University Daily Kansan, October 11, 1982
Page 3
Double-digit unemployment slows economic recovery, candidates say
By BRUCE SCHREINER Staff Reporter
Both candidates vying for the 2nd Congressional District seat agree that double-digit unemployment is keeping total economic recovery an elusive goal, but they disagree on how to put a attitude of unemployed back to work.
Democrat Jim Slattery lists massive budget cuts, a multibillion dollar jobs bid and better business policies by the state. He also argues for the swelling unemployment lines.
Republican Morris Kay points to policies that would further trim inflation and interest rates, giving the private sector more freedom to expand.
The long-anticipated double-digit unemployment rate became reality Friday when the government announced that 11.3 million Americans, or 10.1 percent of the nation's workforce, were jobless in September.
September's figure, a 0.3 percent jump from August's 9.8 percent rate, was the highest since 1940 when 14.6 percent of the public was unemployed.
SLATTERY, who calls unemployment the most distressing problem facing the country, said Friday that the federal government would have to tighten its belt before unemployment trends were reversed.
"To get people back to work, we have to cut the wasteful spending going on now."
the vacations that many in government enjoy taking, and we have to park the limousines."
Slattery said one of the greatest roadblocks to failer employment was the evaporation of credit available to industry. He said the federal government consumed between 60 to 70 percent of credit because of huge budget deficits.
To deflate ballooning deficits, Slattery has advocated a $25 to $30 billion slash in defense spending, a revision in the method of computing increases in entitlement programs and a delay in next year's tax cut.
The Democratic contender, who opposed the jobs bill initiated by House Democrats last month because he called it politically motivated, said he could support a widesweeping jobs program under certain conditions.
SLATTERY HAS SAID the bill would not have created enough jobs.
"I would support it only if the president and Congress sat down and restored common sense to the economy," Slattery said. "There is real work that needs to be done in this country, and I think we can create a jobs bill that is meaningful. We can put people to work repairing highways and bridges."
Slattery also said governmental purchasers needed to become shrewder businessman, which he said could save billions of dollars.
need to modify the procurement policy, which means saving money in buying paper clips to anything else."
"It is essential for us to streamline the procedure that government does because of this."
KAY, WHO has said unemployment was always the last part of the economy to turn around after a recession, has devised long- and short-term plans to combat unemployment, said Torrie Clarke. Kay's press secretary.
Clarke, who said unemployment was the result of years of wasteful spending by Democratic-controlled Congresses. The United States government private sector to relieve the unemployed.
The long-term plan, Clarke said, calls for Congress to carry out programs allowing the private sector to create more jobs.
"Morris is contacting all the companies that have contributed to his campaign, encouraging them to expand in the district and offer more jobs to people here," she said. "That is the short-term plan."
She said this course, which would focus on further cutting of inflation and interest rates, was a wiser alternative than the current system. Democrats have traditionally embraced.
"I think the real issue is whether the American public wants to keep inflation and interest rates down, or return to the Democratic policies of no new ideas, increased taxes and increased spending," Clarke said.
KAY ALSO supports next year's tax cut, the third leg of President Reagan's three-year tax-cut plan, because he
She said the tax cut would allow businesses to step up its investments, resulting
considers it the type of boost business needs, Clarke said.
Leaders of the state's political parties disagreed on the impact Friday's announcement would have on the 2nd District race.
Because Kansas' unemployment rate is well below the national figure, Robert Bennett, Republican state chairman, said Kansas would be more affluent in inflation and interest rates rather than the growing unemployment figures.
Kansas' August unemployment rate was 6 percent. New state figures will be released next week.
"I think people realize that those figures (unemployment rates) are not the consequence of the Reagan administration but of time." Bennett said.
But Jim Ploger, executive director of the Kansas Democratic Party, said pockets of the 2nd District, especially in highly populous Shawnee County, were adversely affected by mounting unemployment.
"BUT INFLATION is now down to a manageable level, and interest rates are coming down. I think the combina-
tion of these factors indicate we are about to see the rawhawk."
Ploger said Kay's efforts to align him closely with Reagan could be combined a new trend to blame Reagan for the warm rounds of unemployment increases.
