The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1948-12-02
Economic HighLghts


The aftermath of an election
like the aftermath of battle, is fill
r ed with talk of what-might-have-
been. Of infinitely greater import
ance, however, is the question of
what is going to happen now that
Mr.. Truman has become President
in his own right, by mandate of
the voters, and has with him a
| Congress which is solidly Demo-
cratic in both branches.
There are those who say that
Mr.. Truman, during the campaign,
took a stand which was somewhat
to the left Of his natural position
that, in other words, his bark was
worse than his bite will be from
the point of view of business
Others take no stock in this atti
tude. The very conservative Wall
Street Jorunal, for instance, thinks
that Mr.. Truman meant precisely
what he said, and will do every
thing he can to put his election
promises into full effect. 1t said,
editorially, that the idea that the
President may discount some of
the things he said in the heat of
the campaign wholly neglects one
Of the outstanding characteristics
of Mr.. Truman. He keeps his com
Imitments and he honors his alleg-
iances even when it is difficult to
do so. The prospects for the
immediate future are down in black
and white and it seems to us rath-
er foolish not to believe the words
and sentences"
At the same time, it must be re-
Imembefed that MIR. Truman's leg
Iislative program must be approved
by Congress to become effective.
Here is one of the big question
marks of the moment. Joe Martin,
the present Speaker of the House,
who will resume his old role as
minority leader next session, has
said that the President can get
just about anything he really
wants from Congress. Others are
nowhere near so sure. A siZable
part of the Democratic strength in
the House is from the South, and
its leaning tend in a conservative
direction. A number of the Demo-
cratic Senators are not in SYM
pathy with much Of the program
Mr.. Truman has described. At any
rate, here is how the guessers are
predicting the trend of coming
events.
Labor Legislation: 1t is not like
ly that the Taft Hartley Act will
be repealed outright. 1t will be sub
jected to major changes, of the
kind labor wants. Special atten-
tion will be given to the subject of
"critical strikes that is, those in
basic industry which directly affect
the whole country and economy.
Agriculture: Price support is de-
I fnitely here to stay. All that is in
doubt is the level at which farm
prices will be supported. Beginn-
ing in 1850, flexible support pol
icy, as contrasted with the present
policy of supporting prices at 90
per cent of parity, was to take eff
feet. 1t is possible now, however,
that the so per cent figure will be
continued.
Price Control: 1t is likely, but it
will be very different from OPA.
Probably an effort will be made to
impose it at the source on certain
key items, rather than at the com
sumner level. This will stir one of
the hottest debates in Congress.
Rent control, of course, is certain
to go on.
The Budget: Federal spending
will increase, and TO a somewhat
greater extent than probably would
have been the case in a COP ad-
ministration. During the next fis-
cal year, outgo will be $4,000
600, eco, perhaps much more.
! Taxes: Early increases in per-
sonal taxes are unlikely-that
would be the toughest of all medi-
cine for Congress to swallow. Cor
poration taxes, however, are in for
a boost. The President will urge
doing this through an excess pro-
fits levy, rather than an increase
in the regular corporate rate.
Social Security: There will be
more of it, and it will cost more.
Both the present payroll tax and
the wage limit on which the tax is
now levied will probably be raised
Emphasis will be on larger bene-