The journal. (Caldwell, Ohio) 1934-1961, 1949-11-10
The
American Way
HOW DUMB CAN WE GET?
By DEWITT EMERY

! Inc american Institute of Pub
lie Opinion recently reported
that one of the chief "areas of
ignorance" among the American
people is their failure to realize
the high portion of their person
al incomes which are taken by
hidden taxes. Former President
Herbert Hoover, in his 18th
birthday address, spelled out for
the American people their gross
ly excessive tax burden in a
way that no one could possibly
misunderstood. He put it this
way: "Out Of the 235 working
days in the year, the average
American citizen works 81 days
to pay his taxes"
Stop for minute and figure
out what this means to you. Null
tiply your daily wage or salary
by sixty-one and that's what the
government is taking out of your
pocket as your share of the taxes
it collects each year. If you make
ten dollars day your tax bill is
over fifty dollars per month.
Keep that in mind the next time
you hear an office holder telling
all of the things he has done for
the American people.
Mr.. Hoover also pointed out in
his birthday speech that there
are enough new spending pro-
jects under consideration by the
Federal government to take at
least 20 more days pay a year
away from every employed per-
son in the nation.
The fact that you cannot see
the amount of tax you pay every
time you make a purchase does
not mean that you are not being
taxed In fact, because the bulk
of your taxes are Well-concealed
-hidden-iS what enables the
tax-spenders to get away with
throwing your money to the
four winds all over the world.
The Illinois Federation of Re
tail Associations reported to its
members that there are 126 hid
den taxes in a pair of shoes, "a
hidden taxes in quart of milk,
l54 hidden taxes in a cake OF
soap, SO hidden taxes in milady's
coat and At in her dress, 201 in
a gallon of gasoline, 142 in the
farmers plow, SO in your hat,
148 in a pair of overalls, etc, on
throughout long list.
| Yet, in the face of this exces-
sive taxation our Federal govern
ment is operating in the red. In
the three months ending Sept,
30, the deficit was $1,21l, ,440, 900
These were three mighty pros
porous months with tax receipts
of S9,257, ,648, 900, representing a
near-record peacetime tax col
lection. being an increase OF
S1l3,819,000 over the correspond
ing wear. So the deficit was not
caused by a falling off in rev.
enue but rather by a new mad
wave of bureaucratic spending.
Where did all this extra mon
ey go? The largest single item OF
increased spending went to crop
supports which jumped in the
quarter ending Sept. 80, from
SIS, 5,272,000 last year to $6l6, 1884,
900 this year. This is the amount
added to your food bill for three
months in addition to the high
price you paid for the food it
self. Maybe Federal spending
and high taxes don't mean any
thing to you personally; then
again maybe they do.
One thing you can be sure OF
is that these back-breaking
taxes and this grossly excessive
spending will go on just as long
as the dumb taxpayers" will
pay the bill. Every politician
likes patronage and the more
there is to spend the more pa
tronage there is to dish out.
That's the way it is, and that's
the way, it will be until the Am
erican people start yelling at the
tops of their lungs for economy
Then when there are more votes
to be gotten by economy than by