constitutional norms.nGorbachev’s perestroika is a more formidable and forbiddingnundertaking than glasnost. If we examine thenperestroika of the past, we find ample reason to takenwarning. It is said that Peter the Great (1682-1725) pullednuphill with the strength often while the whole nation pulledndownhill, and his son Alexis was associated with a conspiracynwhich aimed to dispose of Peter in the fashion of so manynof his 18th-century successors. Gatherine II (1762-1796)nwrote a project for a liberal codification of the laws, but hernbureaucracy and Legislative Assembly contrived to defeatnthe idea. We know with what enthusiasm the Russiannnobility responded to the great reforms of Alexander IIn(1855-1881). Prime Minister Peter Stolypin attemptedn(1906-1911) to free the Russian peasant from a semimedievalnsystem of collective land tenure in order to makenhim a private proprietor, but the peasant successfullynresisted.nThe contemporary Russian public evidendy regardsnperestroika in the abstract as a good idea. A public opinionnpoll recently taken in the Soviet Union by the ChristiannScience Monitor (with what reliability we can only guess)nshowed that 61 percent of the population believed thatnperestroika would eventually succeed. On the other hand, anTime magazine poll taken in Moscow recently showed that anplurality of Soviet citizens expect perestroika to make thenmaterial conditions of their life worse, and the evidencenmore than bears out their expectations. The press is full ofnstories of hard luck for the consumer. One item prominentlynfeatured recently is the shortage of baby food, a situationnthat occasions long lines and ignites hot tempers. ThenThere arc a variety of ways to give to educational andncharitable organizations, like The Rockford Institute,npublisher of Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture.nMost people make outrisht gifts to the Institute which result inna “charitable deduction” from a person’s taxable income in angiven year. But there arc other ways to give that can preservenincome or assets for a donor and his beneficiaries, avoidncapital gains and estate taxes, and benefit the Institute or otherncharities of your choice. These arc often referred to asn”planned gifts.”nPooled Income Funds provide income to a donor or hisnbeneficiary and can be established at the $5,000 level. Thenamount in the hind can be added to each year, and thenamount of income depends on the performance of the poolednfund. This fund has both high income and growth orientedninvestments and is generally much higher than stockndividends. The amount of charitable tax deduction for the giftndepends on the fair market value of the assets contributedn(there is no capital gains tax or stock contributions) and isnrelated to the age of the donor or beneficiaries. There is noncapital gains tax to the donor on the increased value of thenfund over time. Upon death of the donor or beneficiary, thenassets go to the Institute and by-passes estate taxes.nLegacy Program The Rockford Instituten934 North Main Street, Rockford, IL 61103nrationing of sugar is in effect, and most of the rest of the listnof foodstuffs is said to be under consideration. Hardship hasnevidently produced a new wave of criminal activity. Innvarious parts of the Soviet Union crime is currently growing,naccording to the chief Soviet judicial officer (General ,nProcurator A. I. Sukharev), at rates ranging from 32 to 88npercent per year. This from the August 12, 1989, edition ofnPravdalnHowever much it may be approved in general, thenparticulars of perestroika affect the interests of differentngroups of people in different ways. As hard as it is to get anfix on the opinion of the “dark people,” the peasants, wenmay infer that they ought logically to approve of Gorbachev’sneconomic policy, as it envisions paying for theirnproduce in hard currency and dissolving many of thenfeatures of the hated collective farm system. It also promisesnthem free and therefore higher prices for the commodity innshortest supply and greatest demand in the country, the foodnwhich they produce. The workers, on the other hand, willnhave to suffer the cost of those higher prices. Moreover, theynwill suffer lower pay for poor work, punishment for drunkenness,nand even dismissal and unemployment. They arenafraid of perestroika. But the social category that has thenmost to lose is that large group of people in retirement. Thenpensioners comprise 20 percent of the population, nearly 60nmillion people. Their incomes are fixed, some of them at 50nrubles (approximately $80) a person, a month, and theynhave already seen the prices of some commodities multiplynby five or six times. Much of the population exhibits anroaring rage against the “speculators,” i.e., those takingnn Send me general information on the variousn”Planned Giving” options.nD Send me information on the Institute’snPooled Income Fund.nCITY STATE ZIPnPHONEnnnIf you have a specific asset, sucfi as stocks, that you arenconsidering for a contribution and if you would iiicc the Institutento evaluate the financial and tax implications for your gift, pleaseninclude the following information:nSS# (SPOUSE)nCOST OF ASSET ESTIMATED MARKET VALUEnFEBRUARY 1990/21n