St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 24

SI LOUIS POST-DISPATCH fife mm editorials 2B Thursday, November 29, 1984 One For The Flagpole in The Reagan administration has run a tax simplification program up the flagpole. But not everybody is saluting. Even Treasury Secretary Donald Regan, whose staff prepared the scheme, is waiting and watching before pledging his support. And that is probably just as well, judging from the barrage that has already been fired in the plan's direction. Particularly strong criticisms have come from the real estate and oil industries, which were quick to spot that the plan would remove several of their most cherished tax preferences.

Labor union leaders are distressed because it calls for taxing unemployment compensation and certain fringe benefits. Many governors are upset because it would no longer allow deductions of state and local taxes. Some corporations are angry because depreciation allowances would be cut back. In short, the flag of tax simplification that the administration has waved before the nation may soon be more tattered than the one that inspired Francis Scott Key. Yet, there is much that is inspiring about the thrust of the Treasury study.

Like similar plans being discussed in Congress, this one would drastically simplify the process of calculating and collecting the income tax. It would eliminate most deductions, one exception being mortgage interest on the family home. It would replace the current system of 16 income categories and a maximum rate of 50 percent with one that has only three income categories and a maximum rate of 35 percent. And, in' general, it would seemingly encourage businesses and families to spend and invest their resources productively, while discouraging the tendencies to invest in tax shelters. The need for tax simplification is compelling.

The present tax code has become so cumbersome and complex that its primary function to raise revenues for the federal government has been overshadowed by a host of secondary purposes. Not all of them are without merit, by any means. But the array of social and economic goals now represented in the tax code from oil exploration to historic preservation has spawned a situation that is resistant to reform. Each time the tax code has been used to achieve social goals, it has created a constituency with a vested interest And it is this army of special interests that is now mobilizing to fight the administration's proposal. Therefore, though Treasury Secretary Regan and his commander-in-chief may be wise to watch as the battle lines form, they cannot stand apart for long or this battle, like all the others, will be lost Indeed, since that lesson is so well known in Washington, the question arises as to just what weapons the administration hopes to use in behalf of tax simplification.

So far it has shown no interest in using the most potent tactic that it could employ linking tax simplification with the need to balance the budget. The plan, as presented, is revenue neutral, which leaves balancing the budget a separate issue. But the entire process budgets and taxes is of one piece. And both aspects will have to be addressed if the nation is to free itself from an overly complex tax code and a string of monumental and dangerous deficits. Rebuke From The World Court 'Tax The Grace Report Suppose an American citizen or corporation could simply reject the jurisdiction of an American court in a lawsuit If that were possible, law in this country would be made meaningless.

Yet that is what the Reagan administration has tried to do to international law in the case of Nicaragua, which has accused the United States of aggressive acts. But on a 15-1 vote (the dissenter being an American judge), the International Court of Justice in The Hague has rejected administration arguments that it lacks jurisdiction. In this case the administration subjected itself to a series of embarrassments. It proceeded to argue a case in a court it said should not hear it. It also argued that it had given proper notice, three days before Nicaragua filed its complaint that the U.S.

would exempt itself in advance from court authority. The World Court noted that in 1946 the U.S. pledged to recognize court jurisdiction unequivocally unless it gave six fMMiy JOSEPH PVUTZOt 12, 1879 THE POSl-DISPATCH PLATFORM I KNOW THAT MY RETIREMENT WILL MAKE NO DIFFERENCE IN ITS CARDINAL PRINCIPLES, THAT IT WILL ALWAYS FIGHT FOR PROGRESS AND REFORM. NEVER TOLERATE INJUSTICE OR CORRUPTION. ALWAYS FIGHT DEMAGOGUES OF ALL PARTIES, NEVER BELONG TO ANY PARTY.

ALWAYS OPPOSE PRIVILEGED CLASSES AND PUBLIC PLUNDERERS. NEVER LACK SYMPATHY WITH THE POOR. ALWAYS REMAIN DEVOTED TO THS PUBLIC WELFARE. NEVER BE SATISFIED WITH MERELY PRINTING NEWS, ALWAYS BE DRASTICALLY INDEPENDENT. NEVER BE AFRAID TO ATTACK WRONG.

WHETHER BY PREDATORY PLUTOCRACY OR PREDATORY POVERTY JOSEPH PULITZER April 10, 1907 Leave No Stones Unthrown The Chicago Tribune President Reagan used his first Cabinet meeting since the election for a bit of stagecraft which is rapidly supplanting statecraft as the principal purpose for such events. He took the opportunity to make a declaration for the whole country to hear. Things have to change," he told tne cabinet and senior White House, staff. That's what we came here for. I know there's a tendency to go along with the tide.

