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thursday, april 24, 1975 lincoln, nebraska vol. 98 no. 117
conomist criticizes 'inflationary psychology
By Marian Lucas
The American economy is "treading a fine line
between a full-fledged recession and a galloping
depression," according to Melville J. Ulmer, professor
of economics at the University of Maryland.
Ulmer, former economic consultant for the U.S.,
departments of State and Labor and for the Interstate
Commerce Commission, spoke on "The Paradox of
Instability" Wednesday at the invitation of the
University Convocations Committee and UNL's
Department of Economics.
Ulmer said the nation is undergoing seyere
inflation and is experiencing the greatest rate of
unemployment since post-World War II. He added
that all except farm prices have risen and that
Americans have developed an inflationary
psychology, that of anticipating a price increase.
"Prices have gone up every year since World War II
except in 1949," said Ulmer, adding that the United
States has not been close to full employment at any
time during that period.
Roller coaster
Ulmer, author of eight books on the economy,
said in the past 30 years the economy has followed a
predictable and repetitious pattern, like that of a
roller coaster. Each time the economy expands
inflation develops and its curve is increasing
dangerously in upward and downward motions,
Ulmer said.
"The basic cause of inflation is the imbalance in
Pub Board meets
to pick new editor
The UNL Publications Committee will meet at
1:30 today in the Nebraska Union. The agenda
includes selection of the fall Daily Nebraskan
editor-in-chief, selection of an interim Publications
Committee chairperson, salary recommendations foi
the Daily Nebraskan advertising coordinator and
discussion of a recent request for information from
the Council on Student Life.
A copy of the agenda is posted in the Daily
Nebraskan office, Union 34. All interested persons
are invited to attend the meeting.
demand and supply's structure with labor being the
most important service," Ulmer contended.
A change in direction, he said, would be of great
psychological importance and national concern. But,
Ulmer warned, this change could not evolve too
quickly becuase it would cause a rise in inflation and
would eventually stimulate a recession.
Ulmer, who has worked extensively on a
long-range study dealing with economic planning,
presented a program which he claims could provide
American with a stable economy. This, he added,
would decrease the rate of inflation and increase
unemployment in the private sector.
An announcement by the government that it
would confront inflation's problem would dampen
the level of aggregate demand, Ulmer said.
Tax increase
He said his program further calls for the placement
of three million people in public employment. In this
way, Ulmer said, inflation would be reduced and full
employment could be maintained.
Housing and health subsidies wouldn't be as great
with the initiation of his proposed program, he
added.
With the employment of these people, Ulmer
claimed, a transfer from the nation's treasury to the
newly employed would be inflationary, thereby
increasing incomes of producers.
He continued that the only way to offset this
would be a $12 billion increase in taxes so that tax
payers would reduce their spending by $9 billion.
Ulmer said in this way full employment would be
achieved without inflation.
The economics professor said with the
implementation of this program, government could
afford to finance environmental protection projects,
city planning, care for the elderly and urban
transportation.
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Melville J. Ulmer, professor of economics at the University of Maryland.
Report
to examine
water purity
By Jim Zalewski
Lincoln officials have not shown great
concern over the presence of suspected
cancer-causing chemicals in the city's
water supply.
Lee Blocker, director of the city water
department, said the report issued by the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPQ)
was not informative or specific enough to
cause the department to take action.
"They determined that our supply has
something like four micrograms of
chloroform per liter of water," he said.
"5ut they didn't tell us if that was a
significant amount or not. The proper
amounts of certain chemicals in the water
( can be good."
The EPA lurveyed 79 cities nationally.
Results ranged from a high of 309
micrograms of chloroform per liter in
Huron, S.D. to a low of 0.2 in Tucson,
Ariz
Checked daily
Lincoln's water, which comes from
Ashland and area wells, is checked several
times daily for content and residuals of
chemicals, Blocker said. Analysts
carefully examine the water, being
especially careful in looking for excessive
amounts of fluoride, iron and manganese,
he said.
In addition, UNL biologists take
several samples of the lincoln water
supply daily and check for abnormalities,
Blocker said. An independent laboratory
staff also is hired once a year to do a
complete analysis of the water supply.
The UNL samples, approximately 279
per month, cost $1.50 each, he said. The
lab analysis, which is public information,,
costs approximately $200 each year.
Blocker said the use of detection
equipment more sophisticated than that
used by the city may have led to the
detection of chemicals not previously
spotted.
$350,000 machine
"The EPQ may be using a
spectrometer that costs in the
neighborhood of $360,000, while ours is
a $25,000 machine," he said. "It takes a
machine like they have to find
chloroform in such minute amounts. A
$25,000 machine just won't do the job
they want it to."
Since the EPA is the only agency that
has a machine capable of testing water so
carefully, no one else can tell if the
agency's facts are wrong or not, Blocker
said.
"The EPA study didn't cost the city
anything, but I don't know what it cost,
us in public confidence " he said. "I felt
it was very uninformative. They won't
know until June if the amounts they
found are harmful or not. The EPA
shouldn't release these facts until they
have complete information."
Stan Wieczorek, area executive
director for the American Cancer Society,
said his office has not received any
communication from the national
headquarters concerning the chemicals in
Lincoln's water supply.
"Right now, it is nothing to be
concerned about," he said. "We are
spending our time on more important
matters."
Gary Hergenrader, interim director of
the School of Life Sciences, said the tests
itui ofi Siuip'ci of Lincoln water usually
do not detect chloroform.
"The level of chloroform is so small, it
is tough to pick out," Hergenrader said.
i iq scionc
es plan field f
8 i fwff I f mM I
Ogollala
life science students will be able this summer to
take some courses at the Cedar Point Biological Field
Station near Ogallala, rather than at UNL, according
to Prof. Gary Hergenrader, interim director of the
School of Life Sciences.
The field station is on Lake McConaughy east of
KingjJey Dam nine miles north of Ogallala.
"The location is ideal for biological study and
research because of the variety of environments.
There are wet meadows, marshes, flood plain forests,
streams, ponds, rivers and sandhills a few miles
away," Hergenrader said.
Course offerings for the first session are
helminthology, ichthyology and protozoology.
Second session aquatic microbiology, aquatic plants
and phycology will be offered. Prerequisites for most
of the courses are 12 hours of biological sciences,
Hergenrader said.
Students may register for one or two of the
four-hour courses and combine their studies. Each
class will meet two full days per week and students
will live on the campgrounds during the session.
Room and board is $209 per session and resident
tuition and fees will be $198.50 for eight hours,
$95.50 for four hours.
Subject matter in the courses will be the same as
that covered in summer courses in Lincoln,
Hergenrader said.
"The field study will be intensive and will enable
students to concentrate on applications of subject
nutter," he said. "There is also the possibility of
using the facility for graduate research work
continuing into the fall."
"Our staff is enthusiastic about this opportunity,"
Hergenrader said. "They think it will be a good
chance to study life science principles and apply them
to study in natural habitats."
The camp was leased from Cedar Point, Inc., of
Ogallala in early April and was formerly a Girl Scout
camp. Last summer Doane College (Crete) used the
camp for summer language classes.
Hergenrader said he first learned of the vacant
camp about a year and a half ago. Hie NU Board of
Regents approved the five-year lease at its March
meeting.
Students planning to take courses at the camp are
required to deposit room and board with the bursar
before they will be allowed to register.
"This will give us some idea how many are
committed to attend and will allow us to work on a
first-come, first-served basis," Hergenrader explained.
He said registration will be limited tp 40 students
per session.
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