Waterloo Courier (Newspaper) - January 24, 1983, Waterloo, Iowa Monday January 24 1983 Waterloo Iowa 25 cents OPEC fails to resolve oil issues Talks collapse sends stocks plummeting GENEVA Switzerland AP OPEC oil ministers ended an ency meeting Monday after failing to resolve any of the critical issues that may force oil prices down and prolong a worldwide oil glut that has undermined the power It's a complete said Sheik Ahmed Zaki Yamani of Saudi Arabia The collapse of efforts to settle the oil issues sent the stock market plunging The Dow Jones average skidded 26.12 points by 2 p.m to Declines led advances by almost 15 to 1 Yamani said at a news conference that Saudi Arabia would not cut its price from a barrel asserting we will try our best to protect it Yamani predicted that Britain which is not an OPEC member would reduce its oil price by two or three dollars a barrel in a few days The result he said would be to put more pressure on OPEC members to reduce their prices and possibly prompt a significant cut in prices around the world I DON'T SEE a bright future for oil It's a complete Ahmed Ziki Yamani Saudi oil minister We couldn't agree on anything at all Saeed UAE oil minister prices he said predicting that a sharp drop in prices could trigger bankruptcies and disruption in financial markets We couldn't agree on anything at said Mana Saeed of the United Arab Emirates Everyone does what they want However Iran's oil minister Mohammad said he was not displeased with the outcome Saudi Arabia has lost its major role in said This is enough for us The emergency meeting of the nation Organization of Petroleum Ex- porting Countries was convened to seek a compromise on the pricing and production levels in an attempt to support crude oil prices The prevailing OPEC base price is a barrel but some members are under- cutting that price Failure of meeting had left open the possibility that Saudi Arabia leading producer and its sian Gulf allies would carry out previous threats to cut their oil prices unilaterally Such cuts could prompt a downward spiral of oil prices throughout the world Mexico and some other producing countries are fearful of a price-cutting trend which could force them to default on their huge foreign debt and undermine the inter- national financial system Kuwaiti oil minister Ali Khalifa Sabah said that if OPEC members that offer discounts in the base price con- to do so Kuwait definitely will reduce its price and raise production It is only natural to protect our own interest he said Many members have been flouting cartel policy and threatening its unity by exceeding production quotas and cutting prices High court won't allow a limit on Mummers W A AOt Tka Thn If A IT O A i WASHINGTON AP Court Monday refused to let phia limit the number of bands that may strut their stuff in the city's annual New Year's Day Mummers Parade The court without comment left in- tact a ruling the city claims could extend the parade into the evening hours creating serious safety and fic hazards Two bands excluded from recent parades said the city is trying to deny them their First Amendment freedoms of expression and association The 3rd U.S Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last Sept 2 that Philadelphia may limit the length of the parade only if excluded bands are given an adequate alternative forum in terms of the size of the audience and the prestige of an alternate parade Noting that each band selects its music costumes and drill work to ex- press its own artistic conception of a particular theme the appeals court This form of expression is protected by the First Amendment The case was sent back to a federal judge to determine if an adequate alternative exits Without waiting for that re- view city officials sought help from the Supreme Court IN OTHER action Monday the Refused to restrict busing for racial desegregation of Nashville Tenn lic schools The justices left intact a decision blocking desegregation changes that feature less busing and greater racial imbalances in some of the city's schools Decided that in cases charging stock fraud private investors need only prove that it is more likely than not that they were defrauded in order to recover damages under the 1934 ties and Exchange Act Left intact Michigan laws banning adoptions by people who hire a woman to become pregnant and then give them the child after birth The case involved a Detroit area couple who wanted the husband's secretary to act as a rogate mother by having his baby through artificial insemination Refused to consolidate into a class action some lawsuits seeking more than billion from the the Robins Co maker of Shields a contraceptive device not marketed ce 1974 The suits stem from injuries suffered by many women who used the intrauterine devices Agreed to spell out when courts can exclude the public and press from jury selection in capital murder trials Whistling in dark If Gov Terry Brans tad a Republican and the Democratic majority in the Legislature feel they are going to help lowans or the Iowa economy by boosting the state sales tax they are whistling in the dark As partial justification they are inclined to say the tax hike is justified because Iowa sales tax is currently lower than the sales tax col- by a number of other states This is true But what the Iowa politicians fail to mention is that Iowa income taxes are higher than most other states As a result the overall tax burden imposed by this state on its citizens is higher than the median for all 50 states The impact of a one- or two-cent increase in the sales tax may appear small when applied to small purchases After all it would only increase the cost of a pair of shoes by from 50 cents to But much of Iowa's economy is dependent upon the farm equipment industry If you are a farmer considering purchase of a new John Deere tractor or a combine sales tax becomes an important item A increase in the tax on a tractor would increase the cost to the farmer by a two-cent increase would boost the cost by The proposed increase would have a similar adverse impact on the cost of other big-ticket items such as new automobiles another badly depressed section of the economy If the governor and Legislature want to stimulate the economy and create jobs for the unemployed it seems to me they are on the wrong course INCREASING THE cost of most of the goods and services people of Iowa have to buy will certainly do nothing to stimulate consumer spending upon which the economic recovery must ultimately depend The politicians are labeling the proposed tax increase as the solution of last resort But they have jumped to this conclusion less than two weeks after the current session