We came here to dam the river. Let's start mirror of public opinion throwing in the rocks." He was, of course, reiterating in colorful language his resolve against tax Increases, though in the end he may have to eat a few of those stones along with the crow that Walter Mondale has put on the menu. But his remark brought to mind a quite different point If he wants to start throwing boulders into the drink, he ought to begin with some of the people sitting around the Cabinet table who have burdened his administration like lead weights. With a few notable exceptions such as Secretary of State George Shultz, White House Chief of Staff James Baker and Treasury Secretary Donald Regan, the Cabinet and top White House staff have been at best undistinguished. About the only change the president has announced is replacing Attorney General William French Smith with Ed Meese, and that is a disgrace.

President Reagan has been reluctant to jettison anyone when they are under attack. Now nearly everyone in the group seems to be for the moment in the clear. Now is the time to make a thorough change in the cast of characters and to bring in people who can help guide the second administration to a record of real achievement Stopping Acid Rain The Hartford Conn.) Courant On the obvious assumption that a little progress in reducing acid rain is preferable to no progress, the rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions are welcome but they are not sufficient. The new rules would cut sulfur dioxide emissions from coal-burning plants, In the Midwest, and thus cut a major contribution to the acid rain that falls on the U.S. Northeast and Canada.

However, the reduction would only range from 800,000 tons to 2.9 million tons of sulfur dioxide a year, which would not be enough to satisfy New England. Acid-rain legislation proposed in the past Congress would have brought down total sulfur dioxide emissions by 10 million tons annually. Nothing has changed to obviate the need for the reintroduction and passage of that legislation when the new Congress convenes in January. A.D. 1984 The Kansas City Times Now commenceth the long night for the donkeymen, poor wretches, who temper woe, misery and desolation with defiant cries, the which to hear one would think that Ronaldus Magnus had suffered grievous defeat.

Sulking anger befogeth the air, for Ronaldus is not disposed to do the bidding of his foes. Yea, in troth, Dame Bella Abzug shall not sit on the high bench. And in the silken dens of Georgetown remnants of the Donkey bureaucracy bewail the advent of lapdogs of the gentry. Also in Sam City the gathering storm fixeth on the dread dragon called Deficit and divers knights-errant proclaim they would slay the gnashing monster reptile, yet it bestridetn entitlements and $500 screwdrivers as Fafner bestrode the hoard, and all edge back from the snorting fire. In Africa doth Malthus live where millions die? The last rose Is nipped and the leaves have made their carpet: Powdered diamonds on the pane Tell all that winter comes again.

Yr. Obed. Servt. Scrivener John St LOUIS POST-DISPATCH (iiitui-ttm jorara nunn. mm ami nnumn int-iti i tomrnnumitBmmmtnmuma mciun.

i niLmn. urocuTt Dim MVK UTUM. HANACIfK BWTI vmjah r. oo, mm or im mmaui ru cugw a. aaunonin, rttmicNT MOMLMC HNMNAN IV.CtKHUl HAMAdS Jack Carney "Broadcasting," Jack Carney once said, "is the whole ballgame for me.

It's what I love. It's my psychiatrist, confessor and mistress all rolled into one." It was a ballgame that he played wonderfully. Nobody in recent memory in this radio market and perhaps the country could touch him at the things he did so well: the easy drive-time talk, the brilliantly paced comedy shows that drew upon a lifetime's familiarity with the great radio comics, the laid-back interviews that could evoke spirited conversation from a statue. Jack Carney had a golden touch, and it earned his employer, KMOX radio, millions and himself an annual income well into the six figures. "If Jack Carney said it was good, it was good," an advertising executive said, paying him the industry's ultimate other retired persons from other representatives on the Grace commission greatly exceed the annuities of retired federal executives at even the highest level of government.

It seems that he and his associates want to reduce other people's income while enjoying high benefits themselves. DeForrestE-Cline Springfield, Mo. As a federal employee I am outraged by the Nov. 20 article by J. Peter Grace.

The editorial cartoon on Nov. 21 was a disgrace. Allow me to point out a few facts Mr. Grace failed to mention: J. Peter Grace currently collects $138,000 per year in pension benefits while he still works and receives several hundreds of thousands of dollars in salary.

This isn't Federal health and pension benefits remain substantially below that of the Grace IBM, GM, Xerox and other large employers. A Grace Co. retiree will receive over 40 percent more in total benefits than a federal worker. Grare Cn earlv rptirpp receive almost 30 percent more in benefits than a federal early retiree. How does J.

