European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 02, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 columns Carl Rowan the stars and stripes monday. December 2, 1985 Short attention Span is one failing of the Media for almost Fol r a tasks i have voiced this criticism of journalism we lieu so crisis oriented tint we appear to have the attention spun of a .1-v car old never was this fault More apparent ill an now u Hen an Orpy of attention to terrorism which will be with us forever has diverted the Media s mention from serious problems thai we americans could do something to remedy. It seems on Ester a that americans were caught up in murage Over killings mailings and other brutalities imposed b a South Africa Minoru that wants to pre serve apartheid. Hut can urn Letl from them Dia now Many people the South Afri can government killed arrested or maimed esterday. Or the Day before no because the american Media and he people have become inured to death in South Africa. This lessening of pres sure from tie United states is Jusi what the Bolha regime has been counting on. Apart Nikii is not the Only aspect of racial injustice thai has become a to hum matter in the amerian press. Do of a Ember the Flo a of stories and cd ids Ilisco Reading lately about the swamp of a War that the soviets Are bogged Down in Afghanistan or anything interesting about the continuing rape of Poland whatever happened to those super Hor Rible scandals about communist spies in inc highest echelons of the West German government and inside America s Cen trial intelligence Agency i find myself asking. Where the hell is the sense of perspective of the journalists who decide what is news what is worthy of an editorial of ing with outrage or a cartoon that reflects the innate decency of the american people know that someone is going to Tell in that newspapers and to news program. Don t have the space and time to cover ill the crises of any Day and hour. So they immerse themselves in terrorism and Nore Many things thai May be of greater personal and National importance. Well 1 say thai ibis is not Good enough for the Best and freest Journault in the world. C news America Send Scalt ending business fax would give Economy a boost it s probably too late to Sal Vage genuine lax Reform from inc confusions of this year. What began by Appeal ing to All to whom simplicity appeals became another Hodgepodge an exception fur John another for june find Don t forget Jim which Means we owe one to Andy which Means. To Heck with it. So very much gets lost in this process of confusion. For instance there is inc Mailer of inc business lax. Any demo cratic polemicist who Ever reused hoi blood a anti business sentiment can do so by a statement like this Standard Oil can deduct ils Champagne but the janitor can l deduct his Pickle. All of which leads of course to the subject of inc diminished contribution corporations arc making to the tax coffers. Before you know it even the Reagan administration is proposing an extra 25 percent increase in corporate  taxes. Why because they will Tell you corporations Are paying Only 8 percent of the tax Burden now which is Only a third of what they used to pay. It sounds very menacing and plutocratic unless you Analyse the figures which Peter Grace of the Grace commission has done from which we learn the following. In i9s4. Corporations paid a tax equal to a Quarter 24.7 percent of their profits. The average american pays in lax a tenth 10.2 Pyrc Cal of his income. When people speak of . Corporations paying Only eight cents out of every lax Dollar icy Lake a few Short culs. They do nol count unemployment insurance lacs. Or Windfall proms taxes. Or. Most important the employer s share of social Security taxes. Nor do they count slate and local business lacs. If you Lake these figures into account you will find thai corporate lacs comprehensively measured amount to just under a third of the Tola lax contrib unions. But even then of her Dula should be Lakin Inlo account. Taxes arc Lakin from profits. And pretax corporate profits As a percentage of Gross National product arc about one third lower now than in 1950. Back then corporation profits came to 11.8 Pyrc Cal of the Gnu today they arc reduced to 7.8 percent. Notwithstanding diminished profits the  of Cor Porac contributions to inc tax local 30 Pyrc Cal has t changed in five years. When one thinks of Standard Oil. One thinks of Nelson Rockefeller. Bui a recent Survey of new York Slock Exchange Stockhold s reveals hat Lac Dian income of households own Slock in companies Lis acc there it .200. And 4 million Stockh Der Nave incomes below jl5,000. On cd Only consider the Slock held by pension funds and insurance companies to Calm any fear Hal Stock holding is an a Panage of inc very Rich. La s a pity that in his search for tax simplification president Reagan has nut followed his own instincts which arc to do away with the business lax yup kill. Thai by inc Way. Would be the Bucsi Way to avoid corporate extravagance. If corporate Champagne is paid for 100 per cent by the Slock holders. Iacre s going to be less Champagne drunk. Of course the principal Benefit would conic from lowering inc Price of manufactured goods and of services. If we arc going to do our Best to compete and to encourage saving and incs Lenl and High employment we should reduce inc overhead of commercial life. A corollary is to reduce Burden on saving. Is the oui standi i Paradox of 1 a. Lax policy thai Allyc go we wish to encourage me Simcal and discourage consumption we give la. Advantages to those who borrow i Marc is deductible and to nil who save i payments arc taxable. So that Nile we Are using fiscal policy in such away Aslo encourage certain kinds of activity we arc in fact encouraging the wrong kind of activity. B k one Hopes president Reagan will be off to a by tier Start on Whai one might Cal Treasury ii. The thirdv8 1 and rising As prudence informs us. A dividend of such. These is the excitement they would ate and hardly an excitement confine Coupon clip pies the corporation that " sell More because its prices arc can employ More. The Ripple Prosperity. The Assumption is Hal 111 politics to come Oul for reduced Bull lacs. There Are those who counsel gop to do it before the democrats Uway with the idea