Milford chronicle., 1951-05-18
WHERE DOES THE FAULT LIE?


WHERE DOES THE FAULT LIE?
The New York Journal-American recent
ly published an unusual graph. It showed
the high present-day cost of a number of
commodities in general use. 1t then showed
how much Of this high cost is due to infa-
ton, and how much to increased taxes. AS
an example, it said of bread, ''When you buy
today's 14-cent loaf you are paying cents
to cover the imitation which has resulted
from our national policy of deficit spending
and aid to all the world, plus another nickel
to cover all the direct and indirect taxes
which become attached to this loaf of bread
on the way from the wheat fields to the din
ner table" So it goes, from shoes and soap
to refrlgeratOrs and automobiles. Informa-
tlOn OF this kind should come as a revelation
to those who blindly blame business for all
the price increases. Some consumer groups
have actually selected the retailer as their
primary target. They have picketed stores.
They have pledged themselves to cut their
buying to the bone in an effort to force the
retailer to lower his prices by some arbitrary
percentage. The consumer has perfect
right to do this, but it will not get results.
The retailer has no control over his prices
save to the extent that he can cut his oper-
atlng costs and operate with maximum
economy. He must pay the increasing costs
Tor goods, wages, stakes, rents and every
tnlng else. His net profit in many cases is
substantially less than it was when prices
were much lower than at present If he made
no profit at all, his customers would save
only few cents out of each dollar thew
spend with him. Let all consumers remen-
Der this-the biggest force back of imitation
IS Wasteful and extravagant government
strike against retailers won't correct that.
<SSERRSU
NOT A WORD ABOUT ECONOMY
The Administrations tax message +o
Congress calls for heavy increases in cOrpor-
alton and individual income taxes. on ton of
the boost which went into effect last October.
1t also asks for big jumps in the excise taxes
on automobiles, household appliances and
other commodities. All of this was generally
anticipated before the message was made
public. But the startling part of the matter
is that not word is said about cutting non
essential government costs. That was also
true OF the Presidents budget message
which went to Congress early in January
This blueprint for, the coming fiscal year
actually envisioned substantial increases in
nOn-defense spending, to be piled onto a
nuge military budget Here is a policy which
II we accpet it, can only lead to the impover-
lShment OF our people, the Sapping of our
energies and resources, and, in time, to the
breakdown of our system of government
We are in very different position now than
we were in 1910, when the last defense pro
gram got rolling. Then taxes-local and
state as well as Federal-were low by com.
parisOn with the present. So was the ma.
tional debt. And the family cost of LIVING
was about half of tOday's figure. 1t has beer
authoritatively said that the budget can be
cut by as much as $4,000, 100000 in fields
which have nothing to do with the defense
effort That is not far from the amount the
currently proposed tax bill is designed tC
raise. 1t is the plain duty of Congress tC
make every possible economy before approx
ing new taxes. The people will pay what
they have to pay, and make whatever sac
rifices are necessary-but they cannot be ex
pected to supinely accept politics as usual
in this grim era of our history.
5000
BE PATIENT
The head of an organization which oper
ates number of department stores through
out the nation recently forecast that the gen
eral level of retail prices would not increase
more than three to five per cent during thu
next several months. In some fields, he add
ed, there will probably be reductions, anC
this includes goods which people bought anC
boarded in the wake of the buying hySteri;
that followed the start of the Korean con
HcC. 1nen ne Sal0, MY adVlce is Tor tn
buyer to be patient. Don't rush out and bu!
just because you think you need a scarce iten
right now. That patience will pay off whel
goods in some lines will be more plentiful
and prices will stabilize" That advice i
typical of the attitude of retailing all alonl
the line, from the big chains to the small
stores. Long before the current control
were put into effect, retailing warned tn
public that boarding was unnecessary, an,
would simply drive prices up farther an,
faster than would be the case otherwise
And, long before controls, leaders in retail
ing urged that stores take no special pric