Evening star., 1950-04-30
Trumon's Prosperity
Called Dangerous
Writer Sees Heovy Spending
BY Government q Peril
ey Fronk Z. Kent

Mr.. Truman'S contention that a Splen-
did prosperity still prevails In our coun-
try and that everything is lovely in our
domestic situation is not easy to sustain
unless you ignore some pretty pregnant
facts and do not care what you say any
how. Yet, undoubtedly ii is the Truman
intention to make this his basic appeal
to the people on the non political tour
of the country which with a great fam
fare of administration trumpets he be-
gins next week,
The fact is that recent developments
in Washington have made 1t clear that
this assumption is completely fraudulent.
The chief of these. of course. is the offi-
cial revelation that the Truman estimate
of the Federal deficit for the fiscal year
ending July /. 1850. is 81 2 billion short.
which means net deficit for the current
year of SOL billion instead Of $40 billion.
And. for the year ending July /. 1851.
Senator George, chairman of the Sem
ate Finance Committee, estimates n
deficit Of $7.3 billion. In brief. from
Democratic sources it is officially eSti-
mated that in II months the net deficit
will exceed $l4 billion. This is so far
beyond the administration estimates as
to make them seem absurd.
Now. what this really means is that
the Federal finances are altogether out
OF control When the President and his
financial advisers miSgueSs revenues and
receipts by So billion (which is an I'M
reinstatement of what they have donep
1t means that they have lost all sense
OF the fiscal realities and have no real
conception Of actual conditions, When
to this you add Senator Byrds incon-
trovertible figures showing that exclud-
ing interest on the national debt. money
appropriated for national defense the
Marshall Plan and foreign aid and social
security. our expenditures for purely
domestic purposes has increased nearly
30 per cent since 1948, few clear r-headed
persons will dispute the statement that
our Federal finances are in a runaway
condition-and that our fiscal situation
is a perilous one.
Considering all these things. 1t Is GER
tainly pertinent to inquire what is this
prosperity for which Mr.. Truman claims
full credit? Is it solid or is 1t fictitious?
Is the breaSt-beating statement of Leon
Keyserling. acting chairman of the
Council of Economic Administration, that
AAS AAuSCSA Aio" yOu IL, lIl0
situation is very. very good" juStified2
There is very strong argument to be
made that the sort of prosperity" for
which Mr.. Truman claims credit and to
which he intends to point on his NON
political" trip starting next week Is in
fact q thoroughly false prosperity To
take this sort of prosperity" seriously
Is to expose ourselves to a shock from
which 1t will be hard to recover.
For the truth Is the prosperity" about
which the President boasts comes from
the fact that the Government is annually
spending So billion more than 1t takes
in in taxes. This is a tremendous sum.
With it, huge subsidies for the farmers.
maintenance for the INDECENT. idle and
thriftless. provision for countless un-
necessary jobholders and for numerous
unnecessary purposes are supplied All
Of this money is put into circulation.
Along with the vast sums spent on for
eign aid and in prosecution of the cold
war; 1t holsters salaries and incomes Of
individuals and. satisfying our irnme-
diate appetite, gives us false sense Of
security.
The fact Is that every day the ma
tional debt gets larger and the national
finances more deplorably unmanageable.
This isn't real prosperity. 1t Is about as
perilous a state of affairs as well can
be imagined.