Dividends

Fold, Spindke and Mutilate

For such an innocuous little piece of paper, the computer punch card has loomed large in modern life. When they first started fluttering out of bills and statements in the 1950s, the cards were hailed as harbingers of the computer age, a golden time when machines would take over the tedious work and free people for a fuller life. In the 1960s, though, the cards were transmogrified into the symbol of alienation in a society where machines had run amuck. The somewhat bossy injunction printed on the cards became a slogan of student rebellion: "I am a human being. Do not fold, spindle or mutilate me.''

Now that once powerful emblem of the times is disappearing, no longer necessary to the smooth functioning of new computers. Advanced machines have optical scanners that read words, numbers and symbols and do not need the punch to process information. Since the scanning computers can be more cost-efficient, the changeover is coming quickly, and millions of old computer cards are being tossed away. Says A.G.W. Biddle, president of the Computer and Communications Industry Association: "Probably the only major users left are those with antiquated equipment, especially the Government and various utility companies."

The Federal Government still uses the cards for Treasury Department checks, but even some utility companies are coming around. New York Telephone last September began the switchover for its 6 million customers. When bills started arriving without punch cards, consumers deluged service centers with calls inquiring after the familiar pieces of paper.

Born-Again Bankers

In the Bible, Jesus angrily threw the money-changers out of the temple. But the Stewardship Bank of Oregon, outside Portland, believes that it has found the perfect blend of God and mammon. Founded last March by a group of born-again Christians, the financial institution now serves as holy bankroller for 900 depositors. The staff holds a daily prayer meeting before unlocking the safe, and tellers at times deliver a sermonet with deposits and withdrawals. A share of the bank's profits will be tithed to Christian education projects.

The bank was started by a multidenominational group, who signed a covenant proclaiming that they were born-again Christians committed to running the bank along religious principles. Bank President Richard Wells, who had been with the Bank of California for 35 years, came out of retirement to head the new venture. The bank observes standard banking practices and offers the full range of financial services. When bills come due, however, the bank is nobody's patsy. Says Personal Banking Counselor Milli Laughlin: "We are not lacking astute banking principles. This is a business and you have to operate in a businesslike manner." After all, the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.

Measuring Inflation

Like a policeman stopping motorists and telling them that the traffic laws have just been changed, the Federal Government last week announced that it was altering the way it calculates the level of inflation. This will be important for the 60 million Americans whose salaries, pensions or even alimony payments are linked to increases in the Consumer Price Index. Washington, for example, pays out almost $3 billion in benefits for every percentage point increase in the CPI.

The Government calculates this inflation index by determining how much the price of a basket of goods and services a typical family buys has increased in the past month. The index has long been criticized because it overstates the costs of housing. And as the prices of homes and mortgage rates have jumped in the past two years, the CPI has exploded.

Under the new system announced last week, the CPI'S housing survey will be based on the rental or lease value of a home, thus eliminating the asset element that has driven home prices skyward. If the new rental equivalency method had been used over the past twelve months, the Consumer Price Index would have risen 9.2% instead of 11%.

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