ustxtxb_obs_1983_09_02_50_00004-00000_000.pdf

Pho to by Russ Ro den criticism, as if they were the cause of the current crisis in education, belies the committee’s inability to address the complex sources of our educational dilemma. While Perot and Co. cannot be accused of sharing the cultural paranoia of U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson, co-author of the Simpson-Mazzoli bill, who said, . . . if language and cultural separatism rise above a certain level, the unity and political stability of the nation will in time be seriously diminished,” neither can they be completely immune to the climate produced by the regressive social policies of the Reagan Administration. “The demands of a metropolitan civilization upon education are far-reaching,” writes education historian Lawrence Cremin. “At the very least, they place added burdens on extant institutions. . . .” Our educational institutions are laboring under huge burdens. H. Ross Perot has helped open what began as a discussion of teacher pay increases and equalized education funding into a wider arena. While the immediate result of this discussion may be no greater than increased teacher and education funds provided by a gasoline tax \(three-quarters of which will by the Select Committee may affect the course of education in the state for years to come. But is the committee up to the task? Is H. Ross Perot able to peek beyond his Puritanical blinders to contemplate the ambiguities of a state in political and social flux? Perot brings to this discussion of education the Calvinist’s emphasis on political will and individual responsibility, as well as a distrust of weakness and a dismissal of the saving properties of doubt. Is the multimillionaire business tycoon, insulated by position and money, able to understand the needs of a complex society and to grapple with problems that cannot be immediately solved? Do -bilingual education and special education have to do with real cultural complications that may not easily compute?G.R. POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE MONEY LEFT OVER from summer vacations? Well, have we got a deal for you! Why not spend a week on a slow boat to Hawaii with Bill Clements and a roster of distinguished businessmen who will be speaking at the 1983 Texas Business Entrepreneurial Conference, to be held at sea Nov. 12-19 aboard the American Hawaii Cruise lirier Independence. Speakers for the conference include John Cater, chairman of the board of Southwest Bancshares; Benjamin Woodson, retired chairman of the board and CEO of the American General Companies; and Jack Martin, publisher of Texas Business magazine. Ports of call will include cities on Oahu, Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii in the Hawaiian Islands. The cost ranges from $1,395 to $2,795 per person, depending on the level of accommodations aboard ship. A $100 tax-deductible contribution to the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation is part of the total price. Here’s what is interesting about this little “conference cruise” : because of a recent IRS ruling, business expense deductions of up to $2,000 are allowed for taxpayers attending educational seminars held on U.S. flagships cruising to American ports. If you work for Texas Oil and Gas Corp., headquartered in Dallas, your boss has another suggestion. In a memo addressed to “all executive and administrative personnel,” Bob F. Young, Texas Oil and Gas chairman, first issued the following warning: While we are a little over a year away from the 1984 national elections, the time to support candidates is much nearer. The elections in 1984 are going to be extremely important to those who have a conservative ideology. There are 32 Senate seats up for election of which about 47 percent are probusiness, both Democratic and Republican. The off-year elections in 1982 should have been a warning to conservatives everywhere against apathy. It’s tragic that too often the silent majority or middle American has to have a crisis before it is motivated to act. This is you and me! The gains that we made in 1980 were all but done away with by the liberal victories in the House elections in 1982. For these reasons we need to be more active than ever in making sure that candidates who are fiscally responsible with probusiness and anti-big government philosophies are elected. In order to encourage contributions to TXO-PAC, the Texas Oil and Gas Corp. political action committee, Young also enclosed a schedule with suggested amounts his employees might consider giving, based upon salary. Someone on a $15,000 annual salary would give a lump-sum contribution of $50 and a monthly payroll deduction of $4. Someone making $50,000 would give a $350-lump-sum contribution and $29 monthly. For a $100,000 annual salary, the lump sum is $1,000 and the monthly deduction, $83. .The Boston Phoenix quotes former UT dean John Silber, currently president of Boston University, on university compliance with the Solomon Amendment, which requires selective service registration for students receiving government loans. Says the Phoenix, 4 SEPTEMBER 2, 1983