Imperial Valley press., 1943-06-13
THERE SHOULD BE NO
INCREASE IN TAXES. YET

President Roosevelt has broadly hlnted
that taxes may be increased.
Unhappily, one never knows just what
Mr.. Roosevelt means when he hints. He
may really be paving the way toward
demand for more taxes, or he may only
be trying to make everybody satisfied
with their lot
Regardless of his purpose, it is very
probable that a cross section Of public
opinion would show strong majority
favoring holding up any further taxa
tion plan at least for while
This opinion would not reflect any
unpatriotic attitude on the part of the
people as a whole. Rather, it would re-
fleet a concern whether an increase in
taxes could actually be carried by the
most patriotic, until or unless certain
difficulties had been overcome.
We know we have costly war to fin
ance. We know it will take sacrifice and
more sacrifice. But there are many who
are suffering today, will suffer more
tomorrow. and for whom an added bur
den would be completely unbearable.
One difficulty lies in the "white-col
lar" Job classes, the people who work
for flat pay and not on an hourly rate.
Where the hourly rate worker has seen
his rates moved upward, the flat-pay
group income has climbed much more
slowly and considerably less.
These are feeling the pinch more than
the others. heavier burden may be
carried much easier by the defense work
er making half again as much as he for
merly earned, but the same burden may
be completely stifling for clerk who is
now barely able to make ends meet.
Furthermore, wages and living costs
must be brought more into proper rela-
tionship than they are today. Not only
are coal miners finding their paychecks
inadequate to buy food, but so are many
others.
Before there can be any further
thought Of tax increase, the roll back Of
food and living costs, so much talked
about today, should have been accom-
plished. In other words, we should,
economically, find out where we are be-
fore we plan another offense action on
the tax front.
The new tax plan providing for pay
ment of one-fourth of last years income
taxes in addition to this years, is in ef-
feet material tax increase. No tax in
crease should be made until adjustments
have been made.
And still other families burdened by
pre-war incurred obligations cannot meet
tax loads that can be carried by families
of equal or even lesser income. Allow
ance should be made for circumstances
of this circumstance.
Lastly, the public should be given time
to adapt itself to the new withholding
plan. The improvdent must learn to
be provident; the non-thrifty must learn
thrift; the scatterbrain must become a
planner.
All these things take time; the admins
tration should have realized it sooner
If war costs are so high as to demand
more money right now than is obtain
able, it is not the peoples fault. Those
responsible should not have assumed
the impossible, but made their plans 10
fit realities.
We know we must pay; we are willing
to pay; but there is a limit to all things,
and going past that limit, or reaching it
too soon, can do a vast amount Of dam
age to the whole scheme of things.
Mans mind has opened up more
frontiers than his labor has exhausted
The challenge of the new and the novel
is more present than ever before in his
tory. These are terrible times to live in,
yet they are times that every courageous