The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-11-09
|. BEHIND " THE SCENES
 WASHINGTON
Taxes Seen as Key to Sue.
 cess of Democracy by
 David Cushman Coyle, Who Has Become the Major "Economic Pro- phet" of the New Deal.
RY RQpNkY pUTCHER-l
Democrat Washington Correspondent

MAJoT ECon0LnlC AEV
 phet" of the New Deal.
 Washington, Nov, o-'rhe New Deal administration, once widely ac. cused of Q crime called planning more recently and with more justice has been criticized for lack of plan or consistency In policy. A general uncertainty as to the future is often linked with this apparent lack.
 The uncertainties are not being removed. But Ave years after the
 l9S2 election, what informed per- sons In Washington are calling
 "the enduring economic phil0so-
 phy of the New Deal," has been
 bound up In book form. The book
 k "Why Pay TaxeS?" by David
 Cushman Coyle. You can call
 COyle n New Deal major prophet.
 Roughly, more than 75 per cent of
 the key men In Che adminlstra. tion who are "close to the presi. dent agree with him on essential points.
 The degree to which these points will appear In subsequent admin istration programs Is problematl- cal, but Coyle's small volume Is Q guide book for those who want to know what the New Deal today is shooting at, Follows 0 summary of why Pay TaXesp" and certain conversations with the author; Taxes Seen us Key
 Demoeracy's fundamental prob- lem, says Coyle, is to keep demoe- raey going. When economic power becomes concentrated in Q few hands it's demoerNey's business to break or control that concentration and to encourage growth and sure vival of small businesses. It Is also the governments duty to provide public services necessary to keep the country la sound condition.
 Taxation Is the device which democracy must use t0 preserve Itself, first by control and second, in order to finance the public SerV- lees. Taxation can be used to cons trOl and adjust the economic sys- tenn. The tax system can get revenue most simply by leaning on the middle Income brackets. Higher brackets should be taxed Ut still higher rates (sayS C0yle), not primarily for revenue but Co keep individuals from getting "toO much" money and power The fu- turc calls for heavier income, inheritance and state taxes.
 Keeping Money Moving
 Money must be kept circulate Ing. Poor people spend it. Ricl, people invest it Unlimited in- Vestment which leads to danger ous booms, must Do curbed. Taxes arc not a burden, but q saving oi expense when public services arc cheaper than private costs for the same services. Coyle quotes Q Dan- ish farmer who asked how ho could possibly stnrd paying out 30 DOT cont of his Income in taxes, replied "What do you mean9 We get it oil back" Money paid in taxes goes right back Into the system with in- creased velocity which swells tho national Income, according to this theory,
 Under the present tax system in America about 70 per cent of taxes hit poor people. The small- CT . persons Income. the higher a proportion of it Is paid In taxes Real estate, tobacco, movie, liquor taxes all nuisance taxes tariffs and most COnspleu0usly-sal taxes soak the poor. 1hls violates the ability-to-pay theory of taxa- ton,
 Usefulness Is Test
 Tho question of budget deficit or surplus should Do made to depend on whether there's enough money in tho country, says Coyle, Most people think there Is enough money, so that the treasury ought to have a surplus. But although most people appear convinced that the surplus should be atttained by economies, the matter of budget- balancing (says Coyie) really has no relation to what the size of the budget should be, Size should be determined by the answer to the question:: "ls government work being donc2"
 The American people, C0yle concludes, should pay taxes enough Co keep the country In good condition. If we balance the budget and still continue . spend- Ing program, making up the dlf- ference with higher taxes, we can employ a huge number of peO. pie on improvement of the C0un- try through soil erosion work, conservation public health work, retaining of workers, Dust Bowl efforts and so on.
 CoylG believes in discouraging big business monopolies, but would like to see corporations make big profits and individuals receive big incomes SO that the government will have that much more to take away from them iil taxes.
 Copyright, 1887, NEA Service, Incl IEATAEP NEATEpC