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Page « NORTHWEST HERALD Sactlonb Monday, August 26,19t5 Opinion Quotas bad for everyone President Reagan is considering promulgating an executive order to clear up the tangled situation regarding quota hiring by federal contractors. The nub of the issue is this: Do those well-meaning proce­ dures established in the Nixon era to implement civil-rights laws -- that is "goals/* "timetables" and "affirmative action" -- lead inev­ itably to de facto quotas? It's an important question, for quotas are bad law, bad public policy, bad for blacks, bad for white males and, perhaps most important, undermine American values. Bad law: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not even remotely sug­ gest that quotas are a legitimate tool to eliminate discrimination. Precisely the opposite. The legisla­ tive discussion prior to passage of the law stressed that "quotas are themselves discriminatory" -- in the words of Sen. Joseph Clark, floor manager for the bill. Such sentiments were also expressed by the Senate Majority Whip, Hubert Humphrey. Bad public policy: Quotas set group against group. Opponents of the current regulations maintain that existing guidelines give unfair special preference to blacks, wom­ en, Hispanics, American Indians and Asian Americans. Well, what about Portuguese-Americans? They too are behind the curve of status in America. So are Ameri­ cans of French-Canadian extrac­ tion. In some fields, so are Polish- Americans. In a pluralist country like America, the list is endless. Do we want everyone fighting, group vs. group, for entitlements? Remember the nation in the world that is probably most governed by auotas is Lebanon. Bad for blacks: Quotas imply that the only way a black can make headway fewith a special break. That erodes self- esteem, a quality needed to get ahead. Quotas deny respect for the millions of blacks who are making it on their own by hard work and high skills. After all, quotas can't be kept secret. They send a mes­ sage. When consumers make a choice about which doctor to visit, or which electrician to hire, they will choose the person they believe has advanced by , merit, not by political preference. That harms the very people quotas are sup­ posed to help. Ben Wattenberg Bad for White males: If they are quota-ed out of\ job or a school because of federal policy, they are being denied equal protection of law. Ultimately; quotas corrode an essential American value: equal opportunity. Our society ought to endorse real affirmative action, in the narrow sense -- advertising job openings for minorities, seek­ ing out minorities to apply for jobs, helping prepare minorities to qualify -- and ought to also en­ dorse affirmative action in the broader sense, offering to help people gain education, job train­ ing, health care and housing. That fosters equal opportunity. But if we don't also guarantee that people can compete equally, we work against that goal, and head back toward discrimination. To use language of the Vietnam era, we'll destroy the village in order to save it. All right, quotas are bad. But have federal guidelines really led to quotas? The statistical evidence either way is slender. Yet there is logic and anecdotal evidence on the side of those who say we are being quota-ized. Guidelines that look to numerical standards as a test for non-discrimination would logically seem to push bureaucrats and corporate managers to take the path of least resistance. That means giving jobs on the basis of color and sex -- not merit. And you don't have to search very hard to find horror stories about better-qualified candidates for a job passed over to make way for less-qualified minority or fe­ male candidates. My sense is that, if pursued, the horror stories would add up to hard data. So the president ought to com­ mission a blue-ribbon task force to rapidly accumulate hard evidence, both pro and con. If it shows what I guess it would show, he ought to then issue an executive order that demands two things. First: a re­ in vigoration of those affirmative- action programs that work without yielding quotas. Second: the final elimination ot those regulations that do lead to-qnotas. - < (Ben Wattenberg i8 a columnist for Newspaper Enterprise Association) National editorial sampler The (Salt Lake City) Desert Ntws Next year's election campaigns for the U.S. Senate will be by far the most expensive in American history. How can we be sure? Because the 31 senators running for re-elec- tlon are raising 10 times as