Inflation Blues

To the Editors:

Jimmy Carter hasn't been a great President, but let's not blame the nation's inflation problems [March 24] entirely on him. He's only been on the job three years. Some of the members of Congress have been there 20 years or more and have had ample time to lead us away from the road to financial destruction we seem to be traveling.

Colleen Longardner Antwerp, Ohio

Only when elected officialdom finds the courage to say no to special-interest lobbyists will we stand a chance of reducing malignant inflation.

Ray Swanson Monument, Colo.

Now that the prime lending rate has reached a level that a Mafia loan shark wouldn't have charged ten years ago, President Carter is trying to fight inflation by forcing the poor to show "restraint" and stop wasting money on luxuries like food, clothing and shelter. It won't work simply because you can't squeeze blood out of a stone.

Robert Yaes St. John's, Nfld.

Belt tightening alone will not do. Prices do not level effectively if the available goods and services disappear faster than the available cash. A reduced budget does not mean a balanced budget if the tax base is severely eroded by bankruptcies and unemployment.

Sheldon Chang Belle Terre, N. Y.

I've spent a lifetime listening to another generation tell us all how tough it was during the Great Depression. Sadly, I may have found my "Top that!" in the Great Inflation of the '70s and '80s. The things that saw families through the Great Depression were hope and the promise of a better tomorrow. What have we to use as tools to see us through the Great Inflation of today? I can only promise my children they will have less.

D. Kent Lloyd Gladstone, Ore.

Election Blues

Having through negligence or providence reached the age of 38 without ever having seen a Ronald Reagan movie, my dearest wish now is to reach the age of 39 without seeing a Reagan presidency.

David Helsdon Doha, Qatar

Hurrah for the U.S. elections! Imagine any other country that would take off one year every four and launch the world's biggest and most costly circus with a cast of more than 200 million that entertains the rest of us for free.

We get closeups of the washing of your dirty linen in the public square; you teach us how to "whip someone's ass"; million-dollar Hollywood stars fall over each other to entertain us; we get the intimate life story of all your candidates, etc. Just imagine how boring it would be if you did the whole thing in less than three weeks. May it never happen.

Theodor Funch-Thomsen Montevideo, Uruguay

Age-Old Attitudes

TIME'S Essay "Looking Askance at Ageism" [March 24] reminds me of a delightful old fellow from Atlanta I met some years back. The future-minded gentleman, then 93, told me he had just purchased a large amount of acreage. When I asked what his plans were, he replied, "Well, I think I'll hold on to it for a few years, then develop it."

June Lee Humphrey Lake Toxaway, N.C.

If only more people could meet my grandmother, who at 83 will walk to the grocery store and back in sweltering heat and bake dessert for 100 members of her Lithuanian club, while my high school classmates are complaining about having to park their Camaros at the far end of their parking lot. I only hope that I'll have half her energy when I'm 30.

Donna Ragland Miami Shores, Fla.

Your list of elderly notables indicates that society does respect talent and industry regardless of age. Would you also ask us to respect the elderly merely for being old?

Cathryn Nunlist Providence

Prayers in School

As a Christian, I cannot understand the desire of other Christians to mandate prayer in the classroom [March 24]. According to Matthew 6: 6, Jesus said, "But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret." Teaching our children to pray out loud in school is teaching them a contradiction to our faith. To pray in silence throughout the day is more consistent with Christian teachings.

Judith A. Babcock State College, Pa.

Prayer in public schools should be forbidden. Last year I attended fifth grade in Georgia and my teacher not only invited us to share a prayer, but read us a story from a book called Little Talks with God. Being an agnostic, I left the room during those stories. Word got around, and I had several offers to be "saved." I emerged from the whole experience shaken and discouraged.

Beth Lucht Des Moines

A country whose motto is "In God We Trust" and that believes in freedom of religion but doesn't even allow voluntary prayer in public schools is hypocritical in its values. It is just another example of the bad element that is influencing this nation.

Darren Fortunato New York City

Mining the Moon

To protest that the moon treaty [March 24] amounts to a "wholesale give-away of access to vital minerals," one must first assume that the U.S. has an intrinsic right to these lunar materials. We Americans must come to grips with the fact that a want is not necessarily equivalent to a right.

Diane E. Brooks Durham, N.C.

If all the resources of the moon are to be shared equally by all nations, will the nations share the costs to the American taxpayer for opening that door?

Richard Young Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.

The Nuclear Option

As you noted but did not emphasize enough in your article on nuclear power [March 24], regardless of what the antinuclear forces in the U.S. say or do, the rest of the world is going to continue to develop and use nuclear energy. And if our nuclear supply industry collapses because of lack of business, we will have given up yet another option for energy independence in our struggle for survival against foreign domination.

Robert L. Flinn Vidalia, Ga.

It's ironic that an unnamed nuclear-industry official should say, in reference to the industry, that "we're fighting for our lives." In opposing the proliferation of nuclear weapons and of yet unsafe nuclear energy facilities, it is we, the public, who are fighting for our lives.

Josephine Paltin New York City

Population Explosion in Spain

In your article on Spain [March 24], you say that the neofascist movement Fuerza Nueva received 350,000 votes, or "a mere .02%," in the national election last year. If true, it would mean that the Spanish electorate consisted of 1.75 billion people, or substantially more people than in the People's Republic of China. Are there really that many Spaniards?

Gregory T. Wuliger Fresno, Calif.

Not really. The figure should be 2%.

Office Troublemakers

You gave Management Consultant Robert Bramson [March 17] an opportunity to tell the bosses how to cope with what he calls "troublemakers in the office," which is like telling the Soviets how to cope with the Afghan rebels. I hope he will now tell the millions of good and responsible, but exploited and abused employees how to cope with greedy and mean bosses.

Santiago Martinez Bridgeport, Conn.

My fellow workers will really appreciate your article on how to cope with troublemakers in the office. After reading it carefully and honestly, I realized that I am a hostile-aggressive, indecisive, know-it-all complainer.

Daniel J. Salomon Montreal

Robert Bramson's theories are based on the premise that managers are universally competent, highly stable individuals. Those of us who have had the unfortunate experience of working under incompetent supervisors are fully aware that such ineptitude often causes the very behavior the author focuses on.

Frank F. Drumm Jr. Grand Lake, Colo.

The Federal Pusher

Three cheers for Grove City College for beating the Department of Health, Education and Welfare [March 24]. The college recognized that taking money from the Federal Government is the equivalent of accepting free dope from a pusher: once you are hooked, the Government has got you for life.

Walter G. Liesegang Louisville

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