Imperial Valley press., 1937-04-28
News Behind the News
Neu Federal Taxes They Look
Like $3.50 Bet The Presidents
u ords Are Gone With The Wind

WASHINGTON New federal taxes within
the year, despite reassurances from the White
House and Capital Hill. still look like $3.50 bet.
The President of the United States has de-
lghtful talent for divergency in his remarks as
10 the budget and the federal finances from time
to time His best friends have to agree with his
worst enemies on that fact, although they point
out that the picture, of course, also changes.
7 am convinced" Mr.. Roosevelt has now
said. that the success of our whole program
and the permanent security of our people demand
that We adjust all expenditures within the limits
of my budget estimates.
On the other hand there are these points:
I. There is no assurance whatever that Con-
gress can be kept within the budget figures.
It viii be an unusual Congress if it is.
,. Roosevelt has asked for s1500,o0O00O for
1878 work relief and experts agree that he
will feel compelled to ask for more later to get
through the fiscal year, unless the federal relief
policy is to be radically changed.
3. The administration is now more deeply
concerned with the need for balancing the
budget than ever before. There is reason to
believe it will prefer to tax rather than borrow
further beyond present antcipations.
4 Conservative Democrats favor keeping the
WPA appropriation down to billion dollars
instead of billion and a half. Roosevelt has
insisted he will not compromise on that point
The indication is left that the conservatives
who prefer TO cut relief expenses rather than
other costs, will be stubborn about holding
down those other costs and try to place the
blame on the President and his insistence on
maintaining the WPA policy.
s. Nearly all RooseVelt's closest advisers. ex-
cept Secretary Morgenthau and the Treasury
group are convinced that the Wlsest policy IS TO
raise income taxes. They will continue to in
sst TO the President that the only way to keep
the economic system in balance is to sphon off
a larger share OF big profits and big incomes in
order to pour them back into the bottom econo
mic levels. This may be the most important
factor of all
6. The First Circuit Courts decision holding
the federal old-age benefits payroll tax illegal
already has begun to stir up those who believe
a federal old-age benefit system should be fl
nanced from the proceeds OF income taxes. If
the Supreme Court should now uphold the
lower courts adverse decision, the demand for
the latter method of financing might well be-
come overwhelmingly strong resulting in legis
lation requiring hundreds of millions of dollars
in new revenue at once.
II Roosevelt comes back next February to
ask Congress for more relief money he will
only be repeating his own history. Some of the
$500 000000 asked for next fiscal year probably
will have to be applied to WPA for the tail
end of the current fiscal year The U. S. Con-
ference of Mayors year ago estimated 1886
81 WPA costs at S2340000000. Actually the
costs are running somewhere over Sz30000000e
This year it has been said a continuance of
federal policy would require S2.2O00000OO for
1878