Evening star., 1942-03-29
Middle Gloss Citizens
Paying for War
BIZ OUen L. Scott.

income. The troubles of this group are
Just beginning. They will grow as the
war effort grows.
Those troubles trace to the political
struggle Of labor. farm and industrial
groups to use the war to improve their
relative positions. These groups are
striving to get rich out Of the war. They
are able to report gains and those gains
are to be at the expense Of the middle
class.
It is necessary to understand a few
basic facts to see what now is happening.
Not everybody can improve his position
In wartime. The reason Is that we'll
being Is measured In terms of ability to
buy goods for present enjoyment and to
save In order to be able to buy goods In
the future. In wartime, armament in
dustries take up so much Of the capacity
for producing goods that there aren't
enough Of the things that people want to
20 around. This means that either avail
able goods are divided up equally so that
everybody can enjoy them. or somebody
is going to go without. The ability to
buy goods Is measured in terms OF dollars.
Right now the ground Is being laid for
. radical shift in the well being of big
groups in the population. All present
signs suggest that 1t is to be the middle
class that will suffer.
First. take the wage earning group.
The income of individual families in this
group is greater by far than ever before
in history. 1t Is a politically powerful
group. Its members, in important pro-
portion, are organized into unions that
have Government protection. 1t is fav-
ored by . law which requires a so per
cent increase in pay for all hours worked
over 10 In one week. Its recurring de-
mands for hourly wage increases are
almost always granted. in part, by Gov
ernment boards. This group, propor-
tionately, is taking a much greater slice
Of the national income and Is competing
strongly for the available supply Of goods.
Then take the farm group. This group,
too. Is powerful politically. 1t draws
heavy cash subsidies from the Govern
ment even in this period when the in
come Of its families is higher than at
any time In history. except for the one
year, 1919. Its political power enables 1t
to avoid any fixed ceiling upon the price
Of the products that it sells, Just rs la
bor's political power does for its wages
Like the wage earning group. the farm
group Is taking q much greater slice OF
the national income and is competing
more strongly for the available supply of
goods. Tax laws favor both the workers
and the farmers
Then there Is the owning and manag-
Ing group, group which has lost much
political power in recent years. Even 50.
this high-income group continues to have
ability to maintain its position in the
competition for goods. Higher taxes cut
deeply into its savings but not into its
purchasing power for current consump-
ton. The Government is negotiating
armament contracts on basis that guar
antees q profit and permits continued
payment Of large salaries. There is no
real need for concern over the well being
of the high-income class in the United
States.
When it comes to the middle class,
however, things are different.
This class is made up largely of SAL
aried and professional people together
with some people living on fixed income
from investments. Its level Of income
ranges from about $1,000 to $4,000 an
nually. This Is the class Of people who
usually own their own homes. send their
children to college and save against a
rainy day. It is class that is conserv-
ative in political viewpoint and always
has been regarded as the background Of
the country.
But middle-class people are not Or
gained They are taken for granted by
the politicians. They are much slower to
share in the ups and downs Of income
changes. Normally, the purchases Of
this group account for large propor-
ton of the country's trade in other than
bare necessities. The living standard OF
middle-class Americans has been the
envy Of much Of the world.
Now, however, forces are at work which
threaten that living standard.
Workers and farmers with rising in
come are competing strongly for the
available supply Of goods. Their incomes
are rising even faster than prices so that
they are getting larger proportion OF
the output Of industry that is destined
Tor civilian use. Middle-class incomes are
rising much more slowly. Not only that,
but tax increases hit these incomes with
particular severity. Taxes and rising
prices, between them. are cutting into or
eliminating savings and are tending to
force living standards lower. At the
same time, the Government is insisting
that this class sacrifice even more OF its
living standards in order to buy Govern
ment bonds.
And that is not all. The draft laws
work in q way that will draw of a very
large proportion OF the middle class
group for military service. Farmers are
able to bring political and other pres
sure to bear to get high degree OF
exemption for farm labor and for farm
ers themselves Workers are often en-
eaRed In actual war production and are
exempt as a result. White collar work.
ers. however, are able to make no such
case. II they are statesmen their useful
ness already Is in question. If they are
minor executives, or clerks or admins
trative workers others can be trained
to take their places.
The result of all 81 this is that the
middle class in this country Is caught
right in the middle.
Nobody Is worrying much about 1t.
No powerful bloc in Congress is organized
to insist that middle class incomes be