The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1953-02-27
BY LEE METCALF
HAVE OUR CAKE

hover and put tax reduction aheat
of national security and budget bal
ancing. By a vote of 81 to 4, the
committee approved a bill III. R. II
by its chairman, Republican Rep
Reed of New York, to start cutting
individual income taxes July. Reed
has said any delay in his bill, which
simply moves up by six months the
date of the II per cent individual
tax cut already scheduled to take
place automatically next 1 January,
would be lover by dead body" Presi-
dent Eisenhower has limited he may
veto a tax reduction bill and has
said his advisers are thinking about
a substitute for the excess profits
tax, slated to expire July. House
Rules Chairman Allen (R-Ill) has
said he expects his committee to
hold up H. R. 1 until there is some
indication that the budget can be
balanced He indicated House &C
ton will be postponed at least until
around l May. But H. R. 1 is a
privileged" resolution. Reed can rise
at any time and ask that it be taken
up by the House. So we come to
questions like: How far will Reed go
in defying House leadership, typi-
fled by Speaker Martin (R-Mass.)
who has warned that "We've got to
show some savings before we can cut
taxes?" How strong is the Presidents
leadership? If Reed is just making a
gesture toward tax cutting, he won't
make another move. If he means what
he says, and his neck bowed, all he
has to do is get to his feet. Then
the President would have to muster
strength behind his argument in the
State of the Union message that tax
cuts would be justified "only as we
show we can succeed in bringing
the budget under control" That |
would raise another question: Can
the COP leadership hold? Many of |
US agree that we must place ma
tional security first, budget balanc- |
ing second, tax reduction third. But
if the House is going to start off by
letting the excess profits tax die
and no substitute is in sight as yet
then personal income taxes should be
cut at the same time. To do other !
wise would be to put the welfare of |
big corporations ahead of Mr.. Az
erage Citizen.
SHIFT
One of the points on President
list of IL legislative
'musts" to additional mil
lions of persons the coverage of the
Old Age and Survivors Insurance Act
already is apparently a dead duck
as far as this session is concerned
The Republican chairman of the
House Ways and Means committee
plans to refer it to special subcom-
nittee for an overall study of So
:ial Security before action is taken.
PARITY PAIR
To stay in business, a producer
Or a fabricator must plan ahead.
Farming is neither day-to-day nor
4 year-to-year business. But the
farmer cannot plan ahead under the
A agriculture Act that runs out next
year. | do not believe time enough
remains before the deadline to form
llate long-range farm program that
will achieve 100 per cent of parity
for all farm production. l therefore
will support pair of stop-gap meas
lres now before the House. One
would include such crops as oats,
barley, rye, and sorghums for grain
under present 80 per cent support
act. The other would extend duration
IF the present 80 per cent support
program from 1854 through 1857.
It would also take away from the
Secretary of Agriculture and restore
20 Congress the power to fix sup
port levels on certain commodities.
FOR WORKING MOTHERS
/ favor long-overdue Federal in
come tax relief for working moth
ers. One such measure before the
House is H. R. 1851. 1t would per-
nit a working mother to deduct from
1er gross income up to $40 a week
'or the care of her children while |
he is at work. The deduction would
Lpply only to children under 16 years
Id and Iiuinp with tho ,1ootbar Tt | |