ustxtxb_obs_1976_09_17_50_00015-00000_000.pdf

BOOKS kustin, Texas 7871111 217 So: Lamar Austin, Texas Lunches & A la carte The food, like the music, isn’t canned. It’s traditional with a freshness that makes it country and wholesome. Feed your belly and your soul. Entertainment Nightly No Cover Kenneth Threadgill Musica Conjunto Marcia Ball Alvin Crow Doc Jones Butch Hancock Joe Ely “Home of Texas Traditional Music” September 17, 1976 15 How’s that, Governor? Austin In a speech he made to oilmen last su,mmer, Governor Briscoe expressed more clearly than he has before his philosophy that government should do nothing for the good of anybody except not tax anybody. With neither smile nor a sense of the ludicrous, he said, “The necessity of fiscal responsibility in all levels of government is second only to world peace in our survival.” He doubted that even the colleges and universities should get the money they do. Higher education, producing graduates who can’t get jobs, “is breaking the state, and it’s not only a waste of money but a waste of human resources.” The state employs 135,000 people, one out of every six workers in Texas, and this, the governor said, is “sapping our resources and turning us into one huge bureaucracy.” Underlying all his other attitudes was this Briscoeism: “Government does not have the power, wisdom, or resources to solve problems.” There it is: the abuse of the government that has choked public discourse since Watergate. The implications for the people are stark. Take just one example, the million-dollar study of functional incompetency conducted by a research team at the University of Texas. According to the team’s 1976 report, “Adult Functional Competency in Texas,” about 20 percent of the adult citizens of Texas “are functionally incompetent or function with difficulty” and an additional third are “merely functional and not proficient in coping with everyday tasks.” About 30 percent of the people between 18 and 65 years in Texas are functionally incompetent about consumer economics, and 28 percent are functionally incompetent about government and law. “Because of inadequate or inappropriate schooling, low incomes, limited job opportunities, and possibly language difficulties,” the study said, “about two-thirds of adults in Texas with Spanish surnames and onehalf of the black population are estimated to be functionally incompetent. One-fifth of the white population also performs inadequately. . . .” Observations The areas measured were competency in government and law, community resources, health, occupational knowledge, consumer economics, skills, and demographic variables. Going by Briscoe’s law, what do we do to help reduce functional incompetence among the citizens? Well, we rely on the corporations to do it, or the churches, or charity. But a question for Briscoe. If “government does not have the power, wisdom, or resources to solve problems,” why does he bother being governor? To reduce functional incompetence among the citizens, we’re going to have to reduce functional incompetence among the politicians. Business ed You won’t believe it, but I swear it’s true: the president of Brown & Root, Foster Parker of Houston, has urged the University of Texas’ College of Business Administration to offer a comprehensive course on the private enterprise system particularly for students majoring in journalism, education, and arts and sciences. “In establishing such a course,” Parker said, according to the UT Development Newsletter, “you could count on virtually unlimited help from the business community in subject material, guest lecturers, movie and other visual aids.” The Brown & Root president also suggested a three-to-four week course on the American business system for educators, reporters, and writers. “Business generally feels that it is badly treated by the media, that covefage is inadequate and what there is almost invariably carries an anti-business tone,” he said. “An entire generation is growing into adulthood with grossly distorted views of profit margins, Personal Service Quality Insurance’ ALICE ANDERSON AGENCY INSURANCE & REAL ESTATE 808A E. 46th, Austin, Texas 459-6577 you’ll be tickled about the ribs. Mon.-Fri. 11:00-7:30 Sat. 12:00-4:00 The Outpost Barbecue Printers Stationers Mailers Typesetters High Speed Web Offset Publication Press Complete Computer Data Processing Services Counseling Designing Copy Writing Editing Journals Magazines Newspapers Books The Only 100% Union Shop in Texas! FIJI-URA 512 / 442-7836 Box 3485 1714 S. Congress Austin, Tx 78764