The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1941-04-25

tary Henry
Morgenthau's suggestion to hike
rates by about so per cent.
The boost will mainly sock just
fair-to-middling incomes, too.
Cracking big ones already pay at
such figures that their recipients
will tend to quit making any more
money. Whatll be their induce
ment to make any more, only to
surrender 1t to Uncle Sam? They'll
prefer to live on their capital in
stead. It'll be an application of the
well-known economic law Of d.
minishing returns"
Exemptions will be lowered. In
order to catch a large class OF
small income earners who, hither-
to, haven't been taxed at all.
STILL a small -income receiver
generally hasn't much style to
maintain in his. family's way Of
! living. He'll be pinched and he'll
holler, but he can economic a bit
and stand the gaff. It's the bird In
the merely average brackets who'll
have a heck OF time. His house.
hold has to keep up with the
Joneses," and he literally can't
trim his expenses much. He'll have
to dip into his savings or, II he
hasn't got any, run into the hole.
Middle Class Bears Load
1t didn't take any phenomenal
income TO be MIXED 500 last
March. Next March it promises to
$3.50. Maybe it will be more than
that, the upper bracketers being
squeezed pretty close to the limit
now. while the very low bracketers'
contributions will be relatively
small. II so, the middle bracketers
will have to bear the bulk of the
load Of the 80 per cent increase.
Secretary Morgenthau also pro-
poses various excise taxes-rev-
enue stamps on all sorts Of stun.
Consumers naturally will have to
foot the bill for 'em. Well, the head
of a family can more or less dis
count such levies, by yowling like
fury to his wife and children to
buy less. 1t may put 'em land him)
on short rations, but theoretically
1t can be done. He can't economic
a cents worth on an income tax
collectors requisition, though.
All hands recognize that Secre-
tary Morgenthaus sound in his ar
gument that it's imperative for US
to meet current national expendi-
lures by current taxation, as far as
we can. If we run indefinitely into
debt, as Henry truthfully remarks,
we'll run indefinitely into imitation.
That Is, our money'll get to be
worth less and less.
Germany did it during the last
war, and its currency got to be SO
valueless that 1t had to be aban-
doned and a new kind adopted.
saw more pronounced case Of
1t, though, on smaller scale, In
Paraguay. while living in the little
republics neighborhood some years
ago. Just after our own civil conflict
In the United States the Paraguay
ans, under President Lopez, got
into a fracas with Brazil, Argen-
tina and Uruguay, all at once.
They were outnumbered about 20
to I, but they fought, on credit, for
four years. In my time In South
America, hard onto half a century
later, they hadn't any money Of
their own at all. They hadn't even
substitute. like Germany. They
traded In Argentine, English and
U. S. dough. It's fine situation for
a country not to have ANY money
except other countries coinage or
paper issuancel
Speaking Of Age Limits
And, speaking Of Paraguay!
There's talk in congress Of cut
ting down our CONSUMPTION age
from 81 to IS, and perhaps the
maximum from IS to 30, but the
minimum, anyway from 81 to IS.
There are critics, however, who
contend that kid Of Is Is too
young.
Now to get back to PARAGUAY.