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Tax Cuts President Ronald Reagan was reelected and Jim Martin was elected Governor of Nortn Carolina partly because of their promises to not raise taxes and indeed to probably lower taxes. On the other hand at least at the federal level, Walter Mondale had stressed in his Democratic Party bid for the presidency, that a tax increase might be necessary to help off-set the national debt. . £. - * Given the self-interest nature of most Americans, and as we all now know, Walter Mondale failed to defeat President Reagan in large measure because of his stand on the tax issue. Of course, as might be expected, the media has discussed little else but the issue of tax and tax reform since the election less than a month ago. * __ Ironically, since the day erf the election members of President Reagan’s own White House staff have been uttering the possible need for a tax increase in face of the reality of the national debt. However, just this week Treasury Secretary Donakj Regan forwarded to President Reagan a com prehensive tax revision plan aimed at lowering income tax rates, eliminating or harrowing many deductions and reducing the tax obligation for the average taxpayer by as much as nine percent. —Ironically, too, the Treasury Secretary_ claims that the tax cuts for individuals would be off-set by increased taxes on business, the major beneficiary of tax cuts during President Reagan’s first four-year term. These new taxes from businesses supposedly would be generated largely -from econOmlr growth anri fhiia a reduc tion in the national debt. Economic Advisors However, Martin Feldstein, former chairman of Mr. Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisors, says the administra tion’s belief that economic growth will reduce the government’s debt is a fallacy. This has been at least partly confirmed by the President himself with his continuing stress on further cuts in social programs. In fact, it is no secret that top White.House aids have already drafted a plan to reduce spending in school aid, nutrition programs, health care, job training and urban re development. Returning for the moment to Treasury Secretary Donald Regan’s plan, we find that some of the more popular deductions used in past years by individuals who itemize their taxes, including deductions for interest on loans, state and local taxes, various tax shelters and contributions to charitable organizations, may no longer be allowable deductions. The two apparent good features in this tax plan are that personal exemptions would be doubled from the existing $1,000 to $2,000 per person and deductible contributions to individuals re tirement accounts wodld be increased from $2,000 to $2,500 per year per worker. It really remains to be seen as to whether the Treasury Secretary’s plan or others offered by the Reagan administration will truly reduce the bite in the citizen’s pocket book. Likewise, at the state level, Governor elect Jim Martin had campaigned on' a promise to cut taxes by about $130 million through eliminating sales taxes and taxes on medical needs. - Hard Realities However, while we agree some changes in our federal and state tax laws are needed, some hard realities in both the political and economic sense may prevent both Reagan and Martin from cutting taxes and indeed may lead- to a' tax increase. First, new government figures indicate - that the Gross National Product (GNP), especially involving hew construction hous ing starts and corporate prefits, shows a sluggish economic growth rate. This 'has led some economists to predict that the nation's economy cannot reach the four percent growth rate next year that Mr. Reagan’s tax plan is largely based on. At the state level, the major decline in textile employment, the state’s largest, and— output has already begun to have an impact on state revenues and, therefore, Mr. Martin’s tax reduction plan. _Undoubtedly, both Mr. Reagan and Mr. -Martin have other plans to achieve their tax reduction objectives. These, however, bring us to the second reality. This fis the political reality that Mr. Reagan will have difficulty getting any tax plan through a Democratic Party-controlled House of Representatives that proposes more cuts in social pro grams and no cuts in defense spending. Likewise, again, Mr. Martin will have difficulty in getting a Democratic Party controlled General Assembly to approve any tax deductions in the face of declining revenues due to the textile slow-down and some basic public needs of the state. Underlying much of the concern in this regard, too, is that in many local elections across the nation, voters have rejected many radical tax-revolts similar to Cali fornia’s Proposition 13. Thus, a signal has been sent to Mr. Reagan and Mr. Martin that while voters appreciate and. like tax cuts, they need, want and expect certain services from government and are willing to pay for them. This is the real world of politics and economics. The Charlotte Post ■ ] North Carolina’s Fastest Growing Weekly 704-376-0496 —.. ■■ \ “The People’s Newspaper” — :■ ■ 106 Years Of Continuous Service Bill Johnson Editor, Pub. Bernai d Reeves Gen. Mgr. Fran Bradley Adv. Mgr. Dannette Gaither Of. Mgr. Published Every Thursday By The Charlotte Post Publishing Company, Inc. Main Office: 1531S. Camden Road Charlotte, N.C. 28203 . ■.. 