The Mail-Journal, Volume 20, Number 5, Milford, Kosciusko County, 16 February 1983 — Page 4

THE MAIL-JOURNAL—Wed., February 16,1683 *

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Editorials

And then there was one — Last week we offered our support to the several Wawasee High School students participating in regional, semi-state and state events on Saturday. We would be remiss if we did not offer continued support to Mike Hernandez, a third-place finisher in the semi-state wrestling competition at Fort Wayne North Side High School. Wrestling at 132 pounds, Mike will represent WHS in the state meet at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis this week end. Hernandez defeated Dean Branstetter of South Adams 10-6 in his opening match, then lost a close 6-5 match to Jeff Miller of Northridge before winning the consolation match against Mark Toarmina of Leo 12-10 for the third place finish and the right to compete at Indianapolis. With the loss to Culver Girls’ Academy, the girls’ basketball team’s season came to an end and losses by other WHS wrestlers ended their season as well. We are, however, proud of all these athletes for the way they represented their school. Congratulation also go to the WHS musicians who competed in the state music contest at Indianapolis on Saturday. And, to the WHS swimmers who finished second in the Northern Lakes Conference swimming competition. Considering Goshen’s swimming record the past several seasons, second place is outstanding. February dates Few months are as filled with as many memorable dates as February. Washington’s birthday is remembered on Monday the 21st instead of the 22nd, the date of his birth in 1732. On the 23rd, in 1847, General Zachary Taylor defeated a larger force of Mexicans at Buena Vista, forcing Santa Anna to retreat southward, thus helped to win the Mexican War. (General Winfield Scott was simultaneously advancing with an army near Mexico City.) Chester Nimitz, the great naval commander-in-chief of the Pacific fleet in the Second World War, was born on the 24th in 1885, at Fredericksbury, Texas, a German-American settlement. William F. Cody was born on the 26th in 1846, in Scott County, lowa. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born on the 27th in Portland, Maine. Ann Lee, founder of the Shakers in America, was born on the 29th, in 1736, in England. George Washington In modern times when old virtues such as duty, patriotism and service to one’s country meet with a certain cynicism, it’s good to remember the birthday of George Washington — “first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” Washington was born February 22,1732, in Westmoreland County, Va., one of five children of a family which had for three generations lived in America. Because his father, a well-to-do planter, died when he was 12, he was not sent to England like his older brothers for an education. He became a surveyor and took his place in the militia when his brother became ill. As a major, he was sent on two expeditions against the French, and on the second he was defeated. On a third, led by General Braddock, the British and Americans were again defeated. From this start, Washington rose to become the commander in later years of American forces in a successful, long, hard-fought revolution against Britain. He then became the nation’s first president. For 15 years, seven in war and eight as president, Washington founded and guided a new nation to manhood and, as the father of the country, bequeathed a precious heritage to all of us. Who runs the country? A hundred years ago presidents and other high officials made political speeches and public pronouncements and citizens read these messages in newspapers all over the country. That set the tone, and identified the issues, in US society. Today few read the president’s speeches. They see the president and top officials on television from time to time. But what influences the majority most is the daily television news report. That’s all some people today have time for — — this speeded up modern-day world. Newspapers are still, by far, the best source of news; the better informed depend on them. They are, in fact, the only source for complete news. The masses’ utilization of moving, color news on the tube is an easy out, in effect. This allows those controlling evening news programs to influence public opinion easily (and to mislead very easily). For very limited film coverage lends itself to selection, slanting, over-emphasis of the dramatic, of protest, of action, color, etc. The clever and the organized take advantage of this susceptibility. The networks get “to the masses in moving, color daily. Their news “interpreters” decide what to play, whether to belittle this or that statement, and, in general, tell the American people the way things are as they see it, not as the elected government sees it. The commercial networks today are so effective at influencing public opinion in this way they can hound a president out of office, convince the public a president is inept, elect a president with great communicator-talent, etc. Public opinion in a democracy, in the end, determines events. And today the news reports of the networks are the greatest single factor in controlling public opinion. The concern about this is that there are only three major networks, all headquartered in New York. 1 They are not responsible to the people. Newspapers, because they print a permanent record, can be called to account. Networks slant the news in such sophisticated and complex ways they can’t be called to account. They can mislead the public when they set about it — and, one might say — run the country, in the long run.

