Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1922-11-03
Money and Trade
The Farmers Taxes.
Over Half of His Profits.
We All Share the Burden.
A Problem for Congress.
By George W. Hinman
In the New York American

Chicago. Oct. 26.-The president OF
the Farm Bureau Federation figures
that two years ago the farmers of the
United States paid taxes amounting TO
about 6A per cent of their gross in
come.
That is, with something over ten
and a half billions Of gross income,
the farmers paid nearly 700,000,OOO
TO support the local and national gov
eminent. If one includes some of the
Indirect taxes, like the tariff, whose
effect nobody can calculate exactly,
the total Indebtedness would be raised
above $500, 10000.
What do these tax figures mean to
the average farmer?
Mr.. Howard says that the farmers
average profit in 1920 was only $1S6.
And his taxes apparently amounted to
almost 500. One hundred dollars in
taxes and less than $500 profit.
That is something to startle an
economist and make a statesman sit
down and think.
Where the Burden Lies
Yet the farmer is not the hardest
pressed by present taxation. The
small townman has to pay not only
most of the taxes that. a farmer pays,
but also some stiff village taxes and
a lot of special assessments. How
these growing burdens press down
many families, every intelligent mar
must have noticed. Fol- instance:
The writer knew a widowed mother
and widowed daughter in a suburban
village. Their regular income was
only $4,000 a year-$700 from invest
ments and $1,000 from the daughters
occupation in Chicago. They owned
their home and lived decently until
the taxes of the Fast five years were
levied on them. Last year in taxes
and local assessments they paid $500
out of the $4,000 and then gave up
the struggle. They sold their home,
retired to that part Of the country
where they could live most cheaply
and now are spending their capital
or principal for their daily bread,
clothes and lodging. Such cases are
only too common just now.
In a few years the expenditures of
the National Government have tripled.
Those of the state government have
doubled-gone from half a billion to
a full billion. Ohio's budget, for in
stance, is three times what 1t was;
Pennsylvania nearly four times;
Washington's nearly six times. Coun-
tries, towns and villages have spent
money Just as fast-sometimes much
faster.
Taxes Tripled
The writer knows small eastern
villages, barely mentioned on the
map, where the taxes and assessments
are three or four times what they
were a few years ago, and the rage
for "improvements'' at the taxpayers
expense has gone on through bad
times and good as if the public purse
and private contributions had no limit
or bottom.
Only when one sees the victims Of
this extravaganza selling in brokers'
offices their little certificates of stock
-one share, three shares, five share
holdings-in order that they may keep
going, only when one witnesses the
painful economies and the distressing
reluctance to draw down past savings
for the payment of current household
bills, can one realize how vicious the
waste at the state and national capt.
tails and how cruel are it's conse-
quences.
No wonder Senators Borah and
Beveridge, today are warning the peo-
pie that government extravaganza and
taxation must come down at once or
millions of American families will be
reduced from comfort topenury. The
families that are most oppressed
number hardly less than $500, 900, &C
cording to the latest income tax re-
turns, and they are families whose
standard of life and decent survival
in the affairs of the country are more
important to the general welfare than
can be told in a few lines.
A Timely Protest
What the president of the Farm
Bureau said on Tuesday for the farm
ers is a correct and timely protest.
If other business men would arise
and say similar things in defense of
other groups of suffering taxpayers,
they would be doing an equally good
work.
congressman, legislative candidates
and county officers are asking for
votes and the offices will be filled on
November 7th. These are the men
responsible for. the cost Of government
and the taxes. So now is the time for
business men to protest in behalf of