ustxtxb_obs_1988_11_11_50_00002-00000_000.pdf

-\\—Adr-NW , FOE ‘ 4.11.1i144: , L III.a1 r:4 :l ’44 21 1-1.11111 7—71 kt i ji /V, ” 400 :’ . rob , THE TEXAS 11P ‘server A JOURNAL OF FREE VOICES We will serve no group or party but will hew hard to the truth as we find it and the right as we see it. We are dedicated to the whole truth, to human values above all interests, to the rights of humankind as the foundation of democracy; we will take orders from none but our own conscience, and never will we overlook or misrepresent the truth to serve the interests of the powerful or cater to the ignoble in the human spirit. Writers are responsible for their own work, but not for anything they have not themselves written, and in publishing them we do not necessarily imply that we agree with them because this is a journal of free voices. SINCE 1954 Publisher: Ronnie Dugger Editor: Dave Denison Associate Editor: Louis Dubose Editorial Intern: Gregg Watkins Calendar: Elisa Lyles Washington Correspondent: Richard Ryan Contributing Writers: Bill Adler, Betty Brink, Warren Burnett, Jo Clifton, John Henry Faulk, Terry FitzPatrick, Gregg Franzwa, Bill Helmer, James Harrington, Amy Johnson, Michael King, Mary Lenz, Dana Loy, Tom McClellan, Greg Moses, Rick Piltz, Gary Pomerantz, John Schwartz, Michael Ventura, Lawrence Walsh Editorial Advisory Board: Frances Barton, Austin; Elroy Bode, Kerrville; Chandler Davidson, Houston; Bob Eckhardt, Washington, D.C.; Sissy Farenthold, Houston; Ruperto Garcia, Austin; John Kenneth Galbraith, Cambridge, Mass.; Lawrence Goodwyn, Durham, N.C.; George Hendrick, Urbana, Ill.; Molly Ivins, Austin; Larry L. King, Washington, D.C.; Maury Maverick, Jr., San Antonio; Willie Morris, Oxford, Miss.; Kaye Northcott, Austin; James Presley, Texarkana; Susan Reid, Austin; Geoffrey Fred Schmidt, Fredericksburg; Robert Sherrill, Tallahassee, Fla. Layout and Design: Layne Jackson Typesetter: Becky Willard Contributing Photographers: Vic Hinterlang, Bill Leissner, Alan Pogue. Contributing Artists: Eric Avery, Tom Ballenger, Richard Bartholomew, Jeff Danziger, Beth Epstein, Dan Hubig, Pat Johnson, Kevin Kreneck, Carlos Lowry, Ben Sargent, Dan Thibodeau, Gail Woods. Managing Publisher: Cliff Olofson Subscription Manager: Stefan Wanstrom Publishing Assistant: Joe Espinosa Jr. Development Consultant: Frances Barton for a three-week interval between issues in January and July \(25 issues per postage paid at Austin, Texas. POSTMASTER: Send form 3579 to P.O. Box 49019, Austin. Texas 78765 SUBSCRIPTIONS: One year $27, two years $48. three years S69. Fulltime students $15 per year. Back issues $3 prepaid. Airmail, foreign, group. and bulk rates on request. Microfilm editions available from University Microfilms Intl., 300 N. Zceb Road. Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Any current subscriber who fords the price a burden should say so at renewal time: no one need forgo reading the Observer simply because of the cost. Address all correspondence to: The Texas Observer. 307 West 7th Street, Austin. Texas 78701. 4-./74…-“tr , Bi-Partisan Deregulation I enjoyed reading your article by Mr. Curtis Lang on “The Sordid History of the S&L Crisis” in Texas \(TO, was well documented and very factual. During the 1980-81 period of deregulation, I was in charge of lending at a major savings association here in Austin. I don’t agree with Mr. Lang’s inference that the situation which currently plagues the S&L industry is a partisan issue. The course for disaster was set many years ago. Deregulation became a period of noregulation. A S&L even today may loan an amount equal to its entire net worth to one borrower or one project. Any one of the empty office buildings on Loop 360 in Austin may very well represent the entire net worth of some S&L which made the loan. Comparing this policy to a FDICthey may only loan a small fraction of their net worth to a single borrower. FSLIC did not have nor do they currently have the ability to monitor the actions of the industry which they are charged with regulating. This situation coupled with the absurd loans to one borrower rule make the entire industry a potential disaster. Major changes in the regulatory environment which surround the industry are desperately needed. The entire S&L industry should be required to return to the arena for which it was created residential lending. Any industry which accepts any government guarantees, as the S&L industry does with the $100,000 insurance of accounts, should operate under very rigid guidelines dictated by the government. I believe that the current debacle in Texas is a microcosm of what may very well be developing in other parts of the country. Stay tuned. Harold Coates Austin Crime Conundrums I appreciate the content of the Texas Observer; it truly is “A Journal of Free Voices” and addresses many issues ignored by practically all other papers in the state. However, much criticism is heaped \(and prisons, and capital punishment. Many valid points are raised on these issues, but other than criticism, I rarely see any suggestions as to what can be done to improve or, in many cases, replace the overloaded and inefficient systems in place. It seems that statistics \(and hold your fire on this because. unfortunately, stats are all stem from letting people out on the streets that should not be out; repeat offenders continue to repeat violent crimes ad infinitum. Now, I expect cries of “They wouldn’t be in jail in the first place if they had a better start as a child!” or some other sociological theory, but the undeniable fact remains that regardless of the causes there are people like that out here and we need relief, folks! All I’m asking for, then, is some suggestion, some ideas that may be implemented to take the place of imprisonment, and we’re talking major crime in this instance. What punishment is appropriate for such “inhuman” behavior as murder, rape, and child molestation? We hear many complaints about overcrowded prisons and jails around the country, particularly Texas, but I’ve yet to hear of any alternative proposals to alleviate the problem. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in life, it’s that society has to have protections from those that would bring it down, and as inefficient as the “system” seems to be, I can’t think of a better way at this time, short of martial law or something similar, and that of course is unthinkable and unacceptable under any conditions. Back to you, sir. R. Bennett Comfort WE PRINT OUR MAIL The Observer welcomes comments from readers. Short letters \(two or three “Dialogue”, The Texas Observer, 307 W. 7th, Austin, TX 78701. CORRECTION In our issue dated October 28, it was incorrectly stated that Supreme Court Associate Justice Ted Z. Robertson had been reprimanded by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct. Justice Robertson, who is the Democratic candidate for the position of Chief Justice, was not reprimanded nor disciplined in any way by the Commission on Judicial Conduct. We regret the untimely error. DIALOGUE 2 NOVEMBER 11, 1988 WIMIIIIMMEAROOM1100.114,100*~Iik No.11~1 11*,,AO. lb. 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