Galesburg Register-Mail from Galesburg, Illinois • Page 4

I r- 4 Golesburg Register-Mail, Galesburg, IK. July 12, 1972 EDITORIAL Comment and Review Welfare, Our Big Most Americans have relegated welfare problems to that unpleasant corner of their mind that houses such other distasteful concerns as funerals, snakes, dentists and income tax. Not only do we not do anything about welfare, we don't even talk very seriously about It. But ignore it wilfully as we can, the problem won't go away. A recent study by the Joint Economic Committee of Congress said at least 25 million Americans receive welfare payments of some kind, that doesn't include those on Social Security, old age or disability pensions.

The payments to those 25 million people amount to more than $16 billion a year. And there is more. Administering welfare programs costs money. Providing services to those on require a disproportionate amount of publicly funded health care, police and fire money. Some not-too-liberal estimates place the" total bill for our welfare programs at $70 billion a year.

It is not that no one has proposed a way out of the welfare mire. Many people have been trying for a long time. For example, New York businessman Leonard Greene, has spent more than two years ardently trying to persuade people that this "Fair Share" plan is that long-sought viable alternative. Greene Is no knight on a white horse. The president of a successful aircraft equipment manufacturing company, he says that "it doesn't do any good to be a successful member of a sinking ship." He recognizes the debilitating effects current welfare programs have in the economy in general and on his business in particular.

And when he points out that "already we are scraping the bottom of the barrel in taxation," you Unsolved Problem can hear rasping sounds in the distance. Greene's solution is straightforward. First eliminate welfare programs. Period. Then set a figure for a taxable allowance that would go to every American, regardless of income.

(Greene suggests $500 for each adult, $400 for each child.) Since the payments would not be tied to income, Greene's plan would eliminate the work-discouraging aspects of most existing and proposed welfare plans, which reduce payments when earned income rises above a maximum that is usually ridiculously low. Greene's idea could represent a drastic change but it if) plausible enough to merit serious consideration. Since he first proposed it in 1970 and testified on the idea before a Senate has received only lukewarm interest, with "Gee, that's an interesting idea" endorsements from congressmen and little else. It may be that the Fair Share proposal seems too blatant an attack on the work ethic, which President Nixon summarized last year when he said, "If we were to underwrite everybody's income, we would be undermining everybody's character." But even President Nixon's own solution to the welfare problem, his Family Assistance Plan, has been languishing in Congress for three years, an unvalidated token of concern. Maybe it is because so many welfare recipients are black.

Maybe it is because we do not understand how much of a drain the present system is on our society. Maybe it is because those who suffer most directly have so little political power. The question is, how long can our society keep this troublesome welfare infection from becoming a dangerous, chronic disease, if it is not already that? Fischer Kind of We have seen over the past few days the creation of something new in chess, the Fischer gambit. This is where you threaten to hold your breath until you turn blue pick up your chess board and go home unless you can have your own way. A true inspiration to the youth of America, Bobby Fischer has shown us that these tactics work in this greed-smudged real world.

Fischer's performance, the prelude to the world chess championship match in Iceland, should not have surprised us. He has, after all, never said he was sensitive, poised, considerate, modest, generous, admirable or Intelligent. He has said only (though many, many times) that he is the best chess player around, in Brooklyn, the United States, the world and, presumably, the universe. Let us assume that he is right. The next question is, so what? Checkmates Self Fischer seems to be operating under the belief that because we pay our athletes and entertainers outrageously large sums of money, we should do the same for chess players.

From his point of view this is reasonable, of course. But from everybody else's it is super- arrogant nonsense. Fischer has at times tried to make his match with defending world champion Boris Spassky a Cold War kind of crusade, good old American versus godless Russian communist. But he was not so dedicated to the crusade that he was willing to wage it for a mere $100,000. He was not so proud that he would not apologize to the Russians to save the match and his money.

And was not smart enough to realize that if he had just quietly won the championship, he would have earned the respect and, probably, the financial rewards he demanded so prematurely. Go, Boris. Ongoing Monetary Crisis Yorick Blumenfeld Blossat finance ministers of present and prospective Common Market nations are to meet In London July 17-18 to discuss international monetary reform as it affects Europe. As the recent rush on gold and the floating of the pound sterling demonstrated, the European exchange system is in urgent need of repair. The Financial Times reports that the Chancellor of (he Exchequer, Anthony Barber, will be under strong pressure from the European Economic Community to return the pound to a fixed parity before Britain enters the E.E.C.

next Jan. 1. But one Frankfurt banker told The Economist: "The E.E.C. ministers arc clearly the last people to realize that there is just no confidence left in the present pattern of international exchange rates, and that only a general floating of currencies is now possible to bring an end to wild currency (peculation." The Six already have been discussing the possibility of setting up a Monetary Cooperation Fund, and this proposal will receive close scrutiny in London. At present the E.E.C.

has no more than $2 billion in short- term credit and $2 billion in medium-term credit to deal with the balance of payments deficits of its members. This Is insufficient to cope with massive shifts in the Eurodollar market. WHEN PRESIDENT NIXON imposed a 10 per cent surcharge on U.S. imports last summer, E.E.C. members failed to act in concert.

They may have learned to do so in the meantime: Britain's floating of the pound was greeted without any ranting or acrimony in Paris or Bonn. French officials are trying to play down their considerable differences with the Germans on monetary reform. Parii believes that Bonn could do more to control capital movements. The Germans, on the other hand, have been promoting the idea of floating currencies, Ian Davidson, European editor of the Financial Times, writes that the Germans are reluctant to put their reserves at the service of other countries unless they receive assurance that there will be serious moves toward joint decision-making on economic and monetary poli- cl es. The French will not budge from their two-tier currency position unless the Germans reduce their domestic farm prices and remove border taxes.

WHEN THE NEW pattern of currency values emerged after the Smithsonian agreement of last Dec. 18, the weak link in the international monetary chain clearly was sterling. Now the pressure has shifted to the dollar. At their present rate of exchange, dollars are less attractive to multinational companies than either German marks or Japanese yen. One Cambridge economist told Editorial Research Reports that the dollar Is being supported because speculators believe that under almost no circumstances will President Nixon consider another devaluation before the presidential election.

At the London finance ministers' conference, the 10 participating nations must decide how they are going to face ihe dangers of a new dollar crisis. IAN DAVIDSON argues that there are only three options available: (J) a joint float of E.E.C. currencies (opposed by the French); (2) Introduction of exchange controls (opposed by the Germans and Italians); (3) expansion of two-tier foreign exchange markets as currently practiced by France. While the last seems the most likely move, it would further complicate a world economic system that is badly in need of both simplicity and stability. Editorial Research Reports Laird Scoffs McGovern 'White Flag' Budget De Toledano bitterly with By RALPH de TOLEDANO WASHINGTON There was a loud outcry when Defense Secretary Melvin Laird, appearing before a Senate Appropriations sub committee, char acterized Sen.

George McGovern's proposed slash of $20 billion in defense funds as a "White Flag Surrender Budget." Sen. William Proxmire, tangled Laird and demanded specifics. Secretary Laird has given his answer, but since it has only gotten spotty treatment in the public prints, interested more in the drama than the statistics and chary of wounding McGovern I am quoting it at length. "I believe a few brief examples taken from the McGovern proposals will clearly demonstrate how his proposed reductions would destroy a meaningful defense posture for the United States," Laird writes, after some prefatory remarks, "substituting weakness and a willingness to beg, for strength and a willingness to negotiate, as we prepare to move into a new phase of arms limitations discussions. "(a) Sen.

McGovern would unilaterally stop both the Congressionally-approved Minuteman III and Poseidon programs. This reversal of Congressional action would require, among other things, de-modernizing several already converted Polaris boats at a cost that is not calculated anywhere in his budget. Aside from the devastating effect this would have on our own strategic deterrent, it would also assure that the Soviets could move to a commanding superiority in strategic technology. "(b) The McGovern "White Flag" budget would cut the strategic bomber force by about 60 per cent, down to 200 aging B-52s and FB-llls, and cancel the development of a potential replacement system, the B-l. Actions such as these would unilaterally wipe out the only numerical lead the U.S.

