St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1962-06-22
A Liberal Administration
Makes A ReactiOnary
Proposal

1t would be a tragic piece of irony if the Ken
nedy administration, which has both expressed and
demonstrated great faith in democratic processes
for the long range solution of our great national
human relations problems, to deal a damaging
blow to of the great inventions of democracy.
We refer to the Kennedy proposals for a drastic
modification of the progressive income tax by MAX
ing large cuts in the upper brackets.
If the human survives its present crises
and this passes into the ages of human history,
we feel sure that the progressive income tax will
stand out in that history of the greatest, if
not the very greatest, of the political, social and
economic devices of democratic society It's benefits
beyond calculation 1t is major factor in the
dynamics of economy. 1t has provided our gov
eminent with the means to meet the challenges and
threats of power-motivated ant-democratic govern
ments and to deal adequately with own econ
omic and social crisis 1t has had a profound, if
immeasurabe, effect in stimulating voluntary sup
port for education and for scientific and philan-
thropc enterprises 1t has not to be sure proved to
be Great Leveler', but it has established the
principle which must be basic in any decent society,"
that those who enjoy the greatest material benefits
from society shall have the greatest material re-
sponsibilties
The Kennedy administration, to be sure, Is
not proposing to upset all this-Ony to chisel
away at it a considerable bit. The excuse, which
ters is that this is necessary in order to restore
confidence" of the business community, and to
stimulate more business activity to take up the
employment lag.
This strikes quaint idea. 1t outdated,
futile and altogether mischievous when Herbert
Hoover applied somewhat the same "trickIe down.
theory a third Of century ago 1t didn't work. and
the entire country suffered appalling hardship until
Mr.. Hoovers successor began applying economic
succor where it did some good-providing jobs for
those who needed jobs, building the rural economy,
expanding the output and distribution of electric
energy stimulating home ownership restoring the
country's forests-all kinds of similar activities at
the grass roots.
Apparently the immediate occasion for the
proposed modification of the income tax is the
recent performance Of the stock market. But we
hope that the objective is not to provide funds to
drive the stock market index higher than
Its recent insuppOrtable peak!
more understandable objective is to stimulate
business and industry to provide more jobs and
check the dangerously growing unemployment.
Lighter tax obligations would free money for
investment, and more investment would mean more
jobs; so the theory goes.
But would it? Everybody who works on the
firing line of employment knows that two things
are happening that enormously complicate the
problem.
1. Automation is going on at a runaway pace
eliminating jobs at frightening rate.
2. Every advance in automation renders more
and more Of our people unemployable And this Is
affecting not only the uneducated and unskilled but