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Tuesday, November 29, 1994
OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VIEWPOINT
Elimination of tax would create economic growth
Following the Republi can overthrow of Congress, amyriad of issues have entered the national debate after being avoided by Capitol Hill for years. Such topics as term limits, the line-item veto and a balanced budget amendment have gained new prominence following the change of power.
Perhaps the most exciting and potentially beneficial issue deals with the elimination of the capital gains tax. This misunderstood and demonized tax would have an incredibly quick and massive positive impact on the nation's economy. The elimination of the capital gains tax would strengthen the economy unlike anything else in recent years.
One of the great misconceptions is that the capital gains tax only affects the rich. The truth is that anyone who owns their own home or has money invested gets caught in this tax.
It's important to understand just what capital gains are. It is money made from the sale of assets, such as property or stocks, which have been held for a determined period of time. If, for example, you buy a house for $50,000, then sell it 20 years later for $75,000, your capital gain is $25,000.
The biggest downfall on the tax is that it is largely an inflation-based tax. While inflation raises the value of people's assets, their assets, in real terms, do not increase in value. In the earlier example, it is quite possible that the value of the house increased in value because of inflation. Unfortunately, the homeowner must pay a capital gains tax on the $25,000 because of inflation.
Some consideration has been given to indexing the tax to inflation. Because this would be nothing more than an improvement over the current policy, it still creates problems. Inflation, especially involving property values, varies widely across the country. A house in California, Arizona or even Johnson County may have doubled
CAPITAL GAINS TAX Not only the rich are affected
in value during the past 15 years, while a comparable home in central Kansas may actually have declined in value.
The easiest and most effective solution is a total elimination of the capital gains tax. The idea is far from being wishful thinking. The likely House majority leader, Rep. Dick Armey, R-Texas, has proposed a broad tax reform bill that would eliminate the capital gains tax. The new chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Bill Archer, RTexas, also has said that he supports the elimination of the tax.
Elimination of this tax would create an instant economic windfall that would unleash literally billions of dollars of capital currently tied-up in property and other assets. The holders of these assets are not selling because they want to delay paying the gains tax as long as possible. Without the penalty of the tax, these assets will reenter the marketplace.
When stocks and other liquid assets are sold, the cash will serve as an economic stimulus, whether it is reinvested or spent. When property is sold, growth and development will take place on land that has been stagnant for years.
Other beneficiaries of the tax change would be retirees. When older couples decide their homes are too much for them, they often sell and use the proceeds to accent their retirement package of pensions and Social Security. Today, a large portion of the sale is capital gains and is taxed. Without the capital gains tax, retired individuals would have more money for retirement and would create less demand for government aide.
The new Congress has a unique opportunity to eliminate the capital gains tax. For the economic good of the nation, every attempt should be made to do just that.
RICHARD BOYD FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD.
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Editors
Letters should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 200 words. They must include the writer's signature, name, address and telephone number. Writers affiliated with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill may also type their letters.
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I thought I had everything together this week. I was caught up in my classes, had all my extra-curricular responsibilities met and all my bills were paid. Everything was going according to plan.
Christmas season brings card anxiety
That is until I opened a desk drawer, dug to the very bottom in search of an address label and found a small red box.
I can't help but wonder whose idea these things were anyway. It must have been some perfection bent on self-destruction. You know the type. Perfect grades, perfect family and a perfect home. These are the people who bring you fudge over the holidays and manage to find something red and green to wear every single day between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
I pulled it out and was dismayed to find Christmas cards.
They work like machines all
This is my chance to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and to do it postage-free!
They are the ones who buy those thick rolls of stamps at the post office and mail out, not just one box of Christmas cards, but several boxes of them.
I love Christmas. I love Christmas trees, decked out in years wort of
So for all of you who who are wondering why my Christmas card hasn't made it to your mail box, its nothing personal. Remember this in June when you get my thank-god that-the-semester-is-over card. I never get those from anyone else.
through the season. Everyone knows that there is no way that they can actually sleep and still be so efficient.
HEATHER KIRKWOOD
ornaments. I love manger scenes, pine cones and Christmas stockings. I love spending the holiday with my family, exchanging gifts and eating Christmas dinner. I just don't understand Christmas cards.
Why not happy-summer-break cards, merry-vacation cards or school-will-be-starting-and-I-want-to-write-to-you-while-I-have-the-time cards.
After all, who has time to write Christmas cards in the midst of final exams. Christmas shopping, Christmas baking and Christmas traveling?
But if you are wondering how the year has gone, everything and everyone are well.
Those of us who are not proficient at the art of Christmas-card management spend the entire holiday season feeling guilt-ridden every time we open our mail boxes and discover a Christmas card.
University Daily Kansan must have its perks. If Newt gets them, I get them too!
