The Economy & American Quality
By: Ben Turrano
The economy is not in the
best shape these days, as
anyone can plainly see.
Everyday we see long
unemployment lines, empty
stores, and fewer people
spending their hard earned
money. Several elected
officials have expressed their
interest and concern for the
welfare of the general public as
well as suggested a multitude
plans to revitalize the economy.
However, they spend most of
their time finding fault with
every other country on earth for
the recession. The recession is
no one’s fault but our own, and
unless we open our eyes to the
obvious and accept the fault, we
cannot even hope to amend the
problem. By blaming the
Japanese for selling too many
cars, televisions, VCR’s,
radios, etc. in America, we are
literally throwing away the
basic economic principle which
this country created some 200
years ago. Does "free
enterprise" sound familiar? We
founded it for ourselves and
exported the ideal all over the
world. Basically, it states that
anyone can sell anything if they
make it good enough and sell it
at a reasonable price.
For example: the automobile
industry; since that is where the
most controversy lies. Some
people say that American cars
are just as reliable as their
Japanese counterparts. Some
might react to that statement
byuncontrollable laughter,
absolute agreement, or even by
pity. Presently, in 1992, with
the new models rolling into
showrooms, this just might be
true, but frankly I don’t know
either way because my car (an
American model) is three years
old. Regretably, if this is true
of the new models it may be too
late.
To better understand the
present situation and what the
future holds for us, we must
first examine the past.
American consumers are not
stupid, in fact the typical
American car buyer is usually
the most conscientious buyer in
the world. In the past few
decades, the American Big
Three (General Motors, Ford,
and Chrysler) have not had the
best track records. In fact,
reoccurring design flaws, poor
workmanship, and less than
satisfactory dealer performance
have become a sadly accepted
norm for American cars.
I present a true story of a
typical middle class American
family: hard working, God
fearing, and strongly patriotic. I
know them, and in fact I work
with a member of this family.
In 1986, they purchased a Buick
Skylark which had ten miles on
the odometer when they parked
it in front of their home. Today
it has approximately 56,000
miles on it, average mileage by
most people’s standards. The
car, almost a member of the
family, was taken care of and
was never involved in an
accident. Yet in those 56,000
miles the third brake light was
replaced several times, four
complete sets of tires were
used, four mufflers were
replaced, four sets of brakes
(front and back) have been
replaced, and this is only the
beginning. Cancer and various
forms of rust can be found all
over the body, the radiator was
replaced several months ago,
and the intake and exhaust
manifold gaskets were also
replaced. If you should be
lucky enough to go for a ride in
this car you’d find that the front
seat-belts don’t work and the
passenger door cannot be
opened from the inside, but
don’t try rolling the window
down to open the door because
it has come off the track several
times and you may not be able
to roll it back up. God forbid
you might actually have to drive
this "car". You would find that
the steering column is loose, in
fact it has already landed in the
lap of its owner while moving.
You might find the driver
controls working if you pick a
good day to try it out. If they
are working, consider yourself
lucky since the entire dash
lighting system was replaced
because it generated intense
heat, such heat that it melted
the plastic cover and the stereo
components also had to be
replaced. The engine itself
seems to be the only part of the
car which hasn’t fallen prey to
quality gremlins, although the
starter was replaced three
times. These are not the only
problems this car has had but
some had to be eliminated for
space and time. The owner
informs me that this menace
will paid off in July and she
reports "I know I will NEVER
buy a G.M. car again!" Do
you blame her?
Are You a Penn Stater?
Jjf Collegian
read
What Dr. King
Would Be Doing
Today
By: Corey Gesford
On January 20th, over 100
people gathered in the
Highacres Commons to
commemorate Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr.’s birthday.
Barbara Reynolds, an editor
for USA Today’s Inquiring
page, was the featured speaker.
Ms. Reynolds strayed from the
usual rhetoric of such Dr. King
presentations, by not dwelling
on what King did, but what he
would be doing today.
'’’All too much is focused on
Dr. King’s ‘I have a dream’
speech," said Reynolds.
"Revisionists try to portray Dr.
King as a benign Rip Van
Winkle sort of man who spent
most of his time dreaming.
Nothing could be further from
the truth."
"We must learn how to live
the dream," continued
Reynolds. "Nothing would
displease King more than to sit
year after year discussing what
he did, without you deciding
what you were going to do!"
Focusing on crime, drugs,
sexual harrassment, the
economy, and last year’s Gulf
War, Reynolds asked why
college students remain so
passive these days. In the 60’s,
students were sitting-in,
protesting, and marching
against such social ills. Citing
"the squeaky wheel gets the
grease", Ms. Reynolds asked,
"Why are you so silent? The
real war is right here at
home...We have to wake up to
politicians who are trying to
turn us against each other with
racial rhetoric and cold words."
In conclusion, Reynolds
urged the audience to pursue
their dreams, but be leary of
"dreambusters" who come in
the form of drugs, alcohol,
pregnancy, other people, and
even yourself. Reynolds then
stated, "After you have reached
your mountaintop and achieved
your dreams, come back down
to the valley to help those who
are not as fortunate." CSotnt. Tjg 6
Semi-Formal: It’s
Almost Here
ByiErin Route Sc Nancy Costa
Pull out your charm, dust
off your smile, and pucker up
and hope they fall for the act.
Because ladies and gentleman,
there are now exactly fourteen
days ’till the social event of the
season. THE SPRING
SEMI-FORMAL! And you
poor souls thought you left all
the anxiety of proms back in
high school- you were wrong!
Let the countdown begin, the
race is on!
Searching for a date is never
fun. That’s what we’re here
for. To preserve your sanity
and give you some ideas. So
take heed, buck up, and pay
attention. There’s not a minute
to waste.
If you’re lucky enough to
have a girlfriend/boyfriend read
no further. For those of you
who aren’t that lucky, here we
go-
Going stag is always a
popular option. Without the
hassle of a date, you can choose
from a multitude of dancing
partners, not have to worry
about being late, and not worry
about purchasing flowers. Just
make sure you attend with a
bunch of stag folk. The more,
the merrier.
For those who are hell-bent
on finding a date; your first
option is attend with a friend.
Although the night probably
won’t be full of romance, you
can still have a good time.
For those whose friends all
have dates there’s always-
Egads!- The relative option. If
you plan to go with blood make
sure it’s someone you can trust.
You don’t want the story of
how you stuck peas up your
nose as a child to be brought up
over dinner conversation.
Yet another option is to
attend with the person who’s
been dying to go with you, but
you’d rather die than go with.
But what kind of an option is
that? If you must, give it serious
thought. You want this night to
be memorable because you had
fun, not because you had
homicide on your mind the
entire time.
We almost forgot. If are left
with no other choice or none of
these options work out, and you
still really want to go, you
could be escorted by a blind
date. Be careful! Although
your friends mean well, their
idea of the perfect date just
might not cut it.
We’ve done all that we can
to ease the burden of the hectic
marathon. So synchronize your
watches! You now have
thirteen days, twenty-three
hours...
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