Montgomery County sentinel., 1944-07-20
LOOKING
AM4D
On Our WAY
N GEORGE S. BENSON
RssiasstsgafaIxg college
\ SeaHcE .Ask0hSas

People in the United States are
still allowed to own property. We
are all used to the idea and it does
not seem strange to us, but in some
countries it is not allowed and
many politicians oppose it. They
are not all in far-away Muscovy
either. Some people right here in
America think it is wrong to own
property. They are not saying much
about it because such talk would do
them no good right now. But they
are gaining converts quietly.
Fortunately a big share of Con-
gress is elected by farmers, even
yet. Farmers own property and like
it. Suppose some farm-state con-
gresham should dare to suggest
that all farmers surrender their
fields to the government and take
government farm job. He would be
a false representative; would face
sure defeat at the polls. That's why
communists have to hide from Con-
gress while they cook their import
ed poisons into medicine for you and
me.
The First Objective
One Of the main things that COM
munist politicians are aiming at is
the abolition of private property"
OF course they can't argue anybody
into the notion Of giving away their
property. They knop that. The only
way they can separate an owner
from his property is to make it i'm
possible for him to keep it. The
easiest way to do that is to make
taxes so high he can't afford to own
it. That's about what's happening
here now.
The communist platform Of Karl
Marx has in it two wicked tools for
transferring property to the govern
ment from private individuals, such
as farmers:
D A heavy, graduated income
tax-the bigger the income the high
er the rate.
20 Killing the right Of inherit
ance.
together, those two instruments
can do the foul work they are de-
signed to do. BY the way, we have
No. l in America already. No. 2
has been seriously advocated in our
own Congress.
A Ceiling Necessary.
Congress could set up no better
fender against communism in this
country, could devise no safer STRAIT
egy for the home front, than to
take tax laws more intelligently in
hand. There is movement on foot
already to amend the Federal Con-
stitution so as to make $50 the top
tax rate on gifts and inheritances
and, except in war time, on personal
incomes. Maybe 25% is high, but
it's ceiling and I'm for it.
Already IA states: Alabama, Ar
kansas, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana,
Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michi-
gan, Mississippi, Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Wy
oming have endorsed the move by
act of legislature. Such a Constitu-
tional Amendment would bring sew
eral incidental benefits to national
prosperity besides setting up safe
guard against the transfer of pri-
vate property into public hands by
the tax route.
Let Incentive Live
Only recently this column told
about an aged man of means declin-
ing to finance promising home en-
terprise because the biggest possible
return (after taxes) on his invest
ment could not justify the risks in
volved, although the risks seemed
small. Without chance for fnan-
cial improvement, old men will not
risk their savings, nor will young
men contribute their time, energy
and ingenuity. Tax rates like 85c
on the dollar paralyze progress.
Opportunities to make a profit
start new industries and keep OLD
ones going. The United States is
sure of an employment problem aft
er the war, unless industry is freed
from the ball-and-chain effect of ex.
listing taxes.
THE real remedy for unemploy-
ment is the creation and mainte-
nance of work opportunities for
working men and women in private
industry" Who said that? None 9TH
er than Matthew Woll, while he was
vice-president Of the American Fed
GRAFTON of Labor. He was dead right
too.