I hope everything is going well for all of you, and I sincerely hope that you will have an egg-nog-sipping, chestnut-roasting, snowman-building, Yuletide season. Merry Christmas!
But this year will be different. This year I have the plan to beat all plans!
(After all, being a columnist for the
Heather Kirkwool is a Wichita Junior in magazine Journalism
Matt Hood/KANSAN
Setting the record straight: Alcohol is not my cup of tea
At first I thought it might be irresponsible to write a satirical column about alcoholism, merely because satishes are prone to being misunderstood.
And I guess writing one that incorporates two serious issues like alcoholism and religion is bound to be taken the wrong way.
While I know my Oct. 28 column could definitely be considered offensive, it was not irresponsible.
I decided to write it in a satirical fashion rather than coming out and saying that I think drinking is stupid, because I figured more people would read it and think about it.
First of all, the point of my column was not to ridicule religion or to glorify drinking, as Shawn Schwartz seemed to think in his letter to the editor entitled, "Alcoholism not a laughing matter." It was quite the opposite.
When I moved up here, it seemed all anyone ever talked about was alcohol and how drunk they were last night and how cool they were because they drank. It was religious the way they talked about it.
The reason I wrote the column was to mock people who make drinking out to be the be-all, end-all of human existence.
I knew if I said it directly, people would just laugh at me. Especially
Hence, the column.
JACK BIRMINGHAM
since I'm a freshman. I figured people at a university would be intelligent enough to spot sarcasm.
As Schwartz wrote in his letter, "I am sure few people who drive drunk do so to proclaim God."
Obviously, I was wrong.
Does he really think I believe they do? Does he really think I believe all religions are plagues? Does he really think I wanted people to go out and serve their god and country by getting drunk? Does he really think I believe alcoholism is a religion?
I know that alcoholism is a disease. I've been exposed to its effects my entire life and it scares the hell out of me, because I know that I could be prone to it genetically. That is one reason I don't drink at all.
It made me laugh when Mr. Schwartz advised me to seek help, especially since I cannot legally con-
I have never been drunk in my life and I have no desire to consume alcohol, no matter if it's legal or not. That personal attack on me was definitely irresponsible on his part, since he doesn't know me at all.
sume alcohol
I really don't think running my column was irresponsible on the part of the Kansan editors.
I just think it's sad that some people do virtually worship alcohol and don't give a damn about its effects. If I'm the irresponsible party, then responsibility must be under the influence.
In my opinion, anything that makes people aware of the dangers involved in alcohol consumption is worthy of print.
And even if people like Mr. Schwartz took it to be a satire promoting drinking, it still made them aware by offending them.
So, Mr. Schwartz, I don't really care if I offended you or anyone else. It's good that you agree with me that drinking can lead to very hazardous consequences.
And I really don't have anything against religion. I think it's great for a person to believe in something.
Jack Birmingham is an Overland Park freshman in pre-journalism.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR GTA task force should be created
On Tuesday, November 15, you ran a guest column I wrote. In that column I said the graduate school had surveyed graduate teaching assistants last year to evaluate the GTA experience, but that results of that study had not yet been made public. On the same day, "The GNP" (the graduate student council newsletter) published a summary of the survey results. I have requested a complete report and encourage others to do the same.
Interestingly, the survey summary showed widespread dissatisfaction with the conditions of GTA employment at KU.
At this point, I think the collegial thing for administrators to do would be to convene a task force or committee, which should include representatives from the GTA collective bargaining effort, to address the issues of health benefits, salaries, hours worked and tuition waivers for GTAs. Let us lay the foundation for an amicable collective bargaining relationship now.
David Reidy Philosophy Ph.D. candidate
Writer should get facts on welfare
Editorial writers have a responsibility to know their facts before they spout off opinions. Unfortunately, Jason McClure (Kansan, Nov. 6) didn't bother to check his facts before providing us with his opinion on welfare reform. He might have been surprised to find that for each additional child an AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) recipient has, the grant increases by $68 per month. Have you ever tried to raise a child on $17 per week? With the facts, he might have seen that increasing grants for additional children is clearly not an incentive for anything. He might also have to struggle with the reality of the job market. The thing most AFDC recipients value is the medical coverage for themselves and their children. And he also might have to look long and hard at his belief that the welfare system encourages families to disintegrate. Families disintegrate for many reasons. Men are unable and unwilling to support their children. Women are no longer willing to tolerate abuse. Partners no longer find themselves compatible with each other. The availability of AFDC to support single-parent families is certainly no incentive for families to disintegrate. In the future, I suggest the editorial writers check their facts before spouting off ignorant opinions.
HUBIE
Liane Davis
Associate Dean
School of Social Welfare
By Greg Hardin