The Times Leader from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania • 29

The Times Leader 'tisioae Tuesday, November 2, 1982 Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 5C economic issues ignore ss 13.98 I Candidates real By BILL NEIKIRK -Analysis -The second issue you won't hear. discussed much is how Democrats and Republicans are going to deal with the almost impossible state of the federal budget, with deficits of more than $150 billion looming over the next 'several years. 7 Nothing is more galling than to hear some manipulative politician complain about the huge deficits and then vow that he or she won't vote for tax increases or reductions in federal spend- ing. To- add insult to injury, the same politician will announce some scheme designed to create jobs that will cost the taxpayers several billion dollars, merely redistributing scarcity through the tax system.

All deficits aren't bad, but these are. They are preventing a solid economic recovery for the simple reason the Federal Reserve Board will not put out enough money to finance both the deficits and faster9 economic growth. The debate should be about what kind of deficit-reduction package is best for the nation," and that includes discussion of tax increases. To us, the most important issue is how we can extricate ourselves from this budget mess without sinking into a much deeper recession. The third issue not being addressed is how Social Security will be rescued.

have heard' a lot of demagoguery, but next year Congress will- have to save the system in some fashion most probably with a combination of payroll taxes and future benefit What politician has laid out his plan in this campaign? Few indeed, failure of politicians to deal seriously with Social Security in this campaign is the clearest sign to date that democracy is failing in the United States. Politicians are frightened to death because any suggestion they might make is quickly distorted and oversimplified by opponents in a 30-second presentation on the nightly It is" so much like the other two issues in that it speaks to the need of the U.S. to think seriously on how to divide the economic pie in a world -where economic growth has been curtailed. The solution to the Social Security crisis should involve sacrifices by both workers and retirees. The system as it now stands cannot be sustained.

tions from raiding our markets and jobs without resorting "to protectionism. If you listen to some of the inane debates long enough, you would think that nis is Island America, divorced from the rest of the world and a place where we can by ourselves pull up our sleeves and solve our problems." It does not work that way anymore. In the last decade, a world market has developed in almost all goods. The wages of the worker in Detroit are suddenly in competition with those in Japan. This goes for our technology, for our management and for our production of goods and services.

Politicians ought to be emphasizing how we can survive in such a world without turning inward. The debate be about unfair trade rules, about the international value of the dollar, about encouraging emerging new industries, about how to have a coordinated economic recovery. Builders' spending declines Families with husband and Nmrspapari WASHINGTON Once again another election is here and once again politicians have failed to discuss the real economic issues facing the nation. They are talking about solving unemployment with the same old tools tried 10, 20, and 30 years ago or bring-, ing down inflation with a brutal slow- down in the economy. As we have beard over and over, the issue is whether to stick with Reaganomics, not what should be done to save the country.

The most important, issues really have been shunted aside in this campaign, to be left to the exclusive world of government officials to ignore or muck up. Our best guess is that they -will muck them up, especially if there is no advance input by voters. From our standpoint, the most important issue is how the United States will maintain its own competitiveness and standard of living in a world with many aggressive challengers in Japan, Europe, and the Third World. Related to that is how we can stop other na- Good pay can work at a marriage NEW YORK (A?) A man whose wife earns more than he does is a prime candidate for a rotten love life, divorce and early death, according to a magazine article on findings of several different surveys. If the man's job is beneath his potential, while his wife not only makes more money but also has a prestigious job, he is 11 times more likely to die of heart disease in middle age, according to the article in the November issue of Psychology Today.

The situation is somewhat improved if the wife works at a traditional -woman's job," but still is worse than in a household in which the woman earns less than her husband or doesn't work at all, the article said. "Sad to say; in egalitarian mar-'riages, when both husband and wife held professional, typically male jobs, the chance of divorce was twice as high as (those) in which the wife held a typically female job 33 percent versus 15 percent," said Carin Rubensteln, the author. She was commenting on a survey by William Philliber and Dana Hiller, who interviewed 984 married women in their middle years in 1967 and again in 1974. Job segregation by sex is an "ego protector for. men," she quoted Miss Hiller as saying.

