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Show Monday, May 8, 1978, THE HERALD, 1 Provo, Utah-P- age 19 978 Tax Freedom Day' averaee you're an If Derson vmi can start this week to work for yourself, having filled toiled Ion? enough to pay off your various taxes. Robert R. Statham. taxation 'Tax Freedom Day' was celebrated May 4." When measured as part of each day, taxes this year take 2 hours and 45 minutes out of the average work day taxpayer's eight-hou- r by far the largest item in the average household budget. Of the 2 hours worked each to day pay taxes, the federal government requires 1 hour and 46 minutes while state and local taxes take 59 minutes. Says the tax foundation, taxes took 1 hour and 28 minutes out of each working day in 1938, 1 hour and 54 minutes in 1948, 2 hours and 11 minutes in 1958, and 2 hours and 35 minutes in 1968. The 1978 amount of 2 hours and 45 minutes is an e high. Why these statistics? Simply that you the taxpayers might be informed, and with an appeal that officials with taxing power apply every efficiency and economy to "hold the line." 1977 1978 py- - fpert for the United States tnamDer oi commerce, says the average American will work until or 131 days May 11 just to his federal, state, and local pay - - taxes. In other words, he will have worked for the first four months and 11 days of 1978 for the govern ment before commencing to work tor nimsen. That isn't exactly the wav it goes, with the taxes paid tnrougnoui tne year. But the 131-da- y computation serves to tax ever-increasi- Estimates furnished by the National Tax Foundation vary a bit from those of the national C. of C, with May 6 (last Saturday) designated as "Tax Freedom Day," according to Jack A. Olson, executive vice president, Utah Taxpayers Association. "Although more than a third of the way through the year, the date gets later and later," said Mr. Olson. "In 1975 the date was May 1 ; in 1976 it fell on May 3, and in So They Say "I had an enchanted childhood. a magic childhood, with great memories. But I don't want to live in the past and I don't live in the past." Shirley Temple Black, the child star, celebrating her 50th birthday (April 23). Washington Window Westy Says His Piece By ARNOLD SAWISLAK WASHINGTON (UPI) Exercising his precious First Amendment right of free speech, retired Gen. William Westmoreland recently laid down a barrage of criticism at the reporters who covered the Vietnam War. The general, speaking at a conference of the Accuracy in Media organization, Westmoreland said the press has "tended to become abusive, arrogant and hypocritical." He said even though the Tet offensive in 1968 was a major military and political defeat for the communists, it was reported as a victory for Hanoi. Westmoreland said "the mass media needs to examine themselves as never before and encourage more criticism from inside and outside." And, in what was perhaps the nub of his speech, the general said: "If the nation is to wage war declared or undeclared a policy should be set to protect the interests of both the media and govern- - ment and avoid media. And Westmoreland will get no argument against the proposition that the press ought to be constantly on guard against abuse of power by itself as well as others. Like any institution, the press can become decadent or corrupt. Westmoreland cites former reporter Peter Braestrup's book "Big Story," as support for the cnarge that the Tet offensive was badly covered. That, of course, is an example of the professional oversight Westmoreland calls for. But the general apparently assumes that if Tet had been reported as a Communist defeat, the United States would have been able to win the war. The possibility does not seem to occur to him that the real impact of Tet was not in which army won the battles. The shock for Americans was in the fact that the communists were capable of mounting any kind of offensive at a time when he and other public officials were assuring Americans that the other side was on the brink of defeat. What died during Tet was the last credibility of the politicians and generals who had been claiming victory was in sight. Westmoreland notes with apparent distaste that Vietnam "was the first war ever fought without some form of official censorship." That may be what he was referring to in recommending a policy "to protect the interests" of the press and government. It should be noted there were some other traditions that also were not observed in connection with Vietnam. For example, at one time a general who lost a war fell on his own sword, or if he returned defeated, took his disgrace into silent retirement. We may be a stronger people for the disappearance of both of those customs. the ambiguity that characterized relationships in South Vietnam." The general is not the first public servant to find the press nettlesome. Thomas Jefferson, beloved by the press for saying he would rather have newspapers without a government than the opposite situation, also wrote, "Nothing now can be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle." The press is, or certainly ought to