Peter Grace keep a straight face? Richard A. Murray Lemay The articles by J. Peter Grace are a lot of nonsense. The fiscal problems that the U.S. government is having at the present time were foreordained when this nation was founded.

Alexander Hamilton and the rest of the founding fathers of this nation determined when the government was formed that there would be a small' financial elite artistocracy and a large mass of poor people. When Alexander Hamilton and the others set up the financial system and banking system, they determined the course of this nation. Money was distributed through banks at 6 percent interest This money was given to them by the Treasury Department. If anyone gives money to someone else to lend out, the receiver of the money is bound to become rich. The people who borrow the money are not in a favorable position.

If the U.S. government operates with a balanced budget, the choice is a depression. The only alternative to depression is to operate with deficit spending, William E. Tucker St. Ann The article by Mr.

Grace is very misleading. First, we were working for 60 percent of the going wage in the '50s, delivering the mail in the gloom of night, etc. At that time we were dishing out 6 percent of salary toward retirement Meanwhile, those on Social Security were paying 2 percent. Also, he fails to mention that the proposed 6' percent cost of living allowance scheduled for last year was reduced to I percent for those under 62. Strange that every study done on the working man is by the filthy rich.

I'm waiting to see a report on how they justify all the little loopholes in their tax brackets. Elsberry William B. Waggoner Your article by Mr. J. Peter Grace about federal retirees is so slanted, so vicious and so untrue that I am disturbed that the Pas even printed it The generalities used by Grace are such that he fails to say exactly who the $25,000 retiree is.

Is it an ex-congressional worker? If so, he has bis own system of retirement far in excess of the regular federal system. Most of us were hired at about $2,100 or so and worked hard, a fact Grace ignores, at wages far less than available under private industry. He axes the military, too. No mention of the horrors of war, the filthy jungles, disease-ridden islands, frozen lands, etc, where we may find out now or in a year or two, that we picked up something that only now is deadly. But then, maybe Grace figured out we ex-service people and federal employees don't declare dividends like his company, which lost money and got money back from the government Mr.

A. W.Becker Springfield, 111. months notice that it would not do so. These are minor embarrassments, though, in comparison with the U.S. argument that the U.N.

Security Council (where the U.S. has a veto), and not the World Court, is the proper place to hear issues involving armed conflict. The court responded that Nicaragua's complaint was not about a war between itself and the U.S. but about a situation demanding a peaceful settlement of disputes. Thus the court turned the administration argument against itself, for the administration denies it is at war with Nicaragua, while it is directing a covert war against it The Reagan administration has not decided whether to boycott further World Court proceedings.

If it does, it will recall the position of Ayatollah Khomeini's Iran, which rejected a 1980 court decision concerning American hostages. And that decision was in favor of reparations for the United States. compliment. It cost an advertiser plenty to have him read a commercial, but Mr. Carney's many thousands of listeners knew that he had actually eaten at the restaurant he was pitching or had tried the leather polish or the coffee or the country-fresh sausage.

Credibility was his greatest commercial asset Yet had he been only a gifted salesman, he would never have attracted so faithful and large a following. Jack Carney was a genuinely funny man with a sense of the absurd and a keen ability to see exotic possibilities in the ordinary, as when he brought a studio cleaning woman onto the air and turned her into a star. His death at 52, at the prime of his career, severs one of the last links that bound St Louis to the classic age of radio. To deny free speech in order to engineer social change in the name of accomplishing a greater good for one sector of our society erodes the freedoms of all." Female civil libertarians, as ardent in their support of women's rights as the ordinance supporters, see the danger of allowing attacks on magazines, books and films based on such a broad definition of pornography as that of the Indianapolis law. What does "subordination" mean? Yet despite the clearness of the threat to free expression, Indianapolis is planning to appeal the Barker decision all the way to the U.S.

Supreme Court if necessary. And promoters of similar ordinances are busy in Minneapolis (where the fad started), Los Angeles, Des Moines, Madison, and Suffolk County, N.Y. The fad will fade when its adherents recognize that no matter how fashionably clothed in the language of civil rights, such laws still violate the rights to speak and to hear. the "free speech and debate" clause' in every matter concerning a congressional employee. The congressman in question, Rep.

Ed Jones of Tennessee, is being sued by Anne Walker, a 12-year House employee. She was fired by Rep. Jones from her manager's job in the House of Representatives restaurant service. Rep. Jones argued that his firing of Ms.