much money as they raised when they ran six years ago. And Eight have more than $1 million each in their War chests for 1966. This escalation of campaign funds ... can be traced to a couple *f closely-related developments... ' One of them is the increasing clout of professional fund raisers The other is the proliferation of political action committees, or PACs. NORTHWEST HIRALD "He who restrains his words has knowledge, and be who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding." „ Prom be 17:27 ROBERTA. SHAW Editor and Publither LEONARD M. INGRASSIA Executive Editor STEVEN H. HUNTER Marketing Director MICHAEL E. MORSCH News Editor/Regional DENNISM. McNAMARA Editorial Page Editor RONALD L. STANLEY Circulation Director yfelD 8E PF 0» I J Footwear: Presidents earn pay > f What's wrong with these trends? Giving politicians more campaign money than they really need ... tends to increase the power of spe­ cial interests at the expense of the general public (and) ... undercut party responsibility, making politi­ cians less accountable. The answer is full disclosure. The public must be told unstinting- ly exactly how much money their elected representatives are getting from which groups and exactly how individual lawmakers vote on various bills affecting those groups. " Only then can the voters know whether their lawmakers are serv­ ing the public or their own pocketbooks. WASHINGTON - President Reagan's decision in the the case of the footwear industry presents as tough a problem as he ever is likely to encounter in the field of international trade. Sound princi­ ple says one thing; prudent politics says another. These are the essential facts. On May 22, the International Trade Commission, by unanimous vote, found that imports of non-rubber footwear are causing "serious in­ jury" to our domestic shoe indus­ try. On June 12, by a vote of 4-1, the commission recommended that quotas be imposed for the next five years. It is npw>up toifhao president to accept, reject. prjnQjfc - ify the ITC proposal. The president finds himself in a bind. Evidence 'was overwhelming in support of the ITC's basic finding. As recently as 1968, our domestic industry employed 233,000 per­ sons; it produced 642 million pairs of shoes; it controlled 79 percent of the U.S. market. In 1968 we im­ ported 15 million pairs from Tai­ wan, 14 million from Spain, fewer than 50,000 from Brazil. Compare last year's figures. By 1964 employment had dropped to 121,000 workers; the domestic in­ dustry last year produced 298 mil­ lion pairs; it held only 28 percent of the U.S. market. Last year we imported 307 million pairs of shoes from Taiwan, 36 million from Spain, 63 million from Brazil. In the past four years, 206 domestic plants have closed their doors, and though these have been offset by some openings, the net result is an unemployment rate of 18 percent. Viewed statistically, the data may not be alarming. In a work force of 106 million, 121,000 shoe­ makers are insignificant. In a gross national product approach­ ing $4 trillion, $4 billion in domes­ tic wholesale shoe sales is a barely visible item. But these are antisep­ tic, sterilized figures containing no hint of human contamination. We are talking of 121,000 human be­ ings, most of them women, most of them employed in small factories in rural communities. On the aver­ age they earn about $14,000 a year. Only 500 plants remain in the Unit­ ed States. These are scattered over 38 states. Maine's 60 plants are typical; they employ an aver­ age of only 283 persons, but these jobs are of vital importance to their towns. £he industry, on this record, has lames J. KMpatrick indeed suffered grievously from imports. The reasons are all too familiar. Our domestic wage rates (about $6.50 an hour) are double those of Spain, six times those of Brazil, almost five times those of Taiwan. The U.S. industry has failed to match the fashionable ap­ peal of shoes from abroad. Though the picture has improved in recent years, many of the closed plants have closed because no infusions of fresh capital and new technol­ ogy could make them profitable. What to do? In principle the an­ swer is easy. The ITC's vice chair­ man, Susan W. Liebeler, spoke the blunt truth in her dissent last Reader Forum month: This is a "dying industry."