The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1936-01-16
THE GOVERNMENT
AND TAXES

January Is, speaks good word for
poor, belabored Uncle Sam in the
matter of federal taxes. We hear so
much of taxes on all sides and pay
so many personally and through
business that we are apt to get the
notion that of all nations and all
people we are the most put upon.
Mr.. Flynn attempts to answer the
question of who is right about taxes
and gives opinions from a number
of the leading politicians today. Mr..
Hoover declares that we are the most
heavily taxed people in the world;
Mr.. Morgenthau says we are not so
heavily taxed as the English; Sena-
tor Borah says taxes are destroying
us; Senator Lafolette says we will
destroy ourselves if we do not tax
more; and President Roosevelt de-
clares that we are in such good
shape now that we will not have to
increase taxes. Senator Vandenberg
says we have not started yet on real
taxation and Lewis Douglas says
that we are escaping the tax collec-
tor by borrowing dollar for every
dollar we get in taxes and that we
are treading a primrose path to
bankruptcy.
All the above mentioned men are
men who know about what they are
talking, yet they issue such conflict
ing statements that there is bound
to be something wrong somewhere.
Briefly, Mr.Flynn tries to explain it.
First, he says, Uncle Sam gets the
credit for much more taxing than
he really does. According to 1882
census study, there are $4,000 tax
ing units in the country. Besides the
nation, we have states, cities, towns,
villages, counties, school districts,
highway units, etc., etc.
In 1884, if the total tax bill had
been split up, figures Mr.. Flynn,
every man, woman, and child would
had to pay $75.14-an amount
enough to brighten any of us-but if
the national income had been divid-
ed the same way, every man, wom-
an, and child would have drawn
1895. Thus figures show that ap-
proximately 10 per cent of our in
come goes out in taxes, but what do
we get for this tax money? Too
many of us sit down and moan or
else stand up and howl because we
are taxed to death to keep up
standing army Of crooked politici-
ans. Some Of it does pay salaries Of
representatives, but in few cases
are the salaries exorbitant for the
work that they have to do. Hun
dreds Of business executives in the
United States draw double even
three times the salaries we pay our
statesmen to run our country. Our
federal taxes last year provided us
with police, fire. protection, street
cleaning, traffic control. health pro-
lection, disqualification for millions,
education for, our children, libraries,
museums, art galleries, scores of
colleges, forest protection, child
welfare, agricultural aids, army and
navy maintenance, payment on ma
tional debt interest, and dozens of
other things .including--wise or UNI
wise-the activities of the govern
ment in protecting us from the raw
ages of a great depression.
It seems to us that with a little
thought, we will agree with Mr..
Flynn that Uncle, Sam is not the
skinfiint he is so often pictured but
that for the money we pay out in
taxes, we get a bargain in the many
and varied things we get in return
We have become so used to the
workings of the government that
we often do not stop to realize that
it takes money to run it. And it is
very conso1ing and soothing to read
this comparison based on the per-
centage of the taxpayers income
which was taken in 1933-the lat
est figures avai1able-in three great