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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1981-08-13, Page 4Page 4 Citizens News August 12, 1981 The three-man task force studying the causes of inflation has grown to forty-seven! 7.1snien11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111H11111111 mill11111H illiiiilliiiiiiiiiiiiii millimmimmuHI111111111111111111111111imMilmil111111111111n11111H11111111_ Niewpoint • E f111111111111111J11111�IH���11111�Ii11111111111n1111111111111111H1�1�1����11������������H�l���llllllllllllllll 11111 lllllt1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111e� Reagan's moves win approval One of those rare politicians who actually delivers what he promises. That seems to be Presi- dent Ronald Reagan of the United States. He promised to cut taxes; he cut them. He promised to cut federal spending; he cut it. He promised to stand up to any illegal strike by the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Associa- tion, and he is standing very tough indeed. "They took an oath in writing that they would not strike. It's not a case of firing: they quit," he told the na- tion. When asked by a reporter if he might not have taken less stringent initial action, he asked, "What lesser action can there be? The law is very explicit. They are violating the law." The Government also moved through the courts. Fines which will mount to $3.4 -million a day were levied against the controllers' association, its $3.5 -million strike fund was frozen so that strike benefits could not be paid, and courts have begun to impose fines and jail sentences upon strike leaders. The strike has already interfered with the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of Americans, cost airlines millions of dollars and could, if it were extended, cost the troubled U.S. economy $250 - million a day. Not surprisingly, public support is overwhelmingly on the side of the President. The deputy presidential secretary reported 3,258 telephone calls and telegrams supporting the Presi- dent and 151 opposing him. Mr. Reagan is taking risks. If a great many of the controllers remain on strike, fired in such a way that they cannot be rehired, it could be a year before air service is fully restored.It is a price the American people seem willing to pay. It is a price we suspect the Canadian people would be willing to pay. Globe and Mail Published Each Wednesday By J.W. Eby Publications Ltd. Member: Canadian Weekly Newspapers Assocts lion Aw/ar,o Weekly News Editor Rob Chester Second Class Mail Registration Number 1385 Subscription Rates: 58.50 per year in advance in Canada $19.50 per year outside Canada Newspapers Ase cietlon Single copies 25a By ROB CHESTER I mentioned a few weeks ago in this column that I thought newspaper reporters should be the first section of society to be cloned. This week I would like to suggest that newspaper reporters should also form a union. On the surface this sounds like a good idea. We could go on strike for unreasonable demands and, if we didn't get what we wanted first time, we'd simp-' ly go on strike as many times as necessary. Like certain postal unions which will remain unnamed, we could bitch about poor working con- ditions and automation (The coke machine is about the most intelligent machine we get to meet while reporting.) and always go back to work with more money. I.E. Make it look like we have only the strongest moral reasons to be out on strike but always settle for more money which is what we wanted in the first place. On the surface, this seems like another of those hairbrained schemes. But I believe the country would be .crippled without its newspapers. When all the new air traffic controllers are on the job (You must realize they are not on strike. Technically and in the eyes of the Reagan ad- ministration they quit, were fired and have been doublk terminated.) Who will fly if they have to face a long boring flight with out a newspaper to read'? And like our own air traffic controllers, our newspaper cronies, er....ah... union brothers in the States, will stop sending news to the dangerous news bereft regions of Canada. Or just begin sending the wrong news, or news that is wrong. No politician could make a public statement. There are two tactics here: the politician calls a news conference and no one shows, or everybody comes and reports exactly what he says. Most would then be shown to be the fools they really are. (And you thought I was going to say the news men would misquote them. Well, the old newspaper adage I like is: You stop spreading those lies about us, and we'll stop printing the truth about you. ) We would definitely have the sympathy of the press - which is something postal unions and few politicians ever have. Well it seems the wild parties from the beaches of St. Joseph have become mobile - with hot rodders terrorizing the sidewalks on late Zurich evenings. You'll notice I said terrorizing the sidewalks, since it is only cement that is awake to watch the goings on. It seems silly to show off when no one is watching. What I like about getting drunk with my friends is that I don't have to do anything silly or dangerous to show off. They know me and I don't have to prove myself everyday. But I guess some of the gangsters in the area like to show off to the concrete. They have an af- finity for it. That's probably what they have between their ears. 4 * * The royal wedding seems to have masked a tremendous poverty problem in Great Britain. While recent rioting has been blamed on everything from punk -rockers to race relations, the underlying reasons are more likely based on economics.' There always has been a wide gulf between the upper class and the lower (in this case) unemployed classes. A lengthy period of a poor economy has accen- tuated the problem and the poor are now becoming militant. I'm not sure of the psychology, but I guess when you get poor enough and mad enough - there's not much more left to lose. An article in the Globe and Mail tells of one British family's wedding day battle with cockroaches. While umpteen million is spent on a state wedding.