-' The closing of unprofitable plants should be left to run its course. We, ought not to keep them on life; support through the protectionist' device of quotas. If we believe in . the principle of free trade, we! should not violate that principle. Other considerations: The pro-* posed quotas, which would cut an-! nual imports from 726 million; pairs to 474 million pairs, would'! severely affect our trading part­ ners. The damage would not be! intolerable in Taiwan, which ex*j ports mostly inexpensive shoes'̂ that would be exempted from the* quota, but the recommendation^ would have a devastating impact 1 on Brazil. The shoe Industry ! means $900 million a year to Bra­ zil's economy; 200,000 workers are ; employed in 500 small to medium ; plants. Brazil is struggling desper- ! ately to meet'payments on its debt ; and to get its fiscal house in order. This would be a serious blow. Still other considerations: The ITC's action is what is known as a Section 201 proceeding under the J Trade Act of 1974. Such proceed­ ings offer a safety valve to take, protectionist pressures off Con-', gress. If the ITC's recommenda- ; tions are rejected as to shoewear, ; we can anticipate new waves of * protectionist legislation on Capitol Hill. Protectionist storms already i are raging there. ~; This is a tough one. Compassion- ' ate instincts say yes; domestic po- • litical considerations say yes; butv! concerns of free trade and interna- - tional comity say no. Perhaps a middle course between acceptance and rejection offers a fair answer. ~ Hard cases lead to hard decisions:. This is why presidents get gray. (James KUpatrlck is a columnist* < for Universal Press Syndicate) 'J fj M School tax rate TO the Editor: The article in Tuesday's Herald regarding the intent of School District No. 47 to request a 38-cent increase in assessment, is misleading; You were correct in stating that for an $80,000 house the assessment would increase by about $7.30 per month. However, most of us do not pay our taxes monthly, or at least we do not receive our tax bills monthly. I believe that if the Dist. 47 Board hopes to get public support for this referendum, they had better not manipulate the numbers to make them more palatable. This tactic will backfire on them and they will actually end up with public animosity. The fact is, that a 38 cent increase represents a 15 percent increase from a present $2,547 rate. An $80,000 house assessed at the statutory limit of 33Vh percent would yield $88 per year increased tax via the 38 cent increase. Let the District 47 Board come clear with the tax payers and justify their ̂ need for 15 percent more money. In the past they have not had a good track record in this respect. In the last referendum they asked for over 30 percent. The previous one as I recall they asked for a whopping increase which was subsequently rejected and then were "surprised by a windfall in state aid. This does not give them a great deal of credibility in the eyes of many taxpayers and their numbers will not be accepted at face value. I might support them in their quest, but they are going to have to subject their proposal to some close, hard scrutiny; and if they mislead us in any way, they will find it difficult for us to believe anything they say in the future. Ron Wilson Crystal Lake Key resolution TotheEditor: I would like to thank the person who turned in my set of lost keys to the Crystal Lake Police Department. Write us! Send letters to Reader Forum The Herald# 7803 Pyott Road Crystal Lake IL 60014. Letters must be signed and give the author's ad­ dress and telephone number for the editor's reference.iWe recommend letters of 300 words or less. All let­ ters are subject to editing for clari­ ty and brevity. fl In my haste, I lost my kevs in the$ middle of the street. I never Ehought I would see those keys again. v! All I can say to the person who took ; their time to do a good deed is thank£« you. Margaret Molnar- Crystal Lake ^ i County Board An Open Letter to the McHenry County Board Dear Board Members: I appreciate the difficult decision - facing you concerning the proposed McHenry County Airport. : The funding provided by the FAA and state agencies for airport -- construction would appear to be a h financial windfall for our county. However, that one time infusion of "free" money would carry a terrible price tag. The daily disruption of prime Finland into a concrete eyesore; the destruction of property values, and the probably tax burden for airport maintenance are not worth this gift from Uncle Sam. Don't choose a one time, short- term benefit which causes long-term, irreversible problems! I urge you, in the strongest possible terms, to maintain the peace and dignity of our country life style and vote NO on the proposed airport. The Lau Family II ' ! » J j Mo,