October 14, 1995

Setback for Satellite TV Plan

For decades, the mentally ill in the United States were shut away in psychiatric institutions and effectively barred from demanding better treatment, while parents -- often blamed by doctors for children's conditions -- were shamed into silence. No longer. In much the same way that members of minority groups, women and homosexuals have fought for and won civil rights protections and more government services, the mentally ill and their families have made similar breakthroughs, although their victories have been quieter, their growing power little noticed.

Republican tax-writers in the Senate agreed today to a seven-year, $245 billion package of tax cuts that includes a $500 per-child tax credit for most families, significant reductions in capital gains taxes and a break for corporations. Today's presentation of the majority's tax plan was the first step down a tortuous road for the tax bill, which has drawn nearly universal opposition from Democrats and the White House and only grudging support from some Senate Republicans.

Reassuring reports of low inflation and moderate growth helped propel the bond and stock markets today as more analysts became convinced that the economy was in little danger of either stalling or soaring out of control. Consumer prices rose only one-tenth of 1 percent in September, a bit less than expected, as inflation seemed likely to finish another year under 3 percent despite four and a half years of business expansion.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded its 1995 Nobel Peace Prize yesterday to Joseph Rotblat, a Polish-born British physicist who helped develop the atomic bomb but subsequently led a campaign to eliminate nuclear weapons. In awarding the prize to Mr. Rot blat and the organization he heads, the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, the committee said it wanted to send a message of protest to France and China over the nuclear weapons tests they have conducted recently despite widespread international opposition.