convened without taking the time to examine such as cutting some fat out of the bloated bureaucracy Branstad defends sales tax no By BOB CASE Courier Staff Writer DES MOINES Gov Terry Branstad Monday defended his call for a penny hike in the sales tax in the face of criticism by some Republican lators Branstad at his morning news con- ference said he intends to meet with those members of the Legislature who are concerned about his proposal to boost the sales and use tax from 3 to 4 percent He expressed confidence that once his critics have had a chance to analyze the situation they will agree that he really had no choice in making the Besides he indicated they should go along with what he called a very tight conservative budget Branstad indicated that the tional penny in sales tax will be cient and that he will resist efforts for even higher tax increases He declined to say positively ever that he would veto a to limit the amount of federal income taxes paid lowans can deduct in determining their tax obligation Many De- in the Legislature want to limit federal deductibility to BRANSTAD did say he was opposed to a limitation on deductibility and ex- pressed hope the Legislature would avoid debating the issue knowing my position In an interview with the Waterloo Courier after his election as governor Branstad said he definitely would veto any placing a limit on federal The governor defended his to give the Board of Re- gents authority to sell bonds for the Construction of buildings at the three state universities after being highly critical during the campaign of the million Invest in Iowa bonding proposal of his Democratic opponent Roxanne Conlin He said his is a very limited and he pointed out that he had resisted proposals of the regents for more bonding authority Branstad said what he wants to do is create construction jobs as quickly as possible He said he has made his feelings known to the regents that he will not go along with bonding proposals in the future Still Branstad did not deny that his proposal calls for mortgaging the ture and that he had criticized Mrs for wanting to do that Branstad said it is unrealistic to be- lieve that sufficient savings could be realized to meet severe budget lems by cutting the number of state employees by 10 percent through tion THE SUGGESTION for a reduction in employment through attrition as an alternative to a tax increase had been made by David Stanley president of lowans for Tax Relief Waterloo woman gets Iowa Demo job By BOB CASE Courier Staff Writer Karen Kapler of Waterloo is the new executive director of the Iowa De- Party Ms Kapler who served as campaign manager for 3rd District Democratic congressional candidate Lynn Cutler last year was appointed to the position by Dave Nagle Waterloo attorney who is chairman of the state Democratic Party The appointment was confirmed by members of the party's state central committee at a meeting in Des Moines Saturday Nagle was not available for comment as to the salary she will receive He had said earlier the individual appointed would receive a starting of between and The appointment of Ms Kapler means both parties will now be served by executive directors who were managers for the candidates for the 3rd District congressional seat last year Appointed earlier as executive tor of the state Republican Party was Luke Roth Roth managed the ful campaign for re-election of Rep Cooper Evans briefly 7 killed as car rams fire truck LOS ANGELES AP A car 10 people sped through a red light and slammed into a fire engine in a fiery collision that left seven people dead and nine others injured authorities said There's no evidence of any type of braking prior to said traffic Officer Robert Williamson The accident occurred at p.m Sunday about four miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles Williamson said According to three independent witnesses the 71 Pontiac traveling at a high rate of speed ran through a red light that had been red for a while probably between 10 and 15 seconds and collided with the rear two wheels of the tractor part of the fire he said 19 freight cars spill near Lansing LANSING AP Nineteen cars of a Milwaukee Railroad freight train derailed about three miles south of here Sunday night with some plunging into the Mississippi River Officials of the Iowa Department of Environmental Quality said one of the locomotives went into the river and approximately gallons of diesel fuel spilled into the water Officials said most of the fuel has been contained Fire kills Navy family of four BALLSTON SPA AP Four members of a Navy family were killed Monday in a fire that heavily damaged a home just north of this village in upstate New York authorities said The dead were identified as old John M Erkkilla his wife Nancy 28 and their two children Thomas 3 and Ann Clare 9 months Erkkilla stationed in West Milton with the U.S Navy was found in an upstairs bathroom and his wife was found near the front door with the two children All apparently were victims of smoke inhalation 32 get life terms in Moro slaying ROME AP An Italian jury sentenced 32 people to life in prison Monday in the mass trial of 63 Red Brigades suspects accused of the 1978 kidnapping and murder of former Premier Aldo Moro and other crimes Of the remaining defendants four were found innocent The other 27 were handed sentences ranging from four months to 30 years The prosecution had asked for life sentences for 34 of the defendants The jury of 11 men and one woman handed down the sentences after a week of deliberation Court blocks Texas execution WASHINGTON AP The Supreme Court Monday blocked the scheduled Tuesday execution of con- Texas murderer Thomas Barefoot The justices in a surprise move told Texas authorities to keep Barefoot alive until they use his case to decide how federal courts should handle emergency death penalty peals The court will hear arguments in case April 26 but a final decision might not be announced until July Barefoot was to have become the seventh U.S prison inmate executed since 1967 and only the second person to be executed by lethal injection Charles Brooks Jr was killed by lethal injection in the Texas state prison at Huntsville Dec 7 Barefoot 37 was sentenced to die for the Aug shooting death of police officer Carl Levin Metropolitan and state Northeast Don Shula's Miami Dolphins down the Jets to earn a berth in next Sunday's Super Bowl Page C1 Shula Sketches for a Family a Waterloo Com- munity Playhouse production wins first place in an Iowa festival Page Bl A new Cut Your Own Taxes and begins today with a look at itemizing Page Dl Weather Mostly cloudy on Tuesday with a high in lower 20s Weather details on page A2
