Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1935-01-03
GIVES VIEWS ON OLD AGE
PENSIONS

1t is estimated there are in the
lions Of people above the age of 60
and the major part of those are now
on the relief. Would it not be as
well to give them a pension and save
the cost OF distributing this relief
and also save the old folks the
trouble and expense of going to the
relief office once a month TO repeat
the history of their past life and
their present plight.
An old age pension should not be
such a heavy drain on the public
| treasury considering that most states
have an old age pension system and
undoubtedly would be willing to turn
their pension funds over and pay
their part to the federal government.
The enactment of a federal pen
sion law would also be a step taken
towards eliminating the long practi-
cal Interstate policy which has al
| ways worked discriminatory
against part of our people. 1t should
be eliminated. We are a nation.
We hear Of many different pension
plans proposed nowadays. Some OF
them are too radical to command any
! consideration, while others want
plenty" Some Of them are built on
speculation and others are built on
opinion. Here Is one built on hopes:
Give a single person from 60 to 65
years old $1,000 per month; from IS
to 20 give him or her $4,000 per
month; from 70 to rs $4,000 pei
month; and from rs until death give
him $4,000 per month.
Married couples pensions to be
one-third more than the single per
| sons pension based on the age OF the
oldest member of the couple mar
| ried.
Upon the death OF one of them the
| survivor reverts to the single pen
| sion schedule according to his or her
age.
No person, WIN a criminal record
and no person with IN income
amounting to as much per month or
more than the pension allowed in
this plan, shall be eligible for pen.
| sion.
a two percent tax shall be deduct
, ed from each pension check each
month to go to the pension fund. And
in order to enable the states to pay
their share OF the pension promptly,
provisions should be made to com
pei the pensioner to pay his taxes
when due under penalty OF losing his
pension. The states have to be bas-
ed on population.
1t must be admitted that a gradual
pension plan Is more practical and
just than a straight pension begin
ming at a certain age, because the
older a person gets after he reaches
the age OF 65, the more dependent he
Is on others for his keep and care.
Another thing to consider In this con-
n~ection is that very few people now
at the age Of so years had any boys
in the war and naturally were not as
much interested in its outcome as
those of older ages who had their
boys there. The mothers would be
sitting up nights knitting warm
clothes for their boys to keep them
from freezing in the trenches. The
fathers would volunteer their servic-
es to sell government bonds, canvass
ing their districts Over and owe In
an effort to fill the quota assessed to
their district. Register the draft,
donate to the Red Cross and buy
government bonds to the limit Of his
resources only to dispose of at a dis.
count OF from rs to 80 cents on the
dollar during the initiation period OF
1920-21, which was put on by organ.
lied capital for just that purpose.
Those services were considered
valuable at the time Judging from
the solemn expressions spread upon
a nicely decorated certificate issued
J by the Treasury Department as a