TH S NOIVI S NUGGET
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Friday, August 16, 1946
BALANCE OUR BUDGET
PRESIDENT TRUMAN IS STILL HOPEFUL he can
balance the federal budget for this fiscal year de
spite a big jump in unanticipated outlays. But he
disagrees with various republicans that taxes can be
cut again after next January.
Jn a new budget estimate, placing both income and
outgo well above January predictions, but trimming
earlier deficit forecasts from $4.5 billion to $1.9 billion
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1947, the President
stated.
“In view of action the Congress has taken on price
controls, I must repeat—with added emphasis—my
recommendation of last January that no tax reduction
be made until the inflationary situation has passed."
On another point the President believes that our tax
policy should be designed not only to check inflation,
but to prevent any particular group from profiting
by it.
A top-ranking Republican in the house said recently
that if the Republican party winds up with control
of the House in the November elections it would cut
taxes by 20 per cent.
It seems that the Republicans are beginning to make
promisses of a balanced budget with a reduced tax rate
should they take over the House next January.
\President Truman is also planning on a balanced
budget and in addition “a substantial budget surplus"
in the 1947-48 fiscal year.
A YEAR OF PROGRESS
4 CCORDING TO A " ECENT STATEMENT issued
bl John R. Steelman, Reconversion Director, the
employment and production has reached a point well
above expectations.
He recalled objectives of a year ago and outlined
the “record of progress we have made.”
Jobs for all those willing and able to work: “We
have reached substantially full employment and have
created nearly five million new jobs in the process.
Now we face the task of consolidating these gains by
ever-increasing production and employment oppor
tunities.”
A steadily rising standard of living: “The yearly
production rate of goods and services for civilian use
has increased more than $30,000,000,000.” Total con
struction and production of some goods has quadrupled
Total income payments to individuals equal or exceed
the wartime peak.
Stabilization of our economy: “We have success
fully avoided the deflation which threatened when
war plants closed, but inflation remains a constant
threat.”
Increased opportunities for farmers and business
men: “Almost a quarter of a million new businesses
were established in the last half of 1945, and there is
every reason to believe that the birth of new businesses'
will continue at a high rate. Farmers are looking for
ward to bumper crops, and can sell at good prices all
they can grow.”
SCARCE SCIENTISTS
THIS COUNTRY IS SHORT about 15,000 scientists,
but this is not one of the shortages that bother the
public so much as the scarcity of such things as washing
machines. Scientists attending the recent meeting of
ihe American Association for the Advancement of
Science deplored this situation and wondered how the
Nation could be aroused to a more rational sense of i
TRYING TO MAKE ENDS MEET
HrfTITUCWj
TRUMAN
✓
values. Largely they blame the draft boards for
robbing the colleges of promising students in the scien
tific field, for cutting down the flow of trained man
power in science just when the results of science were
being so greatly depended upon to win battles. What
is more, they say, the postwar draft is still depleting
the Nation of its potential scientific brains. GI stud
ents entering colleges are not making up this lack in
the degree that had been hoped, as only a small propor
tion of them have the necessary preliminary training,
interests and ability in the scientific field.
The science foundation bill, which has been drag
ging along interminably in Congress, would furnish a
remedy by encouraging basic scientific research in col
leges and commercial laboratories, and by assisting
promising students to continue their studies. Also* if
atomic research is not throttled by military or other
controls, the challenging future of this field might spur
the interest and ambition of all youths of scientific
bent. But what is peeminently needed is a wider un
derstanding by people generally of the imperative need
of human brains and talent in building America’s fut
ure, or, in fact, even for preserving what it has attained.
As a people, we rely on and honor the machine and the
invention rather than the basic research back of such
achievments.
The Russians who are generally credited with act
ing realistically in all they do, are certainly not motiv
ated by sentiment in according special honors to scien
tists and creative artists. Why, then, do they make
these intellectuals Russia’s privileged class? National
pride may have something to do with, but Soviet lead
ers also undoubtedly looking to the contribution and
influence of these talented citizens in strengthening
Russia and the Communist system. Now our country’s
great pride has been its technological achievment. But
what that will be 10 or 15 years hence depends on what
is now going in science classes and laboratories in high
schools and colleges. (Washington Post)
\ZOOXTM
I AHEAD
F* GEORGE 1 BENSON
rmUtrt-JUtAi Aflvr*
1 1
PARTNERSHIP
Did you ever have a
joint checking account with
somebody? They can be
handy things sometimes.
So can a tin of gasoline in
the basement, but both are
---—.. ' -- -■ - —
extremely dangerous. All
parties concerned must, of
necessity, have a coopera
tive understanding about
how a joint checking ac
count is to be used, how fast
and for what purposes.
Otherwise, one party’s er
ror might cause the other
one trouble, no end.
I wish all the taxpayers
in the United States could
realize that they have a
joint checking account with
Uncle Sam. .Moreover I
wish they might suddenly
wake up to the fact that
everything they have is in
this joint account. If Uncle
Sam’s checks are na; ad
numbered, Mr. Taxpayer
is certain to have to make
it good personally when
something “bounces."
A JOINT ACCOUNT
i
It is high time now for
some constructive thinking
about the taxpayer’s part
nership with government.
America has no mysterious
far-away colonies from
which savage natives send
precious metals, pelts and
gems in return for dime
store jewelry. The only
iway any administration in
the United States can in
crease treasury income is
by taxation. They spend
and we pay. That's the
story.
Government can assess
taxes to the amount of what
government needs, or the'
amount it thinks it needs,
and that’s a matter of
judgement. During the war
our executives spent mon
ey faster than it came in,
: running the country’s debt
to 268 billion dollars. How
; ever wiselv the debt was
| contracted, it will never be
any smaller until govern
ment officials begin spend
ing less than they collect
from the people by taxa
tion.
BALANCE THE BUDGET
There is considerable
doubt whether those whc
I spend and those who paj
have a cooperative under
standing about their joini
account. They ought to see
eye-to-eye. Victory wai
cheap, whatever it cost ii
money, but the unpaid por
tion still has to be met
Moreover the country*!
best economists think nov
is the time to start paying
off the debt, while nearh
all of us are earning goo<
pay.
Recently I saw a sum
mary of proposed federa
spending for the next 1!
months; a work-sheet fron
the 1947 budget, currentl;
being considered. This bud
get can be balanced as cex
tainly as figures can be d€
pended upon to tell th
truth. It calls for an oul
lay of 35.1 billion dollar
to come from 31.5 billio
of revenue — just 3.6 bi
lion dollars in the red. Sue