1 I Second Class Postage Paid at Charlotte ——■ - > ■ ' l Member, National Newspaper Publishers’ Association^ North Carolina __Black Publishers Association' National Advertising Representative:... Amalgamated Publishers, -. One Year Subscription Rate One Year-$17.76 Payable In Advance from Capitol Hill §S* lo! Racism |l||t, | By Alfreds L. Madison Special TO The Poet There are various opinions about the Reagan victory - some term it a mandate, others only a persona] win. Assessments of the great Demo cratic loss are wide and varied. Conservatives are saying the presi dential victory is a denial of the Democratic programs. This can only mean that the Party has been the one that Initiated programs that help the poor and that it has of fered plans for remedying racial injustices and for producing equal ity. Patrick Buchanan, a former Nixon speech writer, said on a talk show that the Democratic Party must take special interest groups of blacks, Hispanics, women, and gay rights people, put them on the bock of the bus and go after the white middle class. What Buchanan is really saying is, forget everybody rise, only whites with sexual habits that he terms acceptable, really count. The people he says place on the back of the bus, aren’t special interest groups. They are bonsfide United States citizens, snaking Justices, equality and rights that the whites enjoy. White House Press Secretary, said, “racism certainly played a part in the election.” There was a great white backlash build-up partly because of the formidable presidential candidate that Rev. Jesse Jackson proved to be. He showed that he was unequal in the debates, that he was know ledgesble; he was the only candi date that advocated the concerns of the left-outs, and offered a remedy of a rainbow qgatition of all the Alfred* L. Madison \ people Jesse also did what oo one else did, even including President Reagan, when he secured the re lease of Lt. Goodman and the 40 Cuban prisoners. It was he who urged President Duarte of El Salvador and the rebels to at least meet. This Administration and con servatives tried hard to paint him as a racist, in this election. What was really proved by the Administra tion’s and conservatives' sctions is that white America would rather suffer with mediocre white ability than superior black capabilities. They also brought racism to the forefront. - —— -■ ■ ■ , The Congressional Black Caucus lost one black Congress person. The state and local black officials held about the same. White Americans do not vote for black candidates, but " they always continue to feel that blacks should vote for them. If white leaders of either poli tical Party are sincerely interested in making America a true, democratic compassionate, world peace-committed country, they should use the best capabilities, regardless of race, religion or nationality. President Reagan was elected by whites who voted tor him two to one, while blacks voted for Mondale nine to one. Although, according to the New York Times, blacks comprised 10 percent of 1984 voters. They are the only group that has continuously held stedfast to the Democratic Party. Yet neither the Democrats nor Republicans have given them any consideration beyond “vote for me, your white candidate.” Robert Asher, writing in the Washington Post, stated, “...that whites who turned away from the Democratic Party equate welfare, training and affirmative action programs with tax increases, fa voritism, lowering job standards and undercutting the free enterprise system. This is 6 (fisTOrtwlreading.” What the whites have not been made to realize, that out of the SS million people below the poverty line, 24 million of them are white. The Reagan people capitalized on his brainwashing policy of empha sizing that Americana are better off and more patriotic. They sensed that rich Americans did not want to hear about poor citizens, and that the. middle class citizens are paranoiac gboyt paying taxes to support blacks, Hispanic* and the under privileged whom they feel don’t want to work and are not con cerned about education, and Job training. They feel that affirmative action programs are a special favor to blacks, while ignoring their reme dies for correcting injustices and inequities that have been meted out to them down through the years, while according the whites special advantageous treatment. ^ Whites are ready bothered by the black vote. The Washington Poet stated that Virginia Democrats are greatly disturbed over the announcement of State Senator Dou glas Wilder, whom they term as highly qualified to be Lt. Gov. Blacks make up 20 percent of the population, and they are afraid that if Wilder runs, whites won’t vote for him simply because he is black, and that blacks will put all of their