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Friday, November 12, 1982
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Vol. 82, No. 61
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Til
Budget proposal includes cut
of $3.5 million for university
Staff Photo by Dav Bantz
Lincolnite Max Garner, 22, skateboards westward down a Vine Street walkway
during a milder day this week. The sharp bite of winter is expected to rip through
the Midwest and points farther east by this weekend, a prospect that undoubtedly
will leave sidewalk surfers up in arms and their boards up on blocks.
By Pat Higgins
Waverly Sen. Jerome Warner's package
of tax increases and budget cuts, including
a proposal to cut NU's budget by approxi
mately S3.65 million, has advanced to a
final reading stage set for Saturday
morning at the Legislature.
The Legislature moved the Warner
package ahead by a 35 to nine vote
Thursday afternoon.
Warner's plan includes a 1 percent
increase in income taxes that could raise
the income tax rate to 20 percent if the
Board of Equalization, as expected,
increases the income tax rate by an addi
tional 2 percent to make up for the federal
income tax cut. Warner's package cuts the
budget across the board by 2 percent and
makes other selected cuts.
The 2 percent across-the-board cut
amounts to $2.89 million for NU. Selected
cuts for the university include $300,000
in the amount estimated for savings in
utility bills for the entire system, $275,000
in an expected surplus in cash receipts
and $90,000 in an estimated excess in
appropriations for veterninary medicine
and optometry student contracts.
A number of additional amendments
were proposed and voted down. Sen.
Rex Haberman of Imperial wanted to cut
$137,000 in the NU Alumni Association
budget, $43,000 from the Afghan
Resource Center at UNO and $93,000
by eliminating the ombudsman positions
at UNO and UNL. Haberman said that
students who had complaints could go to
the administration with them.
Sen. Don Wesely of Lincoln supported
these expenditures. He said that the
Alumni Association actually raises money
for NU and that the ombudsman performs
a valuable function.
Sen. Tom Vickers of Farnam said that
he would like the NU Board of Regents to
examine frills in the budget. He said that
NU budget cuts could start from the top
instead of the bottom. President Ronald
Roskens' rent-free home was mentioned
by Vickers.
"It makes me wonder when we hear
about these problems we have keeping top
quality professors because of budget
cuts when we give these fabulous living
quarters to well-paid state employees,"
Vickers said.
State senators also are invited to go to
one Husker game and sit in the press box
free.
"I enjoy sitting in the press box, I
admit, but it also bothers me that we're
treated like royalty. The university
shouldn't spend so much on frills and
public relations," Vickers said.
A number of other amendments were
voted down by the Legislature. Sen.
Warner spoke against all of them. The tax
increase and budget cut is not ideal, Warner
said, but the state's fiscal crisis has to be
dealt with now.
Sen. John DeCamp of Neligh also spoke
against any additional amendments.
"I've been in this Legislature long enough
to know when it's time to hold 'em and
when it's time to fold 'em," DeCamp
said. "It's time to fold 'em."
After other amendments were proposed,
tlie legislators took DeCamp's advice and
advanced the Warner package untouched.
The final vote will be Saturday morning.
The package then goes to Gov. Charles
Thone, who has threatened to line-item
veto some items. The Legislature then
would have the chance to override any
vetos late Saturday afternoon.
Pros, coiis o
f liti
9
By Carol Harrah
The benefits and problems Initiative 300 offers to
agriculture were discussed Thursday by four agricultura
list panel members at a Media News Day event in the
East Union.
The so-called Family Farm AmendmentInitiative 300
prohibits non-family farm corporations from purchasing
Nebraska farmland.
Neil Oxton, president of the Nebraska Farmers Union
in Lincoln and chairman of the "Yes for Initiative 300"
committee, said Initiative 300 passed because of the
concern in Nebraska about corporations buying too much
farmland - family farmland.
"(People) were concerned that Prudential bought
over 34,000 acres of farmland in a little over a year;
that they set aside SI million each year to buy more
farmland."
In reference to corporate farming, Oxton said that the
new amendment will not prevent two farmers from
incorporating their farms into one.
