The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-03-05
Fair Enough

II = ~ 0SS " ~ SIS
Ediotr'. Note.-Ihe Star and the News accept no
often di..sss. with them as much as many Of
his readers His articles the good purpose Of
i BY WESTBROOK PEGLER
| NEW YORK-Senator Barley, in his dra-
matte huff at the President, was the first to
point out that Mr.. Roosevelt did not understand
the nature of the social security pool The
President, complaining that congress had re-
fused to double the Social Security tax, said
the increase would have yielded 81, 100, 900, 90
in new revenues;he assumed that this money
should be available for current spending In
pract1ce this has been so from the beginning
through the device of tapping the till of social
security and dropping in IOU's bearing per
cent interest. In favor of this practice it has
been argued that if the money were simply
allowed to accumulate in the pool it would
presently become menace by its very size
and inactivity. Therefore it should be invested
But it has been invested in debt, not security
1t is gone, spent, and the IOU's in the shape
OF bonds must be repaid to meet the demands
on social security as they mature. To repay
them, the treasury must sell other bonds to
the public or collect other taxes. The ultimate
answer is taxes because even if bonds be sold
to meet the governments debt to social secur-
Ivy, Ill lle 1OISTun tIlOSe DOnQS must De IL
nanced by taxes, paid, as Mr.. Roosevelt him
self once said, in the sweat Of those who toll
So, eventually, the insured toilers must be
swindled Of their original social security pay
ments or taxes They must pay other taxes in
the not necessarily sweet bye and bye to re-
deem the IOU's left in place of their own
money in the special cash drawer.
I'm my discussion Of that proposal" to
freeze the tax at l per cent, II stated that
hoI ~INI
by this tax as anything but a sacred fund to
be used for the payment of the worthy pur-
poses contemplated when the social security
law was enacted" Mr.. Barley said II did
not, nor at any time would I, vote to increase
the tax merely for the purpose of letting the
treasury use it as revenue to carry on the
ordinary expenses of the government"
But whether or not be consciously voted an
increase for this stated purpose, that would be
the inevitable effect OF any such vote by
Senator Barley or anyone else. He might tell
himself he was voting to double the tax, as
he was willing to do in this case, only for the
purpose of maintaining the reserve at a pru-
dent figure. But he would know that the
money would be drained off and spent as fast
as it came in Ito carry on the ordinary ex-
penses Of the government" and he would
know, too that, in time, it would be necessary
to 60 back to the people and tax them again,
admissions and in hundred other ways, to
replace their own money. For government
spending is not profitable even under the most
idealistic administration. Government is not
intended to show cash profits. 1t is ex-
pensive institution devised to keep order and
fight foreign enemies.
Although social security is one of the gaudy
landmarks of the New Deal, the President is
only one of millions who do not understand
II a THINKS ho should he aVajla he
for spending and the people do not even know
what benefits they are paying for under an
infinite variety Of special circumstances.
Moreover, some unions of Mr.. Roosevelts
following have adopted plans of their own
which, in general, purport to supplement the
public security. They are completely private
organizations, answerable to no public author
ity but they can, and do levy pay roll taxes
on both workers and employers. In this they
are within the law and the worker who pays
in / per cent of his earnings to the union
treasury while his employer contributes per
cent, may be expelled for some real false
violation Of union rules or discipline and auto
matically lose his benefits In one particular
case of a union which compels members to
pay social security, the man in charge of the
treasury is crook who already has served
a term for stealing from the death benefit
fund of the same union.
Jimmy Petrillo's Federation Of Musicians
presents another interesting variation.
Petrillo demands a royalty payable to the
union, not the members, on mechanical music.
He is able to enforce his demand under the
New Deals Roosevelt union policy. He says
the purpose of the collection is to, care for
musicians thrown out of work by the mechani-
cal repetition of original human effort. But,
obviously, as music becomes thoroughly
mechanical, only handful of musicians will
continue to perform and, the rest, having
dropped out of the trade, will cease to be union
members The collections, however, will multi
ply rather than decrease and the money will
belong to Petrillo and his officers and the
privileged few remaining members.
A nation founded to escape Europe and its
budding, timid ways and its groupings of
people in masses and classes finds painful
nroblems when it attempts to adapt European
social plans to the American system and
tradition
.Keen the Home Fires Burning" was song
Of World War l. Darling, Am Growing
Colder is made appropriate now by the coal
shortage.
Being taken by surprise by the Allied land
ING near Rome is nothing to how the Germans
are going to be taken later on.
A Tennessee man was arrested Tor having
three wives. He should be glad they caught
him before vacation time.
| There may be rhyme, but there's probably
I1;ff1a If the spring poetry