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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 3, 1990)
Editorial (Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board University of Nebraska-Lincoln Erie Pfanner, Editor, 472-1766 Victoria Ayotte, Managing Editor Darcie Wiegert, Associate News Editor Diane Brayton, Associate News Editor Jana Pedersen, Wire Editor Emily Rosenbaum, Copy Desk Chief Lisa Donovan, Editorial Page Editor No new tax (system) Budget plan is start, but overhaul is answer The party’s over. Congress and President Bush have sent that message to the electorate with their budget compromise. The plan | shoots for a deficit reduction of $40.1 billion by 1991. The goal appears to be ambitious, and taxpayers have heard | the message before. But this time negotiators seem to have the plan to back it up. And, this time, they’ve seemingly tried not to play favorites. Specific taxes target the higher-income bracket. A 10 percent I luxury tax would be applied to expensive cars, boats, jewelry j and furs. And taxpayers with incomes over $100,000 would j lose some deductions. Another specific source of increased revenue would be j excise taxes: on gasoline, cigarettes and alcohol, products ' bought by all income brackets. That sounds fair. Unfortunately, statistics from the Congres | sional Budget Office show that such taxes have a greater I impact on lower-income people. I The poorest 20 percent of U.S. families, with an average after-tax income of $8,200, spend 14.6 percent on fuel, alcohol and tobacco. The 20 percent of American families just below the richest, with an income averaging $38,000, spend 6.2 percent on the same commodities. The discrepancy speaks for itself. Once again, the people j who could afford it least would be forced to pay. The plan itself is an admirable start. The $4(3.1 billion reduction goal would dent the projected deficit of $293 billion, leaving the U.S. with a $254 billion deficit in 1991. But that’s not the answer. The government can’t continue to close its eyes and nibble at the deficit by raising taxes on luxury ilems. Delaying a restructuring of the lax system is not going to make the deficit disappear. Before a real impact can be made on the federal deficit, the whole income tax system will have to be restructured. The current proposal only lessens the projected deficit. But the $254 billion deficit still would set a record. And that means the overall debt will grow by another $1 trillion, the government estimates. Only one group of people can af ford higher taxes, and only one group should have to. The wealthy. The move may appear drastic. But every year the govern ment delays such a move, it slides deeper into debt. - Diane Bray Ion for the Daily Nebraskan White unions seek to divide I have a question for Andy Gal braith, whose letter referred to white student unions on university cam puses (DN, Sept. 25): Do you really think that while people and people of color are ‘ ‘ reversing roles” in Ameri can society today? At a panel discus sion in the Cnb Sept. 26, faculty member Helen Longsoldier said that not a day goes by that a student doesn’t come into the Multicultural Affairs Office and reports a racist remark, action or attitude that student had experienced. How often do you sup pose a white student goes to the Stu dent Affairs Office and reports racist treatment by other students and pro fessors? Andy’s assumption that ethnic student unions and white unions can be judged on the same level indicates he believes both k inds of unions serve equal purposes on college campuses. This is obviously not the case. Ethnic student unions and white student umonsarc formed under com pletely different circumstances and for completely different reasons. Ethnic unions arc formed because people of a certain background have no other way on a campus to learn about, experience and develop their cultural heritage. White people, on the other hand, experience our cultural heri tage everyday, every minute, on the UNL campus. We read textbooks in class by white authors, we are taught by while teachers, we learn about white leaders who formed this white nation. We have to lake certain “special” classes to even be exposed to the contributions people of color have make to this country and the world. It should be obvious that people of color, when growing up in a white dominated educational system, know far more about our culture than we know about theirs. Ethnic student unions, unlike white unions, do not intend to separate people from each other. White people, as far as 1 know, are welcome to attend any ethnic student association meetings, and their public events arc always well advertised. The article about w hite student unions (DN, Sept. 19) reported lhatat the University of Florida, * ‘any group that doesn't benefit under af firmative acuon is free to join the white union,” meaning, of course, white males only. Whereas ethnic unions arc for the purposes of diversi fying the campus and increasing awareness of various cultural back grounds, white unions are xenopho bic enclaves designed to shut oul anything ‘ different” and prevent the new experiences that are w hat cduca lion is all about. Uikc it or not, people of color have been essential to mak ing this country what it is today. White people didn’t and could not have, done it alone. W'e stand to lose nothing by respecting and more importantly, actively learn ing about cultures that are not famil iar to us. Ethnic student unions en courage growth arid education. White student unions