votes behind His candidacy and that the Democrats will lose. Since Mondale got 00 percent of the black vote, in the South, and Reagan got 70 percent of the white vote, the Democrats are puzsled as what to do about the dilemma. Steven Patterson, Chairman of the Mississippi Democratic Party, said, - “The election is not so much a refutation of a candidate but of a political Party. Our defeat is attri butable to two major causes, the failure of the Party to attract young, upwardly mobile baby boom Ameri ca and the failure to motivate properly blacks. Htspancis and other members of the Rainbow Coalition. We must look at our soul. We can only blame oursel^as.1'- -. The phrase, "rainbow coalition" was coined by Jesse Jackson. He saw the need of cooperation of all races, religions, nationalities and economic classes. Whites Ignored his call. As a result, racism bla tantly reared its ugly head in this election out of the fear of whites who may lost their advantageous posi tions, based upon unfairness meted out to others. l KEPT COMMITMENTS TO CIVIL WONTS THE : r ': SUPREME ^C<?WRT THE SUPREME COURT ENDORSED COHERES - StONAU POWER TO RE DRESS RACIAL DIS CRIMINATION THROUGH AFFIRMATIVE ACTION. _ N.Y.nnes % Questions Raised About Baby Fae Are Mtal By Sabrina Johnson Post Columnist ^ On October 26, Leonard Bailey, a cardiovascular ~ surgAnn T-AFfiPi Linda University Medical Crater transplanted the heart of a seven-month old baboon into the chest ofa 12-day-oIdhaby girl. This was only the fourth -time in history that an nni nal heart had been trans planted into a human. The 12-day-old baby girl. Baby Fae, lived for three weeks - making the operation to Some degree successful.' Hie surgery itself has raised many questions, important questions, about the morality of special kinds of medical experimentation and abOut whether or hot important medical resources are being jaded in valiant but dead end efforts. Honest concerns and ques tions being raised are •f r performed in 1964 by James Hardy of the University of Mississippi in Jackson. Dr. Hardy transplanted the heart of a chimpanzee into the chest of a 68 year old man. The man lived for 90 minutes. The results were published and the criticism Sabrina began. The Core of the cri ticism centered around the relationship between the fheart and the soul. In a recent interview, Hardy found himself forced to dis cuss tlmt relationship with religion fundamentalists throughout the South. He also found himself defending his work as being consistent with good medicine and good science. ' * ' This time in 1964, Leonard Bailey must face the out rage of animal rights groups and similar ques tions about whether he acted in a responsible manner. Especially since medical experimentation on human beings must meet certain criteria. (1) The subject of the ex periment must give in formed consent (if possible). (2) The experimental pro cedures must stand a rea sonable chance of helping the subject or of at least doing ho harm. —--——i_ (3) The experiment must constitute a logical next step iii the advancement of sci ence. Informed consult is an important concept in medi -rine. Prinr fn mny treatment on a patient, he or a person responsible for his care must understand the possible risk and benefits of the treat ment. Many people have Questioned whether or hot Baby Fae’s parents gave reasonable informed .after being stand all the J__ and the experimental nature of the transplant. Consent, informed Consent, was not enough - any expe rimental procedure must either stand a chance of success or, at least, do ho harm. It is not always easy to judge the chances of success of experimental procedures. For example, the third man to undergo a heart transplant following' two virtual fail ures, found his life pro longed by several years. The team at Loma Linda now feels that the develop ment of new immutkftpgical techniques and drugs have made it possible to success fully transplant an animal heart into a human being. It may well be now possible to “type” the tissue of an animal to match that of a human about to receive it. Also the development of a new drug, cyclosporine, also permitted the suppression of much of the body's rejec tion of foreign tissue - as in the case of Fae. These two major develop ments led Fae’s doctors to believe they may be able to save her for an extended period of time, with the implantation of the baboon heart. Critics have suggested that a human heart, or an older child was available for the transplant, therefore, the experiment was not jmtified However, the heart available was of an older child and it was questionable whether Fae’s body would accept that heart ” Page two. Much criticism has been leveled at Dr. Bailey and the immunologist Sandra NehUum-Canaarella. Neither has published sig nificant papers about heart transplants in acceptable_ scientific journals. Nor had they received government research grants. Thus mean ing they had not reached the stage where they had the right to experiment on a human.
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