"It's OK for your wife to have a higher-paying or higher-status job, as long as she's a nurse or a teacher, because that's what wpmen are supposed to be." With both partners working, a marriage was more likely to be a battlefield of psychological and physical abuse than if the wife stayed home, according to a 1979 study of 1,553 In percent of all wage-earning families 0 5 35 40 45 50 55 60 1972 1973 1 1974 1975 '1976 1977 ,1 I 1978 II. I. 1979 i 1980 i 1981 ilm Dan Dorfman Be leery of bargains It's the biggest Wall Street hunt in years the pursuit of the laggard, the stock that has yet to fully participate in the recent market surge. Every stockbroker and analyst worth his (or her) salt is being besieged by the very same question: What's left to buy? is the gloomy response I get from one respected Wall Street, technician Justin Mamis, the author of a biweekly letter for the institutional clients of the Big brokerage firm of "I DOUBT there are three Big Board stocks that haven't moved yet that are worth buying," he tells me. The.

53-year-old Mamis, a founder and former 'coi-pub- Usher of the well-regarded Pro- fessional Tape Reader investment newsletter, bases his conclusions on a just -completed analysis of the chart patterns of 7 the more than 1,500 Big Board stocks. The focus was price action and vokmie, and more specifically, 'which stocks were being bought and sold. After canvassing the list, Mamis came up with what he re- 1 gards as the "26 worst-looking "stocks on the NewYork Stock Exchange." In some cases, he says, "the chart patterns are so dreadful that apparently questions are being raised in the investment community as to the very abili-. ty of these companies to survive." IN THIS CONTEXT, he points not only to such well-known troubled companies as Pan Am and International Harvester, but to Lamson Sessions, Mesta Machine, Raymark, Republic Steel, Superscope, Western Air Lines and World Airways. Of the 26 worst stocks 9 actually declined during the great bullish move in which the Dow, between Aug.

12 and Oct. ,15, shot up over 215 points or nearly 28 Leading the way on the down-, 'side were Raymark, off 28.9 percent; Pan Am, 25 percent; Oak Industries, 21.3 percent, and World Airways, 18.8 percent. Fifteen of the "worst" list showed gains during the rally, but for the most part, observes Mamis, these were achieved v-ery recently. And only one of the gainers, Varco, managed to outpace the Dow in the roughly two month period; it was up 30.4 percent, rising 1 to 7. MAMIS NOTES, however, that Varco benefited from the recent surge in the energy group.

But he adds, that the stock, based on its chart action, clearly lacks any enduring energy; moreover, he says it has the worst chart pattern of any company in the oil service group. Significantly, the "worst" list is rife with industries that are vulnerable to a sliding economy. And here we find five capital equipment-machinery companies, three airlines, three steels and three catering to lux-' ury-type consumer spending. Though strictly a technical analyst, Mamis took a look at the fundamentals of his 26 companies. Bad news, Jolky if you own any of four stocks Arkansas Best, Raymark, Republic Steel and Arm co.

Our man, believes th't future dividend payouts are questionable, given the poor latest-quarter results. Mamis contends that each of the 26 stocks is vulnerable to a decline regardless of what the market does. Dan Dorfman Is a syndicated columnist. 1 $21,003 WASHINGTON (AP) U.S. builders' spending on new construction declined a slight 0.2 percent in September, although spending on new houses continued to rise as interest rates declined, the government reported Monday.

7 The decline was 0.4 percent after discounting for spending increases due cnly to inflation. The Commerce Department report estimated September spending at an annual rate of $229.8 billion after ad- justment for normal seasonal variation. It described that figure as "about the same" as the August rate of $230.2 billion. Total private" construction held steady at an annual rate of $179.4 -billion, even including a 0.6 percent increase in the building of new housing units, while government construction dipped 0.8 percent to $50.4 billion, the report said. Over-all construction spending had risen 0.6 percent in August, the report said, revising the earlier estimate of a 1.6 percent gain.

spending remains in irregular upward trend," Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige said in a statement distributed by aides. "Stronger gains are expected for the fourth quarter, concentrated in residential building as a result of the substantial decline in long-term interest, rates that has occurred since June," Baldrige "Baldrige did not deny the current weakness in commercial building. However, he said, "residential building is a leading indicator, which consis-. tently and reliably precedes economic turns. Non-residential investment generally follows the overall economy.

Details of the report, all seasonally adjusted and subject to later revision, said that: September spending on new housing units rose to an annual rate of $52.4 billion, but residential spending remained flat at a rate of $76.7 billion, indicating a decline in spending for house additions and alterations. Construction of non-residential buildings rose 0.3 percent, including a 4.4 percent gain for office buildings. Cross said it was unlikely that office building construction would continue to rise, given current vacancy rates as well as the state of the economy. September's overall construction spending level was down 1.6 percent from the same month one year earlier. rock 'n' roll wife wage earners In millions of families 0 2 16 18 20 22 Median family income in 1980 All married Only husband Husband and Chicago Tribun Graphic; Source: US Buoau of Labor Kentucky women.

