In a recent group discussion it was accepted that most business people are greedy and non-religious (an impression fostered by television and movies). However, a recent survey shows that business people rank among the most religious.

Here is an excerpt from "The Most Religious Elites":

Of all the elites of American society -- social scientists, artists, humanists, the military, athletes, politicians, movie stars, journalists, lawyers and others -- the military, athletes and people of business appear to rank among the most religious. Not all persons in business are religious, but a high proportion are. A great number of them, though they get little affirmation for their vocations from the clergy or the general culture, are confident that the work they do is moral. Many of them want to do it in a way as faithful to their religious faith and religious longings as they can. Many are delighted to find people who take their religious inclinations seriously.

In a poll of 12 American elites in 1990, sociologists Stanley Rothman and Robert Lerner of Smith College discovered that next to military officers (and leaving aside church professionals), more people in business attended church every week than any other elite: twice as many as congressional aides, four times more than people in the news media, nine times more than television and movie elites. Thirty-five percent of people in business attended church weekly and another 15 percent once a month; only 13 percent replied "never." Compare that with public interest elites, of whom only 10 percent attended church every week while 37 percent never did.

Aside from the clergy, the military are the best at getting to church: 46 percent weekly and only 13 percent never. The people in the movie industry are the worst: only 4 percent every week and 63 percent never.

We can speculate that professions that put their members at considerable risk -- the military, athletes, people in business -- impress on them their dependence on many factors beyond their own control. Such persons know what it is like to have Lady Fortune blowing into their sails one day, and on another to see those sails fall slack. They know what it is like to depend. The biblical language of trusting in Providence seems to such persons realistic.

Further, some spiritual exercises produce a kind of inner cleansing, centering and equanimity; perceptibly, these help people to perform at the top of their form. To such persons, religion makes sense. So do traditional virtues. Joe Paterno of Penn State -- a former teacher of the classics -- has written eloquently of the relevance of the Greek and Latin virtues to the world of football athletes.

By contrast, the professions of the "adversary culture" (those who think themselves superior, such as the media) seem to diminish religious energies and deplete religious curiosity. Some secularized professionals exude a polite but unmistakable hostility to religion. This keeps the media, in particular, well out of touch with American popular culture. Conversely, people in business -- especially small business, in suburbs and small towns -- remain very close to other ordinary Americans. The latter are among the most religious people in the world, both in belief and in weekly (even daily) practices. About 42 percent of all American adults attend church weekly.

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Two hundred forty acres of commercial land will be auctioned off Sept. 26. You can call Tom Meyer Realty for information on the land along Nash Road which has been owned by Armstrong Corp. for 30 (?) years. It was originally purchased along with large area timber options obtained for a plant which never developed. This is the last of Armstrong's land to be sold. Original information suggested a minimum bid of $1 million.

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GOVERNOR CARNAHAN (who currently enjoys a large polling lead on his opponent, State Auditor MARGARET KELLY) went negative with radio ads last week. My guess is like this following article on PRESIDENT CLINTON ... Carnahan's personal solid support numbers are uncomfortably low.

The following is from a Dole-Kemp memorandum.

As you know, the presidential race tightened considerably during the Republican convention and then widened back out during the Democratic convention. Although Dole probably gained a few points overall, the significance of the swing is not the current poll numbers but the tremendous volatility it showed.

What the past month showed was how weak Bill Clinton's support is and how quickly his lead can disappear. Twice this summer, when the American people took a close look at Bob Dole, Clinton's double-digit advantage collapsed like a souffle'. The first time was after Dole stepped down from the Senate and closed to six points. The second time was after his speech at the Republican convention when we pulled into a statistical tie. Far from safe, Clinton's lead is as fragile as a house of cards.

That shaky lead and weak support is why Bill Clinton has gone negative so early. You may have seen the new Clinton attack ad -- the worst piece of trash advertising aired this election cycle. In it, Clinton makes the unbelievable assertion that he cut taxes as president -- news to those who remember his broken promise of a middle-class tax cut and his world-record $265 billion tax increase.

