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NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS MONDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2006
SPEAKER
Award-winning writer advocates tax reform
BY DARLA SLIPKE
Vanessa Pearson/KANSAN
David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times journalist, speaks Sunday at Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union. Johnston also wrote a book entitled "Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Beneft the Rich — and Cheat Everybody Else." He spoke about how ancient civilizations paid taxes according to how much they earned and enjoyed in society and how America's system benefits the extremely wealthy. The book is read in some School of Business classes.
The United States needs to change its tax system, David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist for the New York Times, told students Sunday night at Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union.
Today's tax system sets up unrealistic hurdles, discourages investment, ships work overseas and oppresses low income wage earners, Johnston said.
Johnston has reported on tricks, loopholes, evasions and flaws of the federal income tax system in a way that ordinary citizens can understand, said Raquel Alexander, assistant business professor. Johnston won the Pulitzer Prize in 2001 for his reporting on inequities in the federal income tax system.
Johnston said our tax system should be based on a progressive tax. Those who have more should pay more to the society that allowed them to achieve what they have, he said.
Throughout history, Johnston said that progressive tax has been
the mark of a free society. Societies that violated the progressive tax system have been plagued by dictatorships and oppressive rule, Johnston said.
Johnston said the United States
has not mastered this system.
"The state uses taxes to oppress people" he said.
In January of 1969, newspapers reported that 155 rich American families paid no income tax. Johnston said Congress got more letters about those rich families than it did about the war in Vietnam.
Since then, politicians have tried to reduce tax burdens. A tax reform act passed in 1986 lowered taxes to 70 percent when John F. Kennedy was president and 50 percent during Ronald Reagan's term.
However, a progressive tax system in which people are taxed according to their ability to pay does not fully exist in American society today, Johnston said.
In 2000, the poor were more likely to be audited than the rich. Johnston described the inequality as squeezing the blood from a turnip. President Bush has said he is a proponent of progressive tax, and made plans to reduce taxes a platform of his political campaign. However, he
"In America today, if you get seriously ill, we raise your taxes and we earmark that money specifically to finance the tax cuts of the richest people in America," Johnston said.
People who make half a million dollars annually pay the same tax rate as those who make $178 million.
Johnston said the IRS reported collecting 99 percent of data for wage earners, but only 70 percent of data for businessmen, landlords and investors, making it easier for them to evade the tax system.
Johnston encouraged his audience to take responsibility.
"What kind of tax system we have will determine what kind of world we live in," he said. "We determine what kind of tax system we have by who we elect."
Kansan staff writer Darla Slipke can be contacted at dslipke@kansan.com.
Edited by Kristen Jarboe
》 ENVIRONMENT
New technology saves energy Homes outfitted to be more efficient, eco-friendly
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The North's official Korean Central News Agency said the underground test was performed successfully and there was no radioactive leakage from the site.
BY ERIN CASTANEDA
U. S. and South Korean officials could not immediately confirm the report.
Six Douglas County homeowners showed off their energy-saving devices and strategies Sunday during the Douglas County Energy Conservation Fair and Sustainable Homes Tour.
He suggested students look at the cost of utilities before renting or buying a home because bills can be unpredictable on a fixed budget. Compact fluorescent lights, which use 66 percent less energy and last six to 10 times longer, would be a good investment because they are less expensive and compatible with most homes now, he said.
South Korean intelligence officials said a seismic wave of magnitude-3.58 had been detected in North Hamkyung province, according to Yonhap. It said the test was conducted at 8:36 p.m. CST Sunday in Hwaderi near Kilju city on the northeast coast, citing defense officials.
Several of the candidates and elected officials made comments after Cromwell's tour.
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Sunday it has performed its first-ever nuclear weapons test.
Aron Cromwell, CEO of Cromwell Environmental, and his wife, Hannah Cromwell, opened their doors a week ago for 12 elected officials and candidates to view their energy-efficient house. The home, 1616 New Hampshire St., was built in 1911, but was recently refitted with energy-saving technology worth $25,000. The amount of money saved in the end outweighs the initial cost, he said.
INTERNATIONAL
Rep. Barbara Ballard (D-Lawrence) said students are more energy conscious than in past years. Even when renting, students can insulate their doors and windows so they aren't wasting energy and money, she said.
"It's not costing me anything" he said. "It's a slam dunk."
She said when students start looking for a home to own, they should use solar energy in one room to see if they are happy with it before branching out.
North Korea completes 'successful' nuclear test
North Korean scientists "successfully conducted an underground nuclear test under secure conditions," the KCNA report said, adding this was "a stirring time when all the people of the country are making a great leap forward in the building of a great prosperous powerful socialist nation."
"It's not a one size fits all," she said. "Everyone can do their part to save the Earth."
When his family moves into the home in a few weeks, the solar thermal heating system will save them 50 to 60 percent of gas and electric energy use.
Cromwell said 90 percent of homes are capable of being retrofitted with projects like his but recognized everyone is constrained to a budget. He said the question to ask is, "How much can you cut down on energy?"
Several other features were installed such as expandable foam insulation, new windows and compact fluorescent lights. Four containers on the roof collect hot water and pump it downstairs to four 80-gallon tanks that store the equivalent of two days heated water, Cromwell said. He also plans to install solar energy panels soon.
Cromwell said the payback is instantaneous because he gained instant equity on the home and savings on energy bills. For every dollar spent on energy-saving projects, the property value goes up $20, he said. The solar thermal heating project is the most economical and will last 20 to 30 years, he said.
Part of his project is a state-of-the-art Web monitoring system that measures the energy usage in his home, allowing him and others to see how much energy he is actually saving. It's the only house in the country right now with the system.
The director of South Korea's monitoring center that is watching for a test with sound and seismic detectors declined to immediately comment on the reported test.
Kansan staff writer Erin Castaneda can be contacted at ecastaneda@kansan.com.
"We don't know whether it is a nuclear test or not," an official at the earthquake center at the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources said on condition of anonymity, citing the sensitive nature of the issue.
The U.S. Geological Survey said it had detected no seismic activity in North Korea, although it was not clear whether a blast would be strong enough for its sensors.
The North said last week it would conduct a test, sparking regional concern and frantic diplomatic efforts aimed at dissuading Pyongyang from such a move. North Korea has long claimed to have nuclear weapons, but had never before performed a known test to prove its arsenal.
Edited by Kate Shipley
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