Inflation continued I t has always been thought that federal control over natural gas could be the beginning of overall fuel control by the federal government. And, since the passage of the Natural Gas Act of 1938, the oil companies have naturally been fighting to destroy this control exercis'd over their operations. Well the oil companies are Winners at last thanks to President Carter and a huge Democratic majority in Congress natural gas prices will be entirely deregulated from the mid-1980’s on. The price will be borne by the consumers. With enactment of this legislation, the ceiling price of so-called new gas will rise at once to $2.09 per 1000 cubic feet from $1.50. Depending on formulae worked out in Congress, natural gas prices are expected to rise from 9 per cent to 12 per cent a year.”4 PATRIOTIC INFLATION FIGHTERS Thrifty citizens might desire to follow our leaders advice and devote excess resources to savings banks, where the base interest rates are SadSacksOfProBall health budget are medicaid and Medicare. Through these two programs alone the federal government spends about 28% of the cost of the nation’s health services. Almost one dollar out of every 10 in the U.S. is used to finance health care. During the last 10 years hospital costs — the largest component of health-care costs overall — have risen at two and a half times the rate of the consumer price index. A major reason for the increase in Medicare and Medicaid expenses has been the inability of the government to control charges of hospitals and doctors. Part of the reason for this is that the system through which insurance funds are provided for Medicaid and Medicare remains under the control of the very hospitals and doctors who inflate the charges. The whole idea of national health insurance — decried by Carter as inflationary — is to provide a comprehensive mechanism through which those who need it can get medical care, while the costs are held down by federal intervention. But the 1980 budget shows that outlays under the present system will continue to shoot up — the antithesis of this administration’s stated goals. It is worth nothing, incidentally, in the light of conservative bellowing about giveaways to the poor, drafted University of Cincinnati’s Paul Hogue— who achieved dubious immortality by being the league’s first #1 draft pick to be laughed off the playgrounds of New York. To make matters worse this draft presented the Knicks with the likes of Chet Walker and John Havlichek, who of course went on to prominence at Philadelphia and Boston. In the second round they took USC’s AllAmerican John Rudometkin, a cancer victim a few years later, and Cleveland Buckner whose play resembled the smell of his namesake city. By ’63, the pressure from local sports writers and anemic attendance pushed the Knicks to take a local hot shot and stay away from the bozo centers so local prep star and Duke All-American Art Heyman was drafted over Bowling Green star Nate Thurmond. Heyman is best remembered for his ducklike walk and his ability to make Al Attiles look like an All-Star guard, while Thurmond went on the become the kind of power center that Imhoff (who eventually would up his career in Portland) and Hogue were supposed to become. 1964 saw the Olympic trials in New York and three touted small college centers—Jim “ Bad News” Barnes from Texas Western, Luscious Jackson of Pan American and Willis Reed from Grambling. The Knicks in their infinte wisdom decided that Jackson’s arms were too short and that willis couldn’t shoot—therefore Jim Barnes became “ Bad News” for NY. Only because of some stroke of luck, Willis lasted till the second round and the Knicks were force to"grab him. With the addition of Barnes and Reed, the Knicks continued to flounder, thanks to a policy of hiring ex-stars as coaches (recently relived with Willis Reed). The first half of the year Dick (Mumbles) McGuire talked to himself and the second half Harry (the Horse) Gallatin set up a triangle offense that had as much ball movement as a horse chewing the cud on a hot summer day. The league by this time was watching the phenomenal growth of the National Football League and realized that a strong team in New York was essential to increasing revenue. For the first and only time how relatively insignificant these expenditures are. For example, the much detested welfare program of Aid to Families with Dependent Children is estimated at $6.7 billion in 1980. Food stamps total $6.9 billion and school lunches are budgeted at $3.9 billion. Public housing commitments involve $27.4 billion in a variety of programs, but the projected funds to be spent come to only $5.3 billion. If all this nation’s poor people were lucky enough to participate in all these programs, their total slice would probably not exceed $25 billion, scarcely the treasure trove handed out to doctors, hospital administrators, defense contractors, and other fortunates.”5 Economic Newspeak is what our dear President is giving us with this “austere and lean” inflation fighting budget, that mentions nary a word about corporate profits being up 28% in the last quarter of 1978. Until mandatory price controls are instituted any talk of “fighting inflation with new foundations,” translates to pissin in the wind. 1) Village Voice, Alexander Cockburn & James Ridgeway, “Fat is Beautiful,” January 29, 1978. p. 16 2) Ibid. 3) Village Voice, Jack Newfield, "The Case Against Jimmy the Liar,” January 22. 1979 4) Village Voice, Cockburn & Ridgeway, “The Last Hours of the Fighting 95th,” October 23, 1978 p. 15 5) Ibid., Jan. 29,1979, p. 16 the two last place teams (New York and San Francisco) were given the first four picks of the draft to make the weak teams stronger tout do suite. Consequently NY was awarded the first and fourth picks which they used to draft Bill Bradley and Dave Stallworth (he of heart attack fame). Not bad pickens until you realize they passed up Billy Cunningham and Rich Barry to make these choices—after the Heyman affair local boys were persona nongrata and Cunningham had gone to Brooklyn’s Erasmus High, and they said that Barry was too much of a hot dog and gunner. However the mid-60’s did bring to NY a brief lapse in misfortune and poor management. A couple of good changes—Red Holtzman as coach and Eddie Donovan former coach of the St. Bonaventure TB ward as general manager. Donovan was responsible for the drafting of Walt Frazier, Cazzie Russell and the trade for Dave DeBuschere, however the Knicks were unable to hold on to Donovan, he headed upstate to Buffalo where he built the Braves into an eastern power before weak ownership sold off the talent. Unfortunately, the rise to the top in 69-74 produced a series of draft choices that comparatively would make Wally(the Who) Walker and LaRue Martin household names. The likes of Jaho Warren, Mike Price, Tom Riker, Mel DAvis, and Hawthorne Wingo provided none of the depth necessary to sustain a championship team once the first flowers had wilted. In NY unlike Boston there was no K.C. Jones to replace Bob Cousy, no Sam Jones for Bill Sharman, or John Havlicek for Frank Ransey. Instead decline, then major slippage and then their fatal dip into the pits of the free agent market has led to the continual descent to the depths of yesteryear. Given the Knick history of inability to spot basketball talent and the weak crop of rookies this year, it will be no surprise to any NBA watcher if those three first round draft picks (from Boston, Golden State, and Seattle) join Darrell Imhoff, Paul Hogue, Art Heyman, Bad News Barnes and company in the NY management’s Hall of Fame. now in the neighborhood of 51/4%, or buy savings bonds at 6%. Those who desire to keep up with inflation may invest in Treasury bills that are currently yielding 9 to 10%. Unfortunately there is one catch, these bills are only sold in minimum blocks of $10,000. If you missed out on the Treasury bills then the $100 billion returned to the rich through capital gains, investment credits, accelerated depreciation, depletion allowances, drilling costs and the like will probably also pass you by. So, too, will the 239.4 billion in guaranteed loans that mostly go to industries such as shipping, to the insurance industry for items such as flood insurance and for protecting the assets of corporations abroad. The Carter administration has promised, but not carried through, a proposal to bring the loanguarantee programs under control, but so far they’ve somehow managed to stay away from the President’s “lean and austere” cuts. Marcus Welby is Inflationary “The cost of health care has risen rapidly and promises to be increasingly inflationary in the near future. For example, the projected outlay for 1980 of $53.3 billion is expected to rise to $64.1 billion in 1982. The largest components in the m b y Lenny D. The recent trade by the New York Knicks of high scoring center-forward Bob McAdoo to the Boston Celtics for 3 first round draft choices, recalls other Knick draft picks and acquisitions of yesteryear that were hailed with as much fanfare as the second coming. Three cases of tuberculosis, two heart attacks, two cancer victims and many cases of mistaken identity later, the Knicks still await their savior. With Portland being relatively new to the NBA and the Knicks of Reed, DeBuschere, Frazier era a recent memory, hardly anyone here remembers that for most of their history the Knicks have been the sad sacks of pro basketball. In the mid-50s, the Knicks had a 500% caliber ballclub that was going nowhere fast and drew little fan attention. Student tickets were 50 cents in the balcony and the preliminary high school games would draw as well as the feature pro games. Madison Square Garden management had no confidence in the Knicks making the playoffs so the circus was booked regularly during playoff time —the one time the Knicks fooled everyone and made the playoffs they were forced to play in a 2000 seat, leaky roofed national guard armory (this was before 500% teams were considered playoff material) . In 1956 their arch rivals the Boston Celtics had just pulled off the heist of the century by trading Easy Ed Macually and Cliff Hagan to St. Louis for the draft rights to Bill Russell. The Knicks decided to counter this dominance by trading two of their top players, Gene Shue and Harry (the Horse) Gallatin for Detroit’s Mel Hutchins—the Dave DeBuschere of the ’50s. Hutchins wound up playing 18 games for the Knicks, before retiring with a crippling knee injury, while Gallatin and Shue averaged over 30 points a game between them for Detroit. After that disaster the Knicks decided to dip down into Bill Russell’s championship University of San Francisco team and dreafted forward Make Farmer while passing over teammate K.C. Jones—who would become the playmaker and defensive star of countless Celtic championship teams. Farmer’s only claim to fame was the shreding of his shorts before 5000 faithful one night in the Garden. Still fascinated with NCAA champions the year 1960 brought to New York the University of California’s golden bear with the glorious hook shot, Darrell Imhoff. To get Imhoff, the Knicks passed over Tom “ Satch” Saunders, a local product who had singlehandedly led a mediocre New York University team past Jerry West’s touted West Virginia five into the NCAA semifinals. Since Satch was a 6ft. 6in. college center the Knicks didn’t think he could make the transition to forward in the NBA—(a matter that didn’t phase a certain Red Auerbach up in Boston). 1960 also brought to the Knicks from Cincinnati a skinny gangly center named Phil Jordan who was to have the honor of opposing Wilt Chamberlain, when the Stilt scored his magic 100 (7 of the top 14 individual scoring games have been against the Knicks)—soon after Phil joined the other immortals in basketball heaven, when he died of cancer. Also in the early sixties the Knicks drafted a group of dynamite St. Bonaventure ballplayers—Tom and Sam Stith, plus Freddie Crawford— unfortunately after drafting these All-Americans it was discovered that the coming of basketball nirvana would have to be confined to an upstate tuberculosis sanitorium. With the college crop coming up lame and fizzling out, the Knicks looked to the Harlem Globetrotters where they had modest success in the 50’s acquiring journeyman forward Sweetwater Clifton and spent for that time the unheard of price of $100,000 to purchase Harlem Globetrotter ace Willie Gardener, the Knick magic spell came on, and poor Willie suffered a heart attack and never played ball again. By 1962 the dominance of Chamberlain and Russell was becoming overwhelming and the Knicks once again set their sights on a center to challenge the new behomoths. Despite the disaster of Darrell Imhoff, the lure of an NCAA champion was again too much and the Knicks 26
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