The ad also shamelessly attacks Bob Dole, the man who saved Social Security from bankruptcy, for raising taxes on Social Security recipients. And the ad presents the bald-faced lie that Bob Dole is trying to cut Medicare -- despite Clinton's own admission that "cut" is an inaccurate word because Medicare funding will actually increase faster than inflation each year. The New York Post called the new Clinton/Gore spot "a classic attack ad that is misleading on key points."

But the reason for Clinton's deception and distortion is clear. According to a recent Wall Street Journal/NBC poll, only 32 percent of voters say they will definitely support Bill Clinton this fall. The remaining 68 percent is in play.

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The leader misleads on GOP tax "scheme."

Here is President Clinton's new ad against Republican challenger Bob Dole:

TEXT

Announcer: "Bob Dole, attacking the president. But President Clinton cut taxes for 15 million families, 10 million new jobs, proposes tax credits for college. Dole voted to raise payroll taxes, Social Security taxes, the '90 income tax increase, $900 billion higher taxes.

"And to help pay for his risky tax scheme, experts say Dole and (Newt) Gingrich will have to cut Medicare, education, environment.

"Bob Dole. Raising taxes. Trying to cut Medicare. Running from his record.

IMAGES

Dole, Clinton, ordinary, folks and Gingrich -- the Democratic Party's favorite demon, who is shown on camera as if to suggest that he, rather than Jack Kemp, is Dole's running mate.

GOAL

To shoot down Dole's proposed 15 percent tax cut before the idea ever really gets off the ground. (Notice that the ad refers to a tax scheme rather than a cut, as if to suggest Dole may have a tax hike in mind.) What is unusual is that this is a full-bore attack ad. It's unusual for a candidate who is way ahead in polls as Clinton is, to aim an attack ad against a foe.

Dole spokesman Nelson Warfield says that shows "they know their lead is as soft as putty." It could also show the unusually aggressive tactics of the Clinton campaign. Because voters seem resistant to attack ads this year, this one starts out by saying that Dole is attacking Clinton -- in order to justify the attack on Dole.

REALITY CHECK

This is a classic attack ad that is misleading on key points. Many of the votes for which it raps Dole were supported by Democrats as well as Republicans in order to preserve Social Security, notably a 1983 bipartisan plan to save the popular program worked out by a commission on which Dole served with Sen. Daniel P. Moynihan, D-N.Y., and which was headed by "Mr. Social Security" -- the late Democratic Rep. Claude Pepper of Florida.

Dole opposed the most recent hike in taxes on Social Security benefits paid to retirees, which was pushed through by Clinton and the then-Democratic Congress in 1993.

Contrary to what the ad suggests, Dole hasn't tried to cut Medicare -- only to slow its growth. Spending would still rise but at a slightly slower rate of 7 percent a year. President Clinton has proposed a similar slowdown in Medicare spending, as did first lady Hillary Clinton's defeated health-care plan.

The "experts' that the Clinton camp offers to back up its claim that Dole will have to cut popular programs are mostly journalists, not economists.

The Dole camp points to several conservative economists, including three Nobel prize-winners, who have endorsed the plan and say it won't require big cuts in popular programs. But Dole is vulnerable because he has yet to detail the savings he'd make to pay for his tax cut.

It is correct that taxes were cut under Clinton for 15 million lower-income families by expanding the earned-income tax credit, but Clinton broke his 1992 pledge of a "middle-class" tax cut and instead pushed through a tax hike that the president himself has described as "too much."

Deborah Orin

New York Post

Sept. 8, 1996

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Last week P&G marked its 35th anniversary of the invention of the disposable diaper.

Procter and Gamble chemical engineer Vic Mills decided to find a way to avoid the mess of his granddaughter's cloth diapers after an auto trip to Maine.

At first, disposable diapers were considered so unique they were used mainly for travel, by baby sitters and on special occasions. Today, 81 percent of the hospitals in the United States. use disposable diapers, and 94 percent of all parents rely solely on disposable diapers (according to P&G research).

~Gary Rust is the president of Rust Communications, which owns the Southeast Missourian and other newspapers.