Walker was immune from federal court review. The court found otherwise, ruling that Ms. Walker's restaurant duties were of a "mundane" nature and clearly not directly Involved in legislative action. The Walker case is not a death blow to congressional discrimination, but it does offer necessary protection for some lower-ranking congressional employees. Fashionably Clothed Rights Threat In response to J.

Peter Grace's Nov. 20 news article in the Post-Dispatch on Civil Service: I know Mr. Grace must have spent many hours at his desk in a warm office planning this article. I believe he could get a truer picture of Civil Service if he would spend a winter in a Northern city with one of our mail carriers on a foot route getting up in the wee hours of the morning to go to work. I am a retired mail carrier and I haven't seen anything near $17,000 in a retirement check yet I came out of me Army Air force in irOm 1945 after World War II, 4e ancl 1 Decame a mail lllv because I nortrtl tnou8ni offered secu-UvU pit? rity.

But to support my imiiiiy i uuu to worn part-time at other jobs to make ends meet We also paid as much as 5 percent to 7 percent into the Civil Service retirement all those years while Social Security was only 2 or 3 percent up to a certain amount Mr. Grace didn't mention this. I have a feeling that the Reagan administration would like to get its hands on the $60 billion or so that Civil Service has in our retirement fund. Then the government wouldn't have to match our fund, as I understand it has failed to do for many years. It could use that money for its "Star Wars" and wouldn't have to raise the taxes for the rich.

This is another phase of the Reagan administration making the rich richer and the poor poorer. Samuel W.Williams St. Peters As a federal employee, I take exception to J. Peter Grace's sweeping statements that would imply that all government workers are leeches. Mr.

Grace seems to delight in picking out isolated, bizarre, individual cases and declaring them to be "symptomatic" of government workers as a whole. Hogwash! That makes no more sense than to say that if one male, age 40, is a sex offender, then all males, age 40, are presumed to be the same. J. Peter Grace is on his own personal crusade, with the blessing of the administration, to develop his own segregation plan government workers vs. everyone else.

His far-out unsubstantiated claims of costs, exaggerated projected "savings," and other mistruths and misconceptions make this Grace not so much amazing as appalling! Dolores M.Willis Waynesville, Mo. One of the first priorities on President Reagan's second term agenda should be the implementing of the recommendations by the Grace commission. This should go a long way toward reducing our national deficit Secondly, he should sue the suppliers of spare parts to the Pentagon for immediate refunds (plus interest) for their outrageous, astronomical overcharges. Both of these acts should meet with instant approval from the long-suffering taxpayers, who have had to pay for all this dreadful financial and procurement mismanagement. Ben Pearlmutter St Louis I am quite surprised to see that a newspaper of your insight would publish the trash by J.

Peter Grace. I sincerely hope that you are aware that the Infamous Grace commission report has been refuted by both the Congressional Budget Office and the General Accounting Office of the federal government as being full of untruths and half-truths. Even George Will, newspaper columnist and spokesman for the Republican conservative right-wing element has stated in his column that the Grace report addresses itself to certain issues which have been highly successful and that the report fails to properly perform the purpose for which it was intended. J. Peter Grace Is the head of a huge corporation and receives a very large salary for his services.

A recent survey by a taxpayers group revealed that he pays little or no taxes to the federal government It also showed that the pensions received by retired executives of that company as well as those of Some sexually explicit material is clearly degrading to women and offensive to people of both sexes. But the new wave of crusaders who are attempting to get rid of such material with laws that make pornography a violation of women's civil rights are either naive or oblivious to the threat to freedom of expression. U.S. District Judge Sara Evans Barker of Indianapolis recognized this when she ruled unconstitutional an Indianapolis law that used the civil rights approach and defined pornography as "the sexually explicit subordination of women, graphically depicted, whether in pictures or.in words." Judge Barker wrote: "To permit every Interest group, especially those who claim to be victimized by unfair expression, their own legislative exceptions to the First Amendment demonstrates the potentially predatory nature of what defendants seek through this ordinance. Discrimination By Congress The U.S.

Congress has long had the nickname of "the last plantation." Senators and representatives have exempted themselves and their institution from racial, sexual and employment discrimination legislation. Much of their argument for doing this rests on the separation of powers and the constitutional protection of Congress from scrutiny of its legislative duties and actions. As important and as high-sounding as that is, senators and congressmen often hide behind such legal protection in order to engage in overt discrimination, frequently hiring and firing staffers and congressional employees at will. I But now a federal appeals court has found that congressmen cannot hide behind I.