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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 16, 1975)
editorio mtm j!iiriTiriwiflniniTB President walking tightrope i;iw Th Christian Scnc Monitor Try to understand. . . I'm the cowboy, you're the horse. President Ford's "strong, tough, forward-looking economic program, as announced Monday and as embellished in Wednesday's State of the Union message, tails to look forward to one thing-the stepped-up inflation that could come from putting tax money back into circulation. The prospect, then, is that Nebraskans will find more money in their pockets Without careful planning by Congress, they will also find that it still doesn't buy anything. Ford is faced with walking tightrope between recession and inflation that stretches from here to the 1976 election booths. White House economists seem befuddled by an economy that manages to have both unemployment and inflation hovering around seven per cent. The solution Ford offered this week represents a turnabout from only a few months ago when he seemed willing to accept recession as the admission price to dealing effectively with inflation. The switch can be explained in terms of numbers. The number representing unemployment climbed too high. The number representing Ford's popularity dropped too low (46 per cent, according to a recent Harris Poll.) Ford's announcement Monday of a $16 billion, 12 per cent rebate in 1974 personal income tax followed Democratic proposals for a $10 billion to $20 billion rebate. It seems that only the size of a cut remains to be decided. the trial balloon successfully aloft, Ford announced Tuesday Ids hopes for a permanent i r.r rpni rut. Rut two things must be done lest the balloon burst under the renewed pressure of rising costs. Congress should make an attempt to hold down federal spending as requested by Ford. The five per cent limitation on federal pay raises and a suggested five per cent ceiling on Social Security increases are bitter pills to swallow now but should make sense in the long run. The government has seldom been reluctant to spend money it doesn't have and there is no reason to expect otherwise now. But next year's budget deficits, inevitably larger with a tax cut this size, should be kept to a minimum if a swing of the scales toward inflation is to be prevented. A real effort should also be made to see that those little green Internal Revenue Service rebate checks go to the people who need them most-the lower- and middle-income Americans. Such a move will receive more favorable consideration from Congress than from the President, who presumably is getting advice from Nelson Rockefeller. At any rate, the $1,000 ceiling on tax rebates to an individual should be given close scrutiny and lowered if necessary. Any legislation passed should close loopholes that would allow upper income couples to file his-and-hers returns and claim hefty refunds. One thing is certain. The 30 to 90 days Ford's associates appear willing to give him to set the economy aright will be too short to solve a problem that has been years in the making. Wes Albers Education, not football, needs Big Red support malii'iiiiiii -f mi!mmmtwmm iiiiiiinnMi I 'J"'"'jl' 'J 1 ...i,. """""" . Now that the last football has been kicked and the last pass has been thrown (for awhile anyway) perhaps it is time to take a long, hard look at the high priority accorded football on this campus and in this state. While it is plain that the fans arc not forced to take an interest in Big Red, and that football in this state acts as a unifying force, it is reasonable to wonder if those 25 hours are worth it in terms of the money spent. Can't that money be put to a better use? What started as an innocent and amateurish affair at the turn of the century has sprung into a multimillion dollar monster which feeds on the desire for excitement exhibited by Cornhusker fans, and on their wish to say "We're No. 1", which evidently fulfills some need in these people' lives. It is neither drugs nor religion witicii acts a the "opiate of the people" in Nebraska, but rather Big Red football. No matter where one goes or what one reads or listens to in this state, chances are he or she will undoubtedly encounter the presence of "Big Red", for we are constantly faced with a deluge of football-related material. Bumper stickers, sweatshirts, pennants, pregame shows, postgame shows, newspaper accounts-just about every possible means of making money from Nebraska football has been exploited and the fans seem willing to suck it all in. There certainly is no indication of a recession when it comes to foothal! in this state. On an average game day in Lincoln, $1 million is probably spent in those two hours at Memorial Stadium. If one considers travel expenses, tickets, booze and food, $1 million is likely a conservative estimate. Throw in the money spent by the 15,000 fans who generally make it to the away games, and you have an exceedingly large sum of cash being squandered during the actual 25 hours or so of football that make up a season. Watching 76,000 rabid fans on a Saturday afternoon in Memorial Stadium, one wonders if there is anything else in this state which interests people besides football-such as education, for example. Why can't we be drawn t cither through pride in a superior university in terms of academes, rather than football? joe dreesen smiiinq orimlu If the people of Nebraska were as loose with their money for education as they are for the Cornhuskers, we could have a Harvard instead of just a good football team. But, alas, the excitement is still running high from last season and already there is talk of the upcoming season. The talk undoubtedly will grow stronger over the year, climaxing in some bowl game next January, just as it has done for the last 10 years. And in the meantime, because of a lack of funds, the quality of our education will remain at a virtual standstill taking second place to football in the minds of most Nebraskans. Let 'shear it for Big Red. wajMaaima ....,rrillii,,r,i,n1 imbS page 4 daily nebraskan thrusday, january 16, 1975