Among families in which the wife had a managerial job, there were nearly two instances a year of violence with a knife and gun, compared to .04 on average among families where the husband held a high-prestige job, it said. sonnel walked off the job at one minute after midnight at the government-subsidized university, Mexico's largest with a student population of more than 350,000. The walkouts were the first major strike action in this economically troubled nation since the 4 million-member Mexican Federation of Labor called for a general strike if big business failed to negotiate emergency wage packages. The workers say emergency increases are needed to cover lost buying power caused by the money crisis. depicted as red hearts with sneakers.

As the clock ticks away, an electronic melody of a Journey hit song plays in the background. The longer it takes to get the rockers to a limousine, the more electronic cash you lose. If you lose it all, then you played the concert gig for nothing. The game. Data Age's sixth, will appear in stores in January.

It will probably sell for after retailers discount its $34.95 list price. The new firm expects to sell more than 3 million of the cartridges next year, which is no small feat considering the recession and stiff competi- tlon in the video games business. Data Age plans a big advertising and sales push when Journey goes on tour next spring. Is the firm's bold prediction a lot of 19731 i 1975 1 3 All families 7 Strikes halt Mexican airline, university couples $23,263 working $20,472 wife working $27,745 Statistics In a 1980 survey conducted by the magazine, one-third of husbands earning less than their wives thought they loved their wives more than their wives loved them and 17 percent re-, ported having had no sexual intercourse in the few months preceding the survey. with inflation expected to hit 100 percent by the end of the year.

Fidel Velazquez, president of the labor federation, announced over the weekend the nationwide strike deadline had been reset for Nov. 11. The unions involved in the strikes at Mexicana and the university are not members of the labor federation. Both strikes came after labor rejected 25 percent wage. offers from management, demanding instead raises and benefits totaling close to 50 percent at the airline and 60 percent at the university.

MEXICO CITY (AP) Strikes paralyzed Mexicana, the nation's largest airline Monday, and the National University of Mexico. The striking employees sought steep wage hikes to counter the nation's worsening recession. Talks broke off late Sunday between management ind the union representing 7,323 ground support workers at Mexicana. recently taken over by the government. The strike halted 97 dally flights within Mexico, to the United States and the Caribbean.

More than 23,000 non-academic per- Video games banking on E.T. and WASHINGTON (Knight-Ridder News Service) What does rock 'n' roll and the film E.T. have in common? Video games. Data Age, a new video games outfit, dropped $160,000 this week to make a big splash with its rock 'n' roll video game called Journey Escape. While Data Age is putting its money on the rock industry, Atari is trying to follow the success of the movie E.T.

with a game of the same name. The Data Age game is based on the rock group Journey, a hot-selling band whose latest "Escape" album has sold more than 5 million copies. In the game, players escort video rock players through throngs of screaming fans, cigar-smoking promoters and security guards after an imaginary concert is over. The fans are rock 'n roll hype? Not so, says Bob Rice, vice president of marketing at Data Age. He predicts the new game alone will bring his firm about $60 million in gross sales next year.

Over the next 12 months. Rice says the firm will ring up total sales of $100 million. "We aren't a big elephant in the video games field," Rice said. "We're small like a mouse, so it's important that we maintain the pulse of our target audience." It's too early to tell now, but we should know by early next year if Data Age will be the mouse that roared. But the lion of the video game Industry, Atari, is planning bne of the biggest, advertising an promotional one-shot hypes ever for a single product.

V.fVr During November and December, Atari plans to 6pend $5 million alone on media advertising to promote the E.T. video game cartridge. There will even be 30- and 50-sec-ond E.T. commercials produced especially for Atari by E.T. director Steven Spielberg.

Those TV spots will hit households Thanksgiving weekend, just as the E.T. game surfaces on retailer's shelves, naturally just in the nick of time for holiday Atari, the, top name in the video game business, is obviously looking at top numbers with its E.T. cartridge, which will carry a price of $39.95. "It will be as big a hit if not better than Pac Man (another Atari game)," said Jan Soderstrom, Atari vice president-corporate advertising. 1.