Balance Sheet.

• Author: Taylor, Jeff A.
• Position: Good and bad political news - Brief Article

ASSETS

* Skin Nix. Fear of porn kills a bad idea to give tax credits to independent film productions. To combat lower production costs in Canada, Congress sought to give some booty to productions with budgets under $10 million. Then the suits realized that language would make every maker of X-rated movies eligible for the handout. Cut!

* Investor Nation. More Americans than ever are investors. A survey by the Securities Industry Association finds that almost 79 million individuals own equities, up from 42 million in 1983. Nearly half of all households own some stock, up from just 19 percent in 1983. Further, they report these shareholders are long-termers and are diversified, with more than 60 percent owning shares in international stock funds.

* Tax Returns. In the midst of the debate over campaign finance reform, taxpayers vote against public financing with their wallets. The percentage of taxpayers who elect to use $3 of their tax payment for the presidential election campaign fund is at 11.3 percent, down from 28 percent in the early '80s.

* Mixed Bag. Gun-grabbers struggle to explain why Hawaii's super-strict gun laws did not stop a lone nut from going off. The state is the only state that requires firearms to be both licensed and registered, bans cheap handguns, has a 14-day waiting period, and keeps tabs on second-party sales.

LIBILITIES

* FOIAed Again. The ever-trustworthy Department of Justice mulls weakening the Freedom of Information Act, which...