What others say —

Going for a record f ■ „ The fad these days seems to be dreaming up new ways to get your name in a world record book. Perhaps this yen to succeed is symptomatic of our times of v tensions and our efforts to find relief. However, one must admit that while these attempts for a new record sometimes seem silly, they do provide a challenge with the chuckle. folks in Belleglade, Fla. who want to get name of their farming community into the record books. If all goes according to plan, the community will cabbage onto a new world record for the world’s largest tossed salad come April. The attempt is really quite logical since the ingredients of the salad are prevalent in that area. The megasalad will be prepared from lettuce, radishes and celery at harvest time. In fact, the farming town is so proud of its produce that it is inviting everyone to share in a heaping mouthful of the salad. — DANVILLE GAZETTE

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Good luck wishes go with Mike Hernandez as he represents Wawasee High School in the state wrestling meet this week end in Indianapolis.

Unsung hero —

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Joe Hughes has been a fireman for 32 years

Joe Hughes, 53, has been a Syracuse fireman for close to 32 years and has held such offices as fire chief, first assistant, second assistant and secretarytreasurer within the last 10 years. In addition to serving the fire department for 32 years he has been on the emergency medical service for 25 years. Hughes was awarded the fireman of the year award in 1967 when he saved a girl’s leg in a boating accident at the old Fish Hatchery at Wawasee Lake on July 4. When he joined the fire department it was because they needed assistance and not enough people volunteered for the department. During those years as a fireman he remembers a Christmas Day fire in 1953 or 1954 when two persons died in a house fire on Dewart Lake. “There’s been so many more I remember,’’ remarked Hughes. “You can’t really like being a fireman,’’ stated Hughes when asked what he liked about being a firemen. He added, “I’d say helping people in dyer need that’s what you are there for. When I joined we only had two trucks and a 1938 Buick for a first aid wagon.”

JOE HUGHES

His hobbies include playing solitaire, which he does almost every morning at the fire station. Hughes owns Hughes Digging Service, Syracuse. For the past 34 years he has been married to Ethel Hughes and they have three children, Brenda Daugherty, Syracuse; Peggy Schuldt, Wabash; and Kirk, Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Hughes have two granddaughters and one grandson. THE MAIL JOURNAL IUSPS 325 840) Published by The Mail Journal every Wednesday and entered as Second Class matter at the Post OHice at Syracuse. Indiana 44547 Second class postage paid at 103 E Main Street. Syracuse. Indiana 44567 and at additional entry oHices. Subscription: 513 per year in Kosciusko County, SIS outside county POSTMASTERS: Send change of address forms to The Mail Journal. P O Box 1(8, Milford, Indiana 46542 10l o

"CBUZIN AROUND 'CUSE"