currently has in strategic force elements and would, in my view, fatally undermine any chance of meaningful negotiated limits in SALT II "The same 'give-away now, beg later' approach characterizes the general purpose programs advocated by the McGovern budget. For example: "(a) It would reduce aircraft carriers from the current level of 16 to 6 with deployment of only one in the Mediterranean" and McGovern is ready to fight the Soviet Union over Israel in the eastern Mediterranean, with one aircraft carrier "one in the Atlantic, and only one in the Pacific. He would slash other naval forces drastically (and) padlock many of the nation's shipyards by precluding any meaningful naval construction during the 1970s. "(b) He would reduce the tactical wings Air Force and Navy from the current program of 34 down to 26 "(c) Sen. McGovern would unilaterally cut U.S.

forces in Europe more than one-half reducing tactical air deployments and commitments by more than 25 per cent, and implies that he would reduce naval force deployments by some large but unspecified amount. These actions would have grave political effects in Europe and undermine any chance for Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions (MBFR) negotiations." THE "INTERNATIONAL political Impact" of the McGovern proposals, Laird; wrote Proxmire, would "impel our allies and friends to turn away from us in political, military, and economic relationships encourage our potential adversaries to make high and unyielding demands on the political differences that separate us, rather than seek jointly with us to negotiate them in a manner satisfactory to both sides. "Taken together, the net effect would be: a major shift toward a new era of instability in international relations with sharply increased prospects of conflict and confrontation (and) a drastic decline in U.S. security and in U.S. ability to influence events in accord with our interests." That puts it politely.

We would become a second-class power, able to function only by sur-, rendering every Soviet' demand that came along. We would quickly run out of white flags which is what Secretary Laird warned. National News- Research Syndicate West Safety Tie Wanted Ray Cromlev WASHINGTON Korea's Kim II Sung is caught in a bind between Russia and China. And suffering severe economic problems. For years he has kept his country free of complete domination by Moscow and Peking only by the most nimble of dancing acts.

He has shifted first to the one, then the other. By this play back and forth he has extracted arms and economic aid, at one time from Moscow, at another from Peking and sometimes from both at once. Up to now he has been aided by the rivalry between these two countries and by his own adroitness. There is new evidence that the pressures have now become too great. Like Mao Tse-tung in his fear of Russia, North Korea's Kim needs a connection with the West to balance against the two communist giants.

I1K NEEDS eetmomic accommodation to lessen his dependence on Russia and China aid an aid which is uncertain and tied heavily with strings. He requires some sort of military accommodation with South Korea to cut back on his defense burden, which is over- leading his economy and making him too dependent on Moscow and Peking. Kim, for all his communism, has a deadly fear of domination by either Russia or China, even though he reportedly holds, or once held, Russian citizenship. Curiously enough, it is understood from contacts in Tokyo and Hong Kong that both Moscow and Peking, for reasons of their own, have also been urging Kim to make these accommodations. Russia's hope, these reports say, is that these western contacts will weaken North Korea's relations with Peking.

Peking, presumably, has the same hope in reverse. In any event, other Tokyo contacts report the eagerness with which Pyongyang has been seeking economic deals with Japan and South Korea, and putting out feelers toward economic accommodations with the West in a variety of areas. The thinking is that North Korea would like western technical and monetary aid and closer contacts generally, for the economic and fear of Sino- Soviet imperialism reasons as noted above. Officials in the Nixon administration say it is not necessary to put trust in Kim II Sung to see the opportunities this opening to the West offers. It is precisely the same type of situation that prompted Yugoslavia almost two decades ago to ask for help.

Now, some 20-odd years and well over a billion dollars in aid and political backing later, some of the most ardent anticommunists in this government believe the experiment and investment were worth every dollar in halting Russian expansion in western Europe, even though Tito remains as determined a communist as ever. (His defense setup is directed against the Soviet Union to insure against a Czechoslovaklan- type takeover). The theory is that every move toward independence by a communist nation, however small, is insurance against a communist front that could endanger the United States and (Continued on Page 32) Crossword Puzzle Answer la Preriout Puzzle Western U.S.A. galesburg lister-Mail Office HO Soulh Prairie Street Oalesburg. Illinois.

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