only encourage divisive ness and mistrust. Grow up! Ginger Dzerk junior English Fault not cut and dry in court One drink too many leads to a $9.3 million reward for New Yorker Francisco Merino was drunk. He admitted it under oath. He says he got drunk on his own, pouring down several beers after a hard evening of work. That doesn’t make Francisco Merino unusual. Every day, when people leave their jobs, a certain number of them slop for drinks to unwind or socialize. Some overin dulge, as Francisco says he did. And of those who have a few too many, some will get into trouble. There’s no end to the variety of fool ish things they do. The cops will pinch some for drunken driving or brawling. Others will get off easier, with a lecture by an angry wife. An unlucky few will run their cars into light poles or trees and end up in hospitals or hearses. Francisco was one of the unlucky ones, although he didn't quite make it to a hearse. The night he got sloshed, Fran cisco intended to go home by way of the New York subway. He says he stumbled or lurched and somehow fell off the platform as a train was pulling into the station. The train hit him and the doctors had to remove one of his arms. So whose fault was that? While one can sympathize with Francisco for losing an arm, I th ink most people in our society would say that he brought it on himself. But that’s because most people aren’t lawyers. Or members of the jury that heard Francisco’s case. You see, after Franc isco got drunk, fell off a subway platform, and lost an arm, he did what most people in our society do when they have a problem -- he looked around for somebody to sue. Actually, his lawyers did the look ing, since Francisco. 31, is a Mexican who was working as a dishwasher, and wouldn’t have had the legal schol arship to reason that his getting drunk and falling off a subway platform was somebody else’s fault. Most of us would wake up in the hospital and moan: “Oh boy, I got Mike Royko drunk, fell off a subway platform, and now 1 only have one arm. Am I stupid or am I stupid?” So that’s why we need lawyers - to explain to us that what we did wasn’t really our fault. And to find those who really were to blame for what we did and to make them take responsibility. That’s what Francisco’s lawyers accomplished. And a splendid job they did. A jury recently awarded Francisco S9.3 million for his pain, suffering, loss of wages, medical expenses and so on. And who is to pay the S9.3 million to Francisco? It is to come from the New York Transit Authority, which operates the subway system. Or, pre sumably, from the insurance compa nies they pay to protect them w hen people get drunk and fall in front of trains. If you re asking why the New York Transit Authority should have to pay Francisco anything, that proves one thing: you aren't a lawyer, or you wouldn ’ t ask foolish questions. Lack ing a keen legal mind, you would probably say that if a guy gets loaded and falls off a subw ay platform, tough luck pal, but next time slick to club soda. But that isn't the way it is in the World of Law. There’s a rule at the New York Transit Authority that says that if a transit employee secs someone drunk or otherwise messed up, they are supposed to call the transit cops. As it turned out, the token clerk at the station did notice that Francisco was unsteady and the clerk made a call. But Francisco fell off the plat form before anybody could come and get him. Timing is everything, I guess. So the jury decided the transit system had failed in its responsibility to protect Francisco. Or, as one of his lawyers put it: “They should have looked out for this guy, because the danger was very great, and (they should have) moved him off the platform” Of course. What kind of cruel society are we, to let someone like Francisco get himself drunk, buy a subway token, then fall in front of a train? Where were the transit police when Francisco needed them? Or, for that mailer, where were you? Where was I? How indifferent can we get? The transit authority’s lawyers were upset by the si/e of the award. They say it is an outrageous sum for an unskilled dishwasher and will be appealed. Of course they’d say that. It’s obvious that none of the transit law yers ever tried to get a job as a one armed dishwasher. And this should serve as another lesson in why we should never drink and drive. Nobody ever made S9.3 million by putting his head through his own windshield. (C) 1990 Chkugo Tribune J_tefoncTi—_ The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters to the editor from all readers and interested others. Letters and guest opinions sent to the newspaper become the property of the Daily Nebraskan and cannot be returned. Letters should be typewrit ten. Anonymous submissions will not be considered for publication. Letters should include the author’s name, year in school, major and group affili ation, if any. Requests to withhold names will not be granted. Submit material to the Daily Ne braskan, 34 Nebraska Union. 1400 R Sl, Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448. editoriaL -IBSlESD' Editorials do not necessarily re flect the views of the university, its employees, the students or the NU Board of Regents. Editorial columns represent the opinion of the author. The Daily Ne braskan’s publishers arc the regents, who established the UNL Publica tions Board to supervise the daily pro duction of the paper. According to policy set by the re gents, responsibility for the editorial content of the newspaper lies solely m the hands of its students.