(EDITOR'S NOTE Jamas E Coskey is preside at tha State Bank of Syracuse. a position he has hekf for the past seven years, and is a native Syracusion He is a member of the Syrocuse-Wowasee Chamber of Commerce, the Syracuse- Wawasee Rotary Club, and the Saint Andrew's United Methodist Church.) I WISH to express my appreciation to Arch for the opportunity to reach his many readers who will lose the use of 10 per cent of their earned interest unless they express their concern to the Federal government — and soon. Last summer, when Congress enacted new tax legislation, most of the attention was focused on the fact that this was the first election-year tax increase in history. In the ensuing months, however, the public has begun to take a look at some of the provisions Congress put into that law — provisions that affect them directly. Perhaps the real 'sleeping giant” of the tax bill is its provision that requires banks and other financial institutions to begin withholding 10 per cent of interest and dividend payments next July 1. How will it affect you as an individual? Let's say that you are due a 1200 interest payment in July and you plan to leave it in your bank to compound and make money for you. Under the plan, you will have the use of only SIBO of your interest payment. The other 10 per cent. S2O. will be withheld for the Internal Revenue Service. You will have lower earnings to build on. In fact, it is estimated that the public will lose at least $1.5 billion because of lost compounding and dividend reinvestment opportunities. Because of this loss of income, most people who save and invest will be punished for saving. What we have here is a disincentive for saving and investment. The government says that its purpose in raiding your savings is to crack down on tax cheaters. Let's look at the facts. Since 1962. federal law has required banks, other financial institutions and corporations to report to the IRS records of interest and dividends paid to the public. At the end of the year, the public receives from the paying institution a copy of these reports, called 1099 forms. The public is required by law to report and pay taxes on this “1099” income when they file their taxes at the end of the year. To ensure compliance, the IRS generally matches the 1099 forms provided by institutions against individual tax returns. The IRS reports a 96.7 per cent compliance rate. However, because 1099 reports have not been required for all payments of dividends and interest, total taxpayer compliance on all forms of interest and dividend income has been less than 96.7 per cent ; specifically, according to the IRS, it has been around 85 per cent. That is because 1099 reporting has not been required for treasury bills and bonds, jumbo certificates of deposit (SIOO,OOO denominations and up) and other types of bonds and certificates which have not been subject to registration requirements. Under separate provisions of the proposed law, virtually all forms of interest and dividends must be reported by paying institutions to the IRS, thus eliminating these potential avenues of tax evasion. We support this provision. It would be far more usefid in improving compliance than withholding 10 per cent of interest payments, which penalizes millions of taxpayers. If one is only concerned about cracking down on tax cheats, then withholding represents major overkill. If the IRS is failing to adequately match 1099's with individual tax returns, the burden is on them to remedy the system, rather than on the public to forfeit “up front” 10 per cent of this income, Furthermore, the IRS also says that about 75 per cent of individual tax returns end up with refunds. If most people pay their taxes and if most returns end up with refunds, why is the IRS after part of your savings? It is going to all this trouble — and imposing trouble and cost on you — so that the government can use the money in 1983. Most of it will be returned to the taxpayers the following year and, in the long run. the plan will do nothing to solve the government’s financial problems. The plan, however, will give the government an interestfree loan from you. There are more than financial consider ations at stake here, however.

No extended deadline for PIK

Secretary of agriculture, John R. Block, says the Reagan administration has endorsed a proposed change in the law concerning the tax treatment of payments-in-kind made to farmers under a production and stock reduction program announced last month. Under the proposed legislative change, payments-in-kind received by producers under the new PIK program would be treated for tax purposes in the same manner as actual production. This means that taxable income would not be reported until the farmer sold the PIK commodities. “The Treasury Department has endorsed the change, and legislation has already been introduced,” Block said. “We are confident that the Congress will move quickly so farmers will know how the payments will be treated before the sign-up period for the PIK program closes on March 11.” Without the change, a payment-in-kind would be treated as income at the time the farmer has a right to receive it, regardless, of when the commodities were actually sold by the farmer. Block said this could

