Newspaper Page Text
— Griffin Daily News Thursday, June 7,1973
Page 18
China and U.S.
Checking out each other
By RALPH NOVAK
NEW YORK - (NEAI - It
seems like only a few years
ago — it WAS only a few
years ago — that Americans
and the people of mainland
China were not so buddy-bud
dy
Little boys reading Ameri
can comic books in the early
1950 s grew up believing the
Chinese were buck-toothed
sadists who existed solely so
G.I. Joe would have someone
at whom he could yell. Eat
molten death. Commie rats."
An opinion survey in 1964
showed that 28 per cent of the
American population did not
know China had a Communist
government but of those who
did know, few thought it was
a good idea.
In 1966. a Harris poll
showed Americans most often
described the Chinese with
such adjectives as "sly. '
"treacherous." "war-like"
and "ignorant
It was by no means a case
of unrequited hate In 1951 a
Chinese magazine said of the
United States: "This is the
Eden of a pinch of million
aires. the hell of countless
millions of poor people. This
is the paradise of gangsters,
swindlers, rascals, special
agents, fascist germs, specu
lators. debauchers and all the
dregs of mankind. This is a
living hell 10 times, 100 times,
1,000 times worse than any
hell that can possibly be de
picted by the most sanguinary
of writers."
That set the tenor for 20
years during which the nicest
thing Peking ever called the
United States was "paper ti
ger" and the United States
pretended that mainland
China was just a delinquent
suburb of F'ormosa.
But that was when the
Chinese were still part of the
yellow peril and the United
States was still full of capital
ist war-mongers. Now Ameri
can journalists and govern
ment officials are streaming
off to China as if it were Tahi
ti. Chinese Mao jackets, acro
bats and gymnasts are tum
bling across American bor
ders in the more or less hal
lowed tradition of coolies,
mah jongg and chop suey.
A recent opinion survey of
American attitudes toward
China is illustrative.
It was conducted by Norton
Simon, Inc., a nice wholesome
American conglomerate
formed in 1968 by the consoli
dation of McCall Corporation.
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Canada Dry Corporation. Only
time will tell whether the
Chinese are ready for Ameri
can women's magazines, to
mato paste and ginger ale but
Norton Simon president David
J. Mahony visited China last
October and his corporation
seems not disinterested in
turning an honest yuan or two.
The most surprising part of
the Norton Simon survey, in
fact, is the high percentage of
people favoring increased
trade with the Chinese.
(This raises questions about
the poll being self-serving but
its results on other questions
are close to those obtained by
other national surveys follow
ing President Nixon's trip to
China last year.)
The survey, based on inter
views conducted this March
and said to be representative
of national opinion, showed 84
per cent of those questioned
favored increased diplomatic
contact with the Chinese gov
ernment and 82 per cent fa
vored more cultural relations.
These results, however, are
not substantially different
from those obtained in a
Council on Foreign Relations
survey made by the Universi
ty of Michigan in 1964. Even
then, when China was still
"Red," 73 per cent of those
polled said they favored an
exchange of visitors with the
Chinese and 71 per cent ap
proved of increased diplomat
ic contact.
So we have always been
friendly in theory.
In 1964. however, only 31
per cent of the people contact
ed were in favor of China's
admission to the United Na
tions. while the Norton Simon
survey indicated a 73 per cent
approval of Peking's admis
sion after the fact.
And, more importantly for
purveyors of tomato paste, 72
per cent of the subjects in the
Norton Simon poll supported
increased trade with China, a
big jump over the 43 per cent
who were in favor of "selling
things like wheat to Commu
nist China" in the 1964 Council
on Foreign Relations poll.
How meaningful all this is
in the short run is a question.
of course. There are still a lot
of people who would not enter
into trade with the Chinese for
all the tea in Sri Lanka.
And even Mahony had some
cautious words in a recent
speech: "Even if we do busi
ness with China it will be
fairly modest. Our trade with
China has gone from $5 mil
lion in 1971 to $92 million in
1972 and may get past the $350
million mark this year.
"But that isn't a lot and
China's total external trade
last year was only $2.5 billion,
which is small for a major
country."