be, accustomed to the anger and criticism of public officials. It was to keep official outrage from becoming official retribution that government was forbidden to abridge freedom of the press, but the same amendment also guarantees presidents, street cleaners and even generals the right to raise hell with the . ; A! - r m i s? GOOD MW, WE tWT ACCEPT ARTICLES THIS iMALL" Letters to Editor Roscoe Drummond , mm jiL This is the second of four columns on the worldwide spread of terrorism and what can be done about it. WASHINGTON During the Nazi bombing of London when the vastly outnumbered - British fliers were putting their lives on the line every night, Winston Churchill paid them this glowing tribute: "At no time in history have so many owed so much to so few." In today's world of terrorism, it is just the opposite: Probably at no time in history have so few perpetrated so much evil and wreaked so much havoc against so many. When one considers the resources at the disposal of powerful governments, it is both dismaying and ironic that a handful of terrorists can so of Lea murder, kidnap and imperil innocent hostages with impunity. Not entirely with impunity but almost. Based on the IMF rum M period 1968 to 1978, statistics compiled by authorities closely involved show an 87 percent probability that terrorists will get their hostates ; a 79 percent probability that all members of the terrorists operation will escape either punishment or death whether or not they hold hostages ; an 83 percent probability of success in getting safe passage for themselves whether their demands are met or not ; a 67 percent probability of escaping alive, and a 100 percent certainty of getting their number one objective worldwide publicity. Numerically how huge is this network of terrorists? It must be embarrassing to some governments to find it so small. Brian Jenkins of Rand Corp. estimates that, worldwide, it would not exceed a couple of thousand terrorists and that the hard-cor- e leadership groups probably do not exceed 200 in number. But because they have the help of some nations like Syria, Algeria, Ethiopia, Yemen, and the acquiescence and sanctuary of others, their power to perform is vastly greater than their numbers. Who are these terrorists? Are they crackpots and disoriented men and women, risCzechoslovakia, from ing nmi Women's deprived I have also heard that 1979 has been designated as the International Year of the Child. It is important that s, middle-incom- well-educat- e, Lighter Side ff--S- MA s!a r MJ Energy And Rock Music By DICK WEST WASHINGTON (UPI) -One of the highlights of the recent Sun Day observance here was a rock concert on the grounds of the Washington Monument. The timing was perfect -right in the middle of the afternoon rush hour. Thousands of teen-ag- e nitwits converged on the site, creating as nifty a downtown traffic jam as you would ever want to see. I have no firm statistics available, but while waiting through four light cycles to cross one intersection, I propounded what I feel is a reasonably accurate formula: The amount of extra fuel used by motorists caught in the Sun Day traffic backup will more than equal the amount of fuel saved by conversion to solar power in the next 15 years. Do not infer, however, the Sun Day rock concert was e. some day be possible to have guitars run on solar energy. "They say the way things are going we will soon run short of electricity. There might not be enough current available to amplify a guitar or for more than a half-mil- e so. "If that happened, the group could switch from electric to solar guitars and keep right on playing. I think that would be real cool." I said, "That's good thinking, Bimmy, and I'm sorry I mistook you for a nitwit. Do you foresee any other future applications of solar energy?" "Well, like at the concert, you know, everybody was lighting up joints by flicking their Bics or whatever. One day there might not be enough fuel to keep all those lighters families. They are not neurotics or psychotics. They know what they want and they are not playing games. They want to substitute lawlessness for law. They want to bring down government by the consent of the governed. Who makes up the ranks of the terrorists? Here is a collective profile of the Baader-Meinhgang prepared for the remarkably informed and alerting program which was part of the recent two-ho- going. "So I was thinking it would be cool to have a solar- lighter, Lowered cigarette what I mean?" "I see what you mean, Bimmy," I said, "and somehow I have a feeling that the hour I spent in that Sun Day traffic jam was time well wasted." Public Television show WHYY by produced Philadelphia Wilmington : "The face of an innocent, student, an intellectual essayist, wife and mother secretly Communist, writer of a television play in which the solution to social inequity is violence ; in prison a captured terrorist who gave her name g to a band of Ulrike Meinhof. anarchists The other leader, Andreas Baader, the quintessential romantic anarchist, student radical in the Sixties whose father was a historian. Andreas was a mediocre