The implication is that we the people cannot be trusted by the government that we put in power. What we are seeing here is the federal government giving with one hand and taking away with the other. On the same day the government reaches into your savings account, it plans to cut taxes by 10 per cent. If you are a saver, you are financing your own tax cut. Furthermore, the plan represents yet another example of unnecessary intrusion into our lives. The new law allows some exemptions from the withholding protision. People who are under 65 and have a tax liability of S6OO (SI,OOO on a joint return), may apply for an exemption from withholding. Filing for exemptions will be the sole responsibility of the consumer and not that of the financial institution. To qualify for an exemption, people have to go to the banks and give a bank employee a form on which they have sworn that their tax liability for the previous year was less than the ceiling amounts. This raises a serious privacy question. How would you like your bank teller, who may be your neighbor or a member of your church, to see how much tax you pay? In addition, you will have to file an exemption form for each account. A closer look at the bill's provisions shows that, even if senior citizens are “exempt.” they are nonetheless directly affected by the 10 per cent withholding law. Should a senior citizen fail to file the exemption forms, either because they didn't know they had to or because they were physically unable to do so, then 10 per cent of their interest and dividend earnings would be withheld. This raises serious implications. Not only would these senior citizens lose 10 per cent of their interest and dividend income each month — money that might otherwise go to pay for food, housing and medical bills — but they would have to file a tax return to get their 10 per cent withholding back from the government. In other words, millions of peope who have been outside the tax system for years might suddenly find themselves back in the thick of it — ail to receive money that they were entitled to all along. The “low income” exemption might affect people out of work also. For example, the Treasury Department estimates that a family of four with an income of SIO,OOO or less would be exempt from 10 per cent withholding. That certainly seems fair. But the “low income'* exemption won't even apply to a number of people who are out of work. That's because many unemployed people will have a much higher tax liability than S6OO on a single return or SI,OOO on a joint return. To declare tax liability limits, people have to use the previous year’s return —a tax return when they may have been working. So they will not be eligible for the low-income exemption. This is especially unfortunate when you consider that unemployed people are often forced to fall back on their savings — money that they have been carefully putting away for their children’s education or their own retirement. Many unemployed people are now living from month to month on the interest these funds produce. Starting next July 1, if they do not meet the exemption standards, their interest income will be reduced by 10 per cent. This is money that is essential for a family to help them survive these rough times. Besides the enormous expense to taxpayers in the loss of interest compounded and the privacy issue for those who qualify for exemptions, the whole principle behind withholding on interest and dividends is an insult. The most constructive course to take is to write our Congressional representatives now, urging them to repeal this law before it becomes effective July 1.1983. If there is a strong national protest from the people back home, our Congressmen and Senators will have no choice but to repeal this bad law. Tell them in clear, unequivocal language that honest taxpayers should not be required to give up some of their earnings on interest and dividends because the government is unwilling or unable to find the few who cheat. The State Bank of Syracuse has prepared messages addressed to our Congressional representatives which are ready for your signature. Stop in at any of our three locations and add your vote for repeal of this unfair withholding tax. The government wants a piece of our savings. Instead let’s give Congress a piece of our mind!

mean a farmer would owe taxes on a payment-in-kind even though there had been no sale and no cash income to pay the taxes. “The payments-in-kind under the PIK program will be a partial substitute for the commodities that would have been produced on land diverted from production. So, we think it’s only fair that the timing of taxes on PIK commodities be adjusted to coincide with when the producer has income from their disposition.” Block stated. Block encouraged farmers to sign up early, noting that contracts can be revised or withdrawn through March 11, the final date to sign up. He said the contract does not become effective and binding until after the deadline. Thus, farmers are urged to sign up early to avoid overloading local offices during the final days. Set Deadline Phil Braman, county director of the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, noted farmers have only a few weeks left to sign up for the payment-in-kind program. The sign up period ends March 11 and will not be extended. “Farmers will not have the

oportunity to change their mind and sign up after this deadline. However, those who have already enrolled and those who enroll before March 11 will have the option of withdrawing or changing their enrollment without penalty provided it is done before enrollment ends,” Braman said. All farmers for whom a 1983 acreage base and yield has been established for wheat and feed grain under the previously announced farm programs are eligible to participate in PIK. Charged with DWI in Elkhart County James L. Coplin, 22, r 5 Syracuse, was charged with driving while intoxicated and a 17-year-old teenager, a passenger, was released to a brother after being charged with illegal consumption of an alcoholic beverage. Coplin and the teenager were taken into custody by Goshen City police after Coplin’s car became stuck on the railroad tracks at Nine and Madison Streets in Goshen around 11:39 pm. Friday, Feb. 11.