Mahony added that China
"doesn't seem to be much of
a market for cosmetics, fash
ions or luxury items like cars
and jewelry" but predicted
increasing demand there for
American equipment and
technology.
"We cannot afford," said
Mahony. 49 and a top business
executive since 1951. “to con
cede to our competitors a
market that represents almost
a quarter of the world s popu
lation."
Social Security changes
puzzle many Americans
By CARL W. RITTER
Copley News Service
Social Security benefits —
especially after recent
changes in the act governing
them — are not clear to nearly
enough Americans, judging
from queries received on the
general topic.
The nation’s Social Security
Act was thoroughly over
hauled. This paved the way
for payment of S7O billion in
1974 to qualified persons.
They will be protected against
inflation to a considerable de
gree by linking payments to
officially recognized changes
in the cost of living.
The dollar you get in 1983
will be a 1973 dollar’s worth,
the Social Security adminis
trators say. Which is certainly
not to say it will be the equiva
lent of the dollar in earlier
years.
As to where the 1973 Social
Security dollar goes:
Fifty-two cents goes for re
tirement benefits, 19 cents for
survivors’ benefits, 12 cents
for hospital benefits under
Medicare and 9 cents for dis
ability benefits. Six cents
from each of these dollars is
allocated to a reserve fund
and 2 cents is charged off to
administration.
The Social Security Admin
istration computerizes the let
ters it receives so that it
knows what is bothering peo
ple. Congress does the same.
The most commonly asked
questions and beefs about the
system are noted in a newly
issued report by First Nation
al City Bank.
leading off is this one: Will
I get as much out of Social Se
curity as I am putting in?
The answer for the average
worker appears to be yes. Re
tirement benefits have
climbed 51 per cent in three
years. In 1969, the average
monthly check for an individ
ual was $100.40. In 1972 it was
$162.
For couples, the Social Se
curity checks per month aver
aged out for these years to
$152.35 and $271 respectively.
The bank points out that
payroll taxes are rising, too.
The rate in 1972 was 5.2 per
cent for both workers and em
ployers. This year it is 5.85 per
cent. If you remain in the
working force until 2011, you
will see 7.3 per cent taken out
of your pay for Social Secu-
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rity.
The maximum amount of
your annual earnings against
which this rate is applied is
SIO,BOO this year, up from last
year’s $9,000. In 1974, it goes
up to $12,000. Beyond that
year, the maximum will be
raised to finance the cost of
living increases as they occur.
Q. If I retire before 65, how
much money do I lose?
A. As an example, you are
64 now and retire and qualify,
say, for $248.40 a month. If
you had waited until 65, you
would have been entitled to
$266.10. Not until age 79 would
it become worthwhile not to
have retired at 64. Extra ben
efits then would amount to
$17.70 a month.
Q. I retired at 65 this year
and am getting only $266.10 a
month, although the maxi
mum benefit is $323.40 and I
always paid top Social Secu
rity taxes; how come?
A. Your benefits were based
on average taxable earnings
over 17 years. From 1956
through 1958, you were taxed
on $4,200, from 1959 through
1965 on $4,800, then on $6,600,
etc.
Q. What happens if I contin-
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ue to work past 65?
A. If you keep working at
regular pay you would not
qualify for regular benefit
payments for seven more
years. You can receive regu
lar benefits, however, if you
do not earn more than $2,100 a
year.
Q. How does Medicare work?
A. There are two parts. Part
A is for hospital care and re
lated health services needed
after leaving a hospital and it
is prepaid — from your for
mer contributions. Part B is
to help pay for doctor bills and
other medical services. You
pay $6.30 a month. A Medi
care handbook is available to
explain more fully.
Q. Why can’t I collect — as a
working woman who paid So
cial Security taxes for 30
years — on a basis other than
my retired husband’s Social
Security?
A. Say your husband’s
monthly benefits are s2ll. As
his wife, you can get half, or
$105.50. But if you as a worker
averaged as much as $3,000
taxable earnings, you can col
lect $176.60 on your own work
record. You can collect on ei
ther your benefits or his, but
not on both.
MARTHA MITCHELL is
open-mouthed on being as
sailed by reporters as she
leaves her apartment in
New York.
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