student with simple, violent solutions to problems. Baader's lover, Gudrun Ensellin, gifted daughter of a clergyman. After meeting Baader, she bombed stores, argued that burned property was in protest to burned people in Vietnam ; Jan Karl Rassback, sociologist, renowned as the bomb-throwin- Baader-Meinho- f bomb-maker- he If we really want to have a government of, by and for the people, we should attend our local neighborhood mass meetings on May 15. We can teach our families about the political process and then be good examples by attending the meeting of whichever political party we choose and electing persons we can trust to represent us in that political party. All states do not have local political meetings for their citizens to elect representatives. We have that privilege in Utah, but we will not deserve it if the meetings are as poorly attended as they have been In the past.. Kay Thoreson 115 N. 800 W. Orem Open Letter To Governor An open of Utah: letter to the Governor of the State Dear Governor Matheson: As a recently - returned Utah native, I was dismayed to learn that you have no intention of placing a lax limitation amendment on for the special session of the legislature at the end of this month. fatalities. NEXT: Who Is Terrorists' Beneficiary? No matter what any panel or group recommends, there will be problems Tet us seize on a simple solution NOW and work out the inevitable complications as they arise. than deterred by the (c) 1978, Los Angeles Times Syndicate Berry's World It is the direction we are going, not the details of the landscape, that must be changed. The power is in your hands to begin to avert a justifiable taxpayer revolt. I urge you to use it. Sincerely, Kenneth T. Kartchner E. Orem 717 N. 450 Too Many Laws Usurp Rights - replied. "We were talking at the concert about bow It might Someone (perhaps the Senior Citizens or anyone else) could be of great service to the rest of us by reading the Federal Register each week at the Brigham Young University Library and then informing the rest of us, through letters to the editor (or through various citizens organizations) of new laws or bureaucratic organizations which will affect us as citizens. I urge you to reconsider: Studies will consume the time that could save us in Utah from the untenable situations in California and Michigan. - "For sure, man," ." we all treat each other righteously and that we become informed about the legal driections of these International Year movements if we wish to avoid an "protective" governmental system in our nation. All four are now dead, all suicides while in prison. But the terrorism grows, perhaps stimulated rather Humane laws being what they are, you cannot get their attention directly the way a farmer gets a mule's attention that is, by whacking them on the nose with a So you have to use the subtle approach that is, by whacking them on the ears with a rock band. I know a youth who attended the Sun Day concert and when I saw him a couple of days later I asked if he had given any thought as to how solar energy might be used to meet the needs of the future Commission which would have the authoirty to consult all executive agencies for information, advice and services for the purposes of promoting full equality between men and women, promoting the International Women's Year resolutions and the United Nations Decade of Women. backgrounds and with little education? Not at all. Most of the Red Brigades band in Italy, the Revolutionary Red Army in Japan and the Baader-Meinhgang in West Germany come from middle-clas- tion. in Editor Herald: I have heard that on April 4, 1978, President Carter placed an executive order (No. 12050) into the Federal Register to create a and Uganda, of Although the connection between rock music and solar energy development may not be immediately apparent, I would say the concert was an entirely appropriate way to mark the occasion. Solar power is, after all, being billed as the energy source of the world of tomorrow. And tomorrow's world to a depres-singl- y large degree will be populated by nitwits who attend rock concerts. Thus it is fitting that they be made conscious of solar energy. To the extent that they are conscious. But first, you have to get their atten- i On Obligation And Privilege To Be Informed Who Are The Terrorists? counter-productiv- w MY all-tim- dramatize the scope of what seems an burden. "SORRY, C WJOyNfA Inc " know Donny Osmond's marriage is hard to Shaun Cassidy is take, but just remember stilt available!" Editor Herald: I would like to say amen to the article written by Lynn Crook of Santaquin in the May 2 issue of your paper. I might add that besides the arrogant men called United State senators, we also have the same arrogant men whom we have elected in our own towns, cities, county and state offices that also ignore the wishes of the people they represent. We all know we have to have laws and most people are willing to abide by the laws, if they are right. Too many laws are taking the rights away from the American people. So who says the lav s are right? Jeannine Eva Santaquin a |
