Milford chronicle., 1956-09-28
AN IMPOSSIBLE SITUATION

which, at least on the surface, seem of hu-
manitarian nature. That is true of the bill
hurriedly passed in the final hours of the last
Congress-expanding the social security sys-
tenn. Among other things, the bill provides
for cash payments to workers at the age of
so if they become permanently and totally
disabled.
That, in the words of Senator Byrd, es-
tablshes g. :. an entirely new concept, never
contemplated when the (social security pro-
gram was inaugurated." The implications in
herent in the step can be judged from q state
ment made by Dr.. Elmer Hess, past president
of the American Medical Association: "This
is an impossible social and medical situation" !"
Marjorie Shearon, formerly a consultant to
the late Senator Taft, feels that the unpre-
cedented disability provision could g. lead
directly and rather quickly to the complete
naturalization or specialization OF medicine" :"
The problems-fnancial and otherwise
that now arise are massive. Social security
taxes are due to jump by $3.50 million next
year and, if the disability provision is re-
tanned, it is inevitable that they will soar
thereafter. Ultimate costs are incacuable
now.
Senator Byrd-who was chairman of a
Senate committee which held extensive hear
ings on the new bill, and recommended
against it by an IL to vote-also points out
that the disability provision q. +. may we'll
involve the question of the physical fitness of
the 20 million persons who are curreptly un-
der social security, and that number will in
crease as the years go by" Moreover, he
thinks that the amendment providing for
payments to the totally disabled at the age
of so is only the entering wedge, and that
once the principle is established broadening
is inevitable. To quote him again, During
my "a years in the Senate have seer many
an aid program start at the size of a mouse
and rapidly grow to the proportions of an
elephant"
Everyone is sympathetic with the plight
of the disabled. But this new legislative ap-
proach to the problem seems -unsound on ev-
cry count and could conceivabIy lead to a
collapse of the social security system.
NSoN>
OFF THE TRACK
Politicians continue their attempts to
make the electric power issue a dominant
one. Promises of "cheap government power
continues to fill the air. What makes this
curious is that there are few things in daily,
universal use which are of such small eco
nomic Importance to most people.
For instance, the cost of power averages
about one per cent of the average family
budget. By contrast, 20 per cent of that bud
get goes for food, 9 per cent for clothing, and
2 per cent for tobacco and smoking supplies
these last being items which many people
find pleasant, but few would consider basic
and Indispensable
To make another comparison, reduc-
tlOn of only 3 per cent in the average family's
: tax bill would pay all of its power bill
That brings up point of interest. Social
lied power in itself helps to keep taxes high,
for two reasons. First, the socialized plants
are subsidized In many ways, directly and
indirectly. They get outright grants from
the public treasury, they get mail franking
and other privileges, and SO on. Then, Sec
ondly, they are tax free-whereas an indie
pendent private power company pays an av-
erage of about % cents of each dollar of
revenue in taxes. Obviously if tax-free pow
er supplants heavily taxed power, all re-
naming taxpayers must pay more to make
up the loss.
These are among the reasons why more
and more people have come to doubt that
power is big issue in the public mind at
all-and have come to believe that the poll
ticians who promote it are way off the track
of popular thinking.
THE TRANSPORTATION REVOLUTION
Competition lies at the very heart of the
American Economic system. Merchants,
manufacturers and producers of an endless
variety of goods and services use every legal
inducement they can think of in an effort to
attract business.
OF all the forms of competition, price is
certainly at the very top. Generally speak
ing, the man who can offer something for the
least money gets the bulk of the business
And his customers benefit.
Yet there is one highly competitive field
in which price competition is very severely
restricted by law. That field is commercial
transportation.
AS the exhaustive report of the Cabinet
Committee on transportation regulation stat
ed, within the short span of one generation
this country has witnessed transportation
revolution" Where the railroads once had
a near-monopoly, other major carriers have
come into being and grown big. Yet, the re-
port went on, during this same period, gov
ernment has failed to keep pace with this
| hange." Laws and regulatory policies are
in many cases, still predicated on a past
condition that has been utterly changed
That is WHY the KEY recommendation