"I wo farmers can incorporate," he said. "One has
to have a little more stock in the farm, though. That
would be something such as 51 percent to 49 percent
if that's how they wanted tdMo that."
Initiative 300 exempts the poultry and alfalfa in
dustries because those industries are almost completely
owned by corporate business already, he said.
Loyd Fischer, a professor of agricultural economics at
UNL's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources,
said the poultry industry went the route it did because of
"a market."
Incorporation effective
"When large grocery stores such as Safeway wanted
a contract for items like eggs." he said, "the industry
felt it would be more effective to incorporate. Safeway
needed a guarantee on a large quantity of items and an
individual farmer couldn't do that."
Glen LeDioyt, president of LeDioyt Land Company
in Omaha and chairman of the "No for Initiative 300"
committee, said Initiative 300 won't work because agricul
ture is a big business.
"Look at on' agricultural exports abroad. Prudential
had a right to put a great deal of money into Initiative
300 not passing. They had a stake In Nebraska. They have
over 20,000 stockholders in the land. It is a mutual life
tiative debate
insurance company, so they are willing to work with
farmers."
"This is the most irresponsible action ever taken on a
farm amendment in Nebraska," he said. "We are now
faced with a long, costly campaign to see what the pur
pose of it is.
"Proponents of the issue have led us to believe that
big business is bad," he said. "Small is neither good nor
bad. If there are tax advantages that corporations enjoy,
that's what you attack."
LeDioyt said he thinks the family farm is just an ideal.
Family farm not competitive
"1 think the Tamily farm is no longer competitive."
he said. "The most competitive agricultural area will
be the one which will last. I think we're talking about a
family farm that was. Most f:imily farms are out of busi
ness." Oxten said he thinks large corporations have only one
purpose in buying farmland.
"They use it as tax shelters," he said. "With the passage
of this amendment into the Nebraska Constitution, the
family won't have to sell their farm to corporations."
The amendment was brought about because farmers
were afraid of what couid happen to agriculture, Oxten
said.
"Farmers felt that once agriculture got in a few
hands," he said, "we will have a food OPEC. There are
only 2 percent of the total population farming as it is.
We are basically protecting a philosophy with this amend
ment." Nelson Otto, president of the Anticapatory Sciences
Incorporated in Minneapolis, Minn., said the amendment
is protective of a certain type of business.
"Look at what happened in Detroit," he said. "You,
the consumer, stopped buying Detroit cars. Now they're
trying to legislate their existence. They are trying to make
it so you can only buy Detroit cars. The car companies
are doing this by limiting the numbers of foreign cars
allowed in this country. This amendment appears to
be protecting a certain type of businessman (within
agriculture), too."
LeDioyt added that Prudential was never taking away
family farms when they bought land.
"Prudential never replaced one family farm where
they bought land," he said. "They bought it from another
corporation."
Committee exploring
surcharge proposal
Could the NU football team save the university
from going in the red?
Probably not the entire university, but according
to UNL life science Professor John Lynch, adding
a $1 surcharge to the price of football tickets could
bring in more than $300000 next season.
Lynch, a member of the UNL Faculty Senate,
presented his idea to the senate Tuesday for discus
sion. The senate referred the proposal to the Inter
collegiate Athletic Committee to check if it is in
violation of Big Eight Conference rules.
Lynch said that monies from the proposed sur
charge would be used to help pay for periodicals
and journals in the university library system.
In April, the university libraries will have to
begin canceling subscriptions if funding is not
available, Lynch said, adding that the senate has
about six months to take action.
"I feel that journals are very important, because
they are the primary source of new information in
a particular area," he said.
Lynch also said that research and teaching go
hand-in-hand and that in order for instructors
to keep up on the latest developments in their part
icular areas, the information has to be available to
them.
The senate has few options for raising such aca
demic funds, he said.
UNL accounting Professor Richard Metcalf,
a member of both the Intercollegiate Athletic
Committee and the Faculty Senate, said the faculty
can expect word of the committee's findings at
the senate's December meeting.
If the proposal does not violate Big Eight rules
and is approved by the senate, it will be sent to the
NU Board of Regents for discussion before a final
decision is made.