trouble?
On October 28, 1975, the New
York Times published an ar-
ticle which will help us un-
derstand just why NYC is in
trouble. The headline read:
“Luxury Towers For Poor
Opening Soon.” The first
OWER
ALKS
by U.S. Senator for Texas
JOHN TOWER
The Crudest Tax
WASHINGTON—The most cruel tax you have to pay
isn’t even called a tax by the politicians who have foisted
it upon you.
I can’t imagine a more oppressive tax than the hidden
tax of inflation, which is ravaging the real income of all
Americans.
Inflation is a regressive tax which hurts the poor more
than the rich, and the middle class worst of all. It is an
insidious tax that demeans the value of work, encourages
profligacy and waste, and erodes the productive resources
of society.
Inflation, moreover, is a tax which no voter has ever
approved, which escalates capriciously, and which is ali but
impossible to limit.
The tax of inflation has been rising rapidly in recent
years. Consumer prices rose by 12 per cent in 1974. on top
of an 8.8 per cent increase in 1973.
Most Americans perceive the symptoms of inflation
ever increasing price levels—not its causes. This is dan-
gerous. To try to cure inflation by removing its symptoms
with such measures as wage and price controls is as futile
as trying to cure measles by removing the spots.
Inflation is the result of expanding the supply of money
in an economy at a faster rate than the production of goods
and services is increasing. If there is more money chasing
fewer goods, price levels go up.
Excessive federal deficits are the primary cause of in-
flation. Every dollar that the federal government spends
over what it takes in leads indirectly to an increase in the
money supply of about $2.50.
This is how it works:
(1) When the federal government runs a deficit, it issues
JOUs—Treasury bills—and sells them to investors in order-
to make up the deficit.
(2) The more the federal government borrows, the more
it drives down the price of its own Treasury bills and the
price of all other debt instruments such as bonds issued by
cities and states and private corporations. This is the same
as increasing interest rates.
(3) In order to keep interest rates from going too high,
the Federal Reserve buys Treasury bills to slow the decline
of security prices. In effect, one agency of the federal gov-
ernment issues new money to pay for the debts of the
other asencies.
(4) The money the Federal Reserve uses to buy the
Treasury bills supplies reserves to commercial banks, which
use the reserves to provide loans to businesses and con-
sumers.
(5) Since banks are able to loan out about $2.50 for
every dollar they hold in reserves, and each loan leads to
a dollar-for-dollar increase in the money supply, each dollar
the Federal Reserve spends to buy Treasury bills ultimately
results in a $2.50 increase in the money supply.
Deficit spending is the result of lax fiscal policy by the
government. It stems from the cowardly reluctance of
spendthrift politicians to tell the voters the true cost of
the programs they are proposing.
There is no easy way to repeal the tax of inflation.
Halting inflation would involve giving up those govern-
mental programs being funded by this hidden tax, and this
would offend many powerful special interest groups. But
inflation must be halted or it will destroy our economy. ,
The first step to ending the tax of inflation is to recog-
nize that it is a tax—that there is not, after all, any such
thing as a free lunch or a harmless budget deficit.
THE OIL PATCH
By GORDOH BANKSTON
during the 1976 National Com-
puter Conference June 7-10 in
New York City.
Elementary, middle and high
school students are eligible to
enter projects in the fair. New
computer tools for home or
school use, computer art and
computer games are possi-
bilities.
According to Dr. Serna
Marks, director of Academic nobody wants to work.
Computing at the City Univer- “We’d like to build another shift to handle increasing work
sity of New York and chair- ioa(js but we are competing with unemployment
man of the fair, “We’re broad- compensation and we lose every time,
ening the entry categories this “A single man grossing $180 a week with us will take
year to include computer art home about $130 after deductions. Under the law now he
and music, short stories, can sit at home and draw $92 a week tax-free. Throw in food
science fiction and poetry, to stamps, no transportation costs — subtract the aggravation of
attract a new group of students an alarm clock going off every morning — and you really
to computing. Elementary stu- can’t blame workers for not working.
dents, for example, may sub- “Let’s at least be honest,” Olive continues, “and admit
mit drawings of a computer.” that federal and state giveaway programs account for a
The fair is sponsored by the sizable percentage of those currently unemployed. Let’s
American Federation of Infor- further admit that many or most are unemployed by choice,
mation Processing Societies, “There are plenty of jobs around so let’s not get all
Inc. up-tight about ‘unemployment.’
First prize will be an Affair “What we should be getting concerned about, instead, is a
8800 Computer Kit, and a two- political and social system that makes mass unemployment
year subscription to Creative so attractive as to be almost irresistible.
“The Computing Magazine will be “Meanwhile,” says this frustrated employer, “my
awarded to the most outstand- company will continue seeking a few people who will come
fng project Wnnfng entries to work anyway - though we are not optimistic.”
will be published in the maga- For enough generations now our politicians have been
zine buying votes with promises of more something-for-nothing to
For applications write to: where the once-proud American worker is a lickspit! '
it, we are no less threatened with defeat and subjugation, by ^75 N(2C Student Computer Look it up; it’s in the dictionary!
those who’d end our independence, and our free private Fajr Cj University of New Unemployment has become a profession - and it pays
enterprise endeavors, impose total government upon us, v 7. w t 47nd Street well - but, well, let me say there is only one other profession
deprive us of liberty. New York. N.Y. 10036. ’ where you lie down on the job and get paid for it.
Now And Then,
Coming And Going
In 1776 it was the Redcoats who would deny us American
national independence, as today it is the Reds and their
UN-one-worlder internationalists who’d deny us American
Independence.
Then it was the Crown-monopolists who would deny us
free private enterprise, as would the Government-monopolists
of today, the socialists and “liberals” who’d have government
control all that it doesn’t own.
Then, it was the King who said: “We are The People.”
Now, it is the Marxists who refer to themselves as
People.”
But then it was We, the people, who embraced the
self-evident Truths and made them secure as a Way of Life we
call American. But now? Now, even if we refuse to recognize
"You might as well go ahead and spoil your grandchildren. You're going
to get the blame anyway.
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Parks, Phil. The Winkler County News (Kermit, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 86, Ed. 1 Monday, January 12, 1976, newspaper, January 12, 1976; Kermit, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1009227/m1/8/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Winkler County Library.