Fringe benefit mixture better,prof tells FacEx
By DEBORAH BAER Staff Reporter
In the battle with the Kansas Legislature for better rewards for their work, KU faculty should ask for a "cafeteria-style" fringe benefit package. Hutton Barron, professor of Cognitive Science at Executive Committee Friday.
Barron suggested his plan as an alternate to a plan argued for in August by James Seaver, chairman of University Senate Executive Committee and of the Regents senate presidents council.
Because each faculty member has different needs, a fringe benefit plan should include a "somorgasord" of benefits from which each employee could choose. Benefits would include health and health care insurance, he said.
Of 102 faculty and administrators who initially responded, 99 said they would be willing to give up salary and benefits for a fringe benefit plan, Barron said.
Barron said he had been studying faculty preferences for either an increase in salary or improved training when taking them a detailed questionnaire.
SEAVER HAD proposed to a legislative interim committee that the state increase its contribution to the mandatory retirement plan used by Regents faculty members. He requested that the contribution to that plan was lower than that of comparable states' contributions.
But Barron said that because professors could, if they wished, increase their retirement income by investing more of their salaries in the retirement plan, faculty should instead opt for a fringe benefit plan.
He said that because the retirement payments were taxed, faculty and administrators would get more value from the smorgasbord plan, as long as it offered items that would otherwise have purchased.
FacEx members said they would put together a committee to meet with Barron.
If the choice of items offered under the plan is large enough, the plan would be desirable for at least 90 percent of the faculty, he said.
He said that to understand the tax rate, a faculty member must know how much of his next $100 would go to taxes.
FOR MANY at KU, that rate is approaching 50 percent, he said.
Thus, it is better to be given a fringe benefit, such as health care insurance, than the money to purchase that item, he said.
He said that although many people were skeptical of his suggested plan before they understood the numbers, it was financially more beneficial no matter what salary was plugged into the formula.
But the plan needs the support of the faculty and administrators, he said, so he wants to talk to many faculty groups. He has already discussed his plan with a group of KU administrators.
Suit questions poll's legality
By DOUG CUNNINGHAM Staff Reporter
A Lawrence man who has filed suit to stop the city from allowing a nuclear weapons freeze poll said yesterday that the poll was clearly against the law.
The home rule amendment to the Kansas constitution does not give the city authority to allow the poll, because the nuclear freeze issue is not a local matter. Mr. Malin, the man who filed the suit Friday in Douglas County District Court.
Certain state election laws also prohibit pollsts such as the nuclear freeze poll, which is scheduled to take place at a state capitol on Nov. 2 general election, Makin said.
The Lawrence City Commission decided Aug. 24 to allow the poll on the question of a nuclear weapons freeze with the Soviet Union. The city had been asked to do so by the Lawrence Coalition for Peace and Justice.
Makin, 936 Kentucky St., named as defendants in the suit the city of Lawrence, the Douglas County clerk Justice, and Coalition for Peace and Justice.
THE CHAIRMAN of the coalition said the group would seek legal counsel
Another Lawrence man, Bill Hivorsen, a KU law student, had planned several months ago to challenge the city's decision to allow the noll.
Makin said, "I think the question just
is, 'In this the law and is this a
law?'"
However, he dropped those plans after he received a letter hinting that his life would be in danger if he did not drop his planned challenge to the poll.
Makin said he knew Halvorsen, but "not real well." He said he had talked with Halvorsen about the nuclear freeze poll, but would not say whether Halvorsen had influenced his decision to file the suit.
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The poll is not to interfere with the conduct of the regular general election in which Mr. Mackenzie is running.
MAYOR MARCI FRANCISCO said the City Commission would have to discuss its response to the suit in light of the wording of the resolution it in August, which did not commit the city to spending money on the poll.
coalition is to pay for all expenses in the poll except for city overhead, which would consist of the staff time a city needs to depend in helping to arrange the poll.
According to the resolution the City Commission adopted in August, the
Commissioner Don Bimbs said he did not think the city would have trouble with the new rules.
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"Although the city's being sued, I'm not sure the city's going to want to spend public funds to respond to the suit," she said.
Several commissioners and members of the coalition said yesterday they hoped the poll would be allowed to take place.
"IREALLY DON'T. This is a matter of great public interest," he said.
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