Reagan in High Tech Hub Sees Electronic Future

In his five-hour whip through the Boston area Wednesday, President Reagan touted high-technology electronics and computer firms as "America's future" and met with both plant officials and students in training at a local center. But an ad-lib comment to executives calling for the elimination of corporate income taxes ended up attracting the most attention of the day.

Reagan prefaced the remark by saying that he would probably regret the statement. Yesterday, he conceded that the proposal was a mistake. "I said that I would kick myself for saying it. I did."

Discussing the scheme Wednesday, White House Deputy Press Secretary Larry Speakes added, "It ain't going to happen."

The President has often criticized the tax system for being inequitable, as corporations are taxed on profits while the government also takes a bite out of stockholder dividends.

Political Capital

But yesterday, the Democrats set to work at making political capital out of the slip-up.

House Speaker Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. (D-Mass.) launched one of the loudest salvoes yesterday. "On the same day that President sat down to drink with the working men of Boston, he showed that his heart was still in the corporate boardroom," he said.

O'Neill referred to the unscheduled stop Reagan made at a Dorchester pub. where he half-finished a complimentary mug of draught beer.

The proposal also caused alarm among businessmen who oppose the current structure of corporate taxation. Paul Huard, a vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers, yesterday called the president's impromptu idea "a little drastic and certainly not likely to happen soon."

Although the surprising statement dominated the visit. Reagan devoted considerable energy to plugging the high technology industry, which has made its east-coast center along Route 128.

The president stressed the need for training in the high field of computers and electronics, repeating a theme of his State of the Union message Tuesday.

"We are in a great transition period." Reagan said, meeting with students at at federally funded computer job-training center in Roxbury. Later the president indicated that the upcoming 1983 federal budget may include more support for high-tech training.

Reagan also stopped at the Digital Equipment Corporation's computer-keyboard assembling plant and called for a greater partnership between business and government, although the president has attempted to cut back money to support such alliances.

About 2500 demonstrators, including a few from Harvard, gathered outside the Digital plant to protest against a variety of the president's policies, from Latin America to student aid cuts.

"I think it's an insult to this community for Reagan to come here when his policies have hurt Roxbury and its people so badly," said Julie Buchinski '84, one of the protesters.

A small contingent of the demonstrators came from the Communication Workers of America, who have been trying to organize the mostly non-union high-tech industry.

"Our concern is that these companies unionized." Dave Slaney, president of Local 2431, said Wednesday, adding, "Right now these people are low paid and have no job security."