Show Report From Washington REP LAURENCE J. J BURTON The other day my wife asked me to pick up some milk on my way home So I stopped at a a. grocery store near our house and got a half gallon carton But when I went to the counter to pay for the milk I discovered that the fifty cents I had out would not pay for It A single half hall gallon of milk mUk costs 60 in Washington DC D.C. today Unfortunately the price of milk Is not only high Just here herein in Washington it is high throughout the country But more unfortunate still Is the fact that the price of almost everything everything everything every every- thing is much higher today na nationwide nationwide nationwide na- na than it was say five years ago fIt It is true that along with Ure the rise In prices paychecks are getting larger but all too many people receive raises and yet their purchasing powers are not increased This state of affairs is the result of In in- in As long as raises keep pace with price increases it might seem that there is no cause for alarm After all If it what cost years ago costs today and one is earning more than twice as much It might seem that our buying powers have not been affected It seems logical to think that the only bad effects of such an elevation in prices are psychological psychological- one cant can't help feeling cheated when he must pay 10 for the nickel candy bar of the good old days and inconvenient we now have to use more money to purchase goods If U the present alarming rate of Inflation continues continues continues con con- unchecked that nickel candy bar could require 10 nickels to be purchased before long we would all have to use a lot of cash even for the smallest smallest small small- est of purchases Actually though the above two bad effects of Inflation are not by any means the worst ones Inflation causes tremendous ous hardships on those with fixed incomes As the value of the dollar doUar is lessened by increasing in in- in increasing creasing prices those with fixed incomes eg e.g. those on pension those on welfare and those on social security have their purchasing powers greatly diminished The retired the helpless the unorganized these people are really hurt by inflation President Nixon this week asked Americans to Join with him in helping to cut back our country's rate of inflation He has asked business and labor leaders to act responsibly This means that businessmen should strive not to raise the prices of their goods and labor should try to refrain from asking for higher wages Also Mr Nixon asked all of us to bear the burden of restraint in our personal borrowing borrowing borrowing bor bor- rowing and buying decisions Prices tend to go up when there is a great demand for goods and conversely they tend to drop when their is little de de- de mand So we all can help lower price levels by not chases that can be postponed I think we should be concerned con concerned concerned con con- about our present rate of Inflation but we need not be become become be- be come overly frightened However However However How How- ever we all should make a a. conscious effort to help reduce it for a high rate of Inflation necessitates drastic adjustments adjustments adjustments adjust adjust- ments and while these are being made many people suffer greatly tt |