The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1934-11-30

necessity rapidly to industrialize
the country and from the back
wardness of the country when it
was taken over from Czarism.
Every new machine installed, ev-
cry new factory opened is helping
to overcome this shortage.
Under capitalism, machines in
crease production and cheaper the
output, thus creating competitive
advantages for the individual in
dustrialist; they dispIace labor in
order to cheaper production costs,
thus making possible the realiza-
ton of larger profits; they inten-
slfy the labor process and thereby
increase the surplus value wrung
from the workers; the increased
output resulting from greater use
of machines takes place in face of
a narrowing market; the socially
produced commodities are private
ly appropriated, creating the con-
ditions which lead to overproduc-
ton. In the Soviet Union, these
conditions are lacking and there
fore the result is different.
Will Give No Benefits
The Townsend plan, BECAUSE of
its implicit faith in capitalism, can
not. therefore, achieve those things
in which it processes to believe.
Even if capitalism would like to
do away with unemployment in its
present sharp form, it would never
agree to the complete abolition of
unemployment, which in any event
is impossible under capitalism. A
reserve army of unemployed is a
necessity for capitalism in order
to make possible any further ex-
pansiOn of industry, and in order
to use unemployment as a threat
against the employed workers, to
lower their wages and to increase
their hours. Capitalism derives
too great a profit from unemploy-
ment to agree to its complete abol-
ition.
The Townsend plan stoops to the
vilest sort of chauvinism in its
efforts to peddle it's pro-capitalist
theology. The plan proposes that
the pension apply only to "Ameri-
cans"; and non-citizens or the I'M
lucky foreign-bornn worker who
accidentally or otherwise may sur
vive past the age of go would not
be eligible for this pension. Since
the sales tax which is to raise the
money for this pension is to be
universal, the foreign-bornr work
ers, of whom there are still many
millions in the U. S., are to have
the privilege of paying this tax
while not receiving any benefits
from it.
Benefits of Workers Bill
Despite the fallacies and unfeas-
Utility of the proposed Townsend
old age pension plan, the necessity
Of making provisions for the "old''
workers is becoming increasingly
urgent. The development of ration
alization and speed-up of capitalist
industry is prematurely aging the
workers, and today workers only
past 40 are considered too old to
work in many industries. The re-
suit is that fewer gray and bald
heads are seen among the working
class. The provisions to care for
these men and women are outlined
in the Workers Unemployment In
surance bill CHR. 1881.
This bill provides that those who
are too cold" 20 find employment
in industry should receive benefits
regardless of whether they are
foreign born or native born. Both
foreign and native-born workers
have contributed to building up the
wealth of this country, have been
equally exploited in the mines,
mills and factories, and should
therefore share equally in any sys-
tenn of social insurance. The bin
opposes any such scheme as the
sales tax, which would throw the
burden upon those who can least
carry 1.-THE workers and farmers
and would exempt the rich. It
opposes any contributions by the
workers ard demands, instead, that
the necessary funds be raised
through increasing the taxes on
the higher incomes and properties,
plus contributions by the govern
ment. It proposes not a 10 per
cent sales tax but a tax on the