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Show HOW TO LOWER LIVING COSTS Much more is heard about the high cost of living than the high cost of Government. Yet the two go hand in hand. Few people realize that they pay mucb more to be governed than they do to eat, and that high. Government costs are one of the greatest contributing factors to the high cost of food, shelter, and practically everything they buy. Workers have attempted to solve the problem of soaring soar-ing Iving costs by repeated demands for higher wages, but these inevitably bring higher prices. So the problem is left unsolved. Those who are living on annuities, pensions, and other forms of fixed income are badly squeezed., It has been suggested that an effective way to lower one's cost of living is to eat less and avoid waste, but since excessive Government Govern-ment spending is greatly responsible for present higb costs, it would sem that the same piece of advice might be adopted by our Government itself. For that there is. wasted-tremendous waste--in our Federal Government is evident from a comparison of today's Government costs with those previous pre-vious periods. For instance, in 1930 there were 644,000. Federal jobholders; job-holders; in 1940 there were over a million But by 1947 the figure had soared to almost two million The responsibilities of our Government have grown, of course, as any fair-minded fair-minded person will admit. But nave they grown tbat mucb? Sen. Harry F. Byrd and the Citizens National Committee alter a careful study show that the work of the Federal Government Gov-ernment could be done as well, and perhaps better, with one million fewer civilian employes at a saving of $5,000,000,-000 $5,000,000,-000 a year. And such a saving could mean a worth while start on the lowering of your living costs, as well as a sizeable reduction in your income tax. Isn't it worth trying to achieve? It is natural for Government jobholders to pressure Congress Con-gress to block economies which would mean the loss of their jobs. When Attorney General Tom Clark was testifying belore the Senate Civil Service Committee, he said: "In the Government, it seems like the more people you have working work-ing lor you. the more money you make. So nobody ever wants to get rid of any of his staff." In other words, heads ot bureaus want to hold on to all employes they can, whether they are needed or not. But 'don't forget that it is your income in-come taxes and the multitude of "hidden" taxes that help support this horde of unnecessary Federal jobholders. i The American people now work 14 weeks out of the year-say from Jan. 1 to April 7to support Government. Another serious result of excessive taxation, mainly f ederal income tax, is that it drains off the capital essential lor linancing new enterprises on which a rising scale of living for all of us depends. Why should a man risk his money in any job-making business if his only regard is to hand over ! most of the profit (if any) to the Government in excessive! high taxes? ' |