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Show Sane Men By GEORGE S.BENSON Prldnt of Harding College Searey.Arkansas EARLY in March, national press wires carried a story about 16 members of Congress who said they thought the national budget should and could be balanced. They made it plain by signing a written statement. They were half-and-half senators and representatives. repre-sentatives. Seven were democrats and nine were republicans. Their names: ( SENATE T HOUSE Byrd Cox I Bridges Doughton , Taft J; Halleck Tydings Knutson Vandenberg V Martin Walsh '' Taber Wherry Whittinpton White Woodruff My hat is off to these realistic statesmen. I hope their ranks soon embrace the entire Congress.. Huge OUR next chance to have Debt a balanced budget will be in the fiscal year of 1947. It starts next July 1, and ends June 30, 1947. The United States is already in debt for 280 billion dollars everything it has. This does not mean all the country is worth, but it does mean everything every-thing the people of this nation have saved since 1776. The United States today is like some pioneer settler of colonial days whose log cabin might have burned with everything of food and clothing inside. The energetic ener-getic young head of a family of four who has just finished paying for an $8,000 home can depend on starting now to buy it all over again in taxes, paying no more than his rightful share. Fresh TAX on this enormous Start debt of $2,000 per man, woman and child, will be a new, yearly expense for our government. Interest on it will cost Uncle Sam more than he ever raised by taxes in any single prewar pre-war year. If ever America's common com-mon people deserved a balanced budget so they could look frankly and boldly at the truth of debts j and taxes, it is now. There are ways to start balancing balanc-ing the national budget and the sooner it starts the better. The war is over and war bureaus can be reduced in size and cost. The number of federal employees can be cut . more than most of us imagine. Spending what we do not have can be stopped also if we really set our heads to do it. By doing this we can save what we do have left. With all savine-s gone, we have something left. The settler whose cabin burned had his energy and his good name left. The home owner who must start now buying all over again in taxes, still ha3 his credit and a job we hone. Just so the United States, with prestige pres-tige among nations and a sound economic system has something left; something of value that must be preserved. |