Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.issues From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: issues Mon, Mar 2 1992 Date: Mon, 2 Mar 92 05:57:42 EST Message-ID: 03-02 0000 DECISIONLINE: Issues & Debate USA TODAY Update March 2, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network Here are some of the issues and topics being debated across the nation Monday morning in USA TODAY: Taxes; Soviets; Campaigns. TODAY'S DEBATE - CAPITAL GAINS: USA TODAY'S OPINION: One idea should be salvaged from the wreckage of Republican and Democratic tax bills rumbling through Congress - indexing capital gains for inflation. Among the big winners: small investors whose only assets may be a house or a few shares of stock. ... You shouldn't be taxed on money you haven't made. Indexing would correct that inequity. ... You shouldn't be penalized for behaving responsibly. ... Eliminating the discouragement of an inflation tax would encourage long-term investment. ... Legislators should plan for the gloomiest, costliest tab and pay it with a higher income-tax rate on the wealthiest. ... Indexing capital gains is a step toward tax fairness. OTHER VIEW: REP. DICK ARMEY, R-Texas, an economist and the senior Republican member of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress: Indexing capital gains is a good idea, but to have a truly strong impact on private investment and, consequently, employment, the 28% capital-gains tax rate must also come down. ... Americans are criticized for being too "consumer oriented," for buying now rather than saving and investing for the future. But this is a rational response to the incentive structure of our present tax code. ... The optimum capital-gains rate is zero. ... The least we can do is bring our rate down to make our economy more competitive with nations like Japan and Germany, somewhere between 5% and 15%. VOICES ACROSS THE NATION ON PEOPLE OF THE FORMER SOVIET UNION: CONCORD, Calif., Yolanda Adams, 26, rehabilitation aide: I sympathize with them economically. I don't fear them, but I am suspicious. I consider them somewhat the enemy, and they see us as the enemy. One reason they're more in tune with the USA is they're trying to find our weaknesses. They'll use that to their advantage. YORKTOWN, Ind., Earl Lautzenheiser,72, retired: I'm very happy that things have gone the way they have with the new leaders they've got in there. I look at things very positively now as far as our relationship with Russia is concerned. One thing that had a great deal to do with our improved relations was the gulf war. ARCANUM, Ohio, Carey Payne, 18, high school senior: They have become more like individuals and are speaking their piece, letting the government know how they feel and what they believe in. That will make a difference. I more or less stereotyped them before. WEST MELBOURNE, Fla., Curt Virgin, 35, auto mechanic: I think they've turned around and realized that there are a lot of rights they can have that are like ours. We should be able to get to the point where we believe in the same things and we can work together. FORT PAYNE, Ala., Rosalie Shipp,49, teacher: I sympathize with them. I never held anything against the Soviet people; it was their government and communism I disagreed with. The people are in a situation that the government put them into, and it's the government's responsibility to get them out. It's unfortunate. TOPIC - RACIAL CAMPAIGN ISSUES: Walter Williams is an economist at George Mason University in Virginia. Williams was interviewed by USA TODAY's Judy Keen about racial preferences and how that issue might play in the South. WHAT'S AT STAKE WHEN THE REPUBLICANS TALK ABOUT RACIAL QUOTAS? (GOP challenger) Pat Buchanan is trying to win political points in a neighborhood of our country that's perhaps strongly against racial quotas. The South has had a long history of racial problems, and maybe it sells very well there. Putting the quota tag on (President) Bush seems to be his strategy. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION AND QUOTAS? Most Americans would support what was called affirmative action back in the '60s, programs where efforts were made by companies and colleges to go outside the mainstream in their recruiting, for example. They did this to recognize that in our history, blacks had been kept out of a lot of things. Most Americans can support this. But that's an entirely different thing from having hard and fast racial quotas - hiring people according to their numbers in society. IS THE QUOTA DEBATE THE USE OF CODE WORDS TO STIR UP SENSITIVITIES? People can exploit it, but quotas are a real issue and they need to be debated. Issues & Debate Editor: Beth Mann. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM