In the Public Interest

Lee A. Iacocca, the top executive of Chrysler Corp., came to Congress a few days ago to proclaim his belief in the risks of free enterprise while asking for the security of the federal government’s credit to bail out his overextended, mismanaged company. He originally had wanted more than $1 billion in cash from Uncle…

American Telegraph and Telephone Co. (AT&T), a regulated public utility, must be the envy of other giant corporations. Every quarter, AT&T reports record profits of 18 percent or more. In 1978, the telephone monopoly reported net profits of $5.3 billion–up 19 percent from the prior year and an all-time corporate record in American history. This…

Starting in the early 1980s, tens of thousands of Americans may be killed or seriously injured in auto crashes every year if a congressman’s and a corporation’s callous moves are not exposed and stopped. The congressman is John Dingell–a mean-tempered legislator long indentured to the Big Three auto companies–who has been attacking the proven airbag…

In the midst of a deepening inflation and a worsening recession, the anguish of millions of blacks and Hispanics continues unabated. It is not just that the macro-economic problems of the country are commanding most of the government’s unimaginative attention. Worse, these problems are being dealt with at the expense of these impoverished minorities. Instead…

In the past few weeks, the Winsted (Conn.) Evening Citizen has run three full-page notices inviting the people of this small town (pop. 10,000) to come forward “with some ideas that will help Winsted.” The Citizen’s publisher, Joe Bradley, wants “to get the people of this area thinking positively again.” He was referring to a…

THE CONTROVERSY over the validity and fairness of multiple-choice standardized tests finally has become full-blown. After several years of growing criticism of the test­ing industry, headed by the giant Educational Testing Service of Princeton, N.J., a breakthrough occurred for the critics in July when New York Gov. Hugh Carey signed into law the Truth-In-Testing legislation.…

AMSTERDAM, HOLLAND — In contrast to its larger French and German neighbors, this small, neat country is becoming increasingly worried about nuclear power. A majority of the general public and parliament resists the prospect of Holland going nuclear. While Premier Dries van Agt, under heavy pressure from France’s President Giscard d’Estaing, seems to be lean­ing…

White House inflation fighter Alfred Kahn is having a very frustrating time. Instead of declining, inflation is increasing, especially in the four economic sectors that affect consumers most: health, energy, food and housing. As a former Cornell University economics professor, his analysis, like that of most economists, of how best to combat inflation proceeds from…

The appointment of Washington lawyer-lobbyist Lloyd N. Cutler as White House counsel reveals the extent to which Jimmy Carter is inviting corporate power into his inner circle. From a candidate who in 1976 said he hoped to become the leading consumer champion, Carter has turned to Cutler who has long represented the archetype anti-consumer position…

Kenneth Mason and Lee Iacocca both are presidents of major corporations. But the similarity ends there. In the past month both gentlemen have expressed dramatically dissimilar thoughts about corporations, regulations and responsibility. Mason, head of Quaker Oats Co., represents a small band of corporate statesmen in this country. You would understand better what I mean…