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Show WHERE GOVERNMENT CREATES INFLATION In a recent Saturday Evening- Post article, Harry Scher-man, Scher-man, the distinguished economist, discussed the causes of inflation, in-flation, and steps that must be taken to prevent it. One of those steps, Mr. Scherman pointed out, is reduction in federal fed-eral non-war expenditures. A great many individuals and organizations have presented pre-sented factual surveys to congress showing specifically how . reductions in non-war spending well in excess of $2,000,000,-000 $2,000,000,-000 a year can be made. It is to the credit of congress that, in certain notable instances, it has sharply pruned appropriations appro-priations for one purpose or another. But it is completely clear that congress has not gone nearly far enough. It is a literal fact that we are spending hundreds of millions of public pub-lic dollars for projects which can be and should be either abandoned or deferred for the duration and every one of those dollars is an influence in favor of inflation. The government itself, in short, is the greatest creator of the "excess purchasing power" which is the basis of the inflationary infla-tionary spiral. It is impossible in a brief space to detail the places where additional cuts in non-war spending can be made. One example ex-ample can be given, however. The government is spending very large sums for activities which are properly the function func-tion of private business. Electric power is a case in point. Hundreds of millions are even now being asked for further tax-exempt federal power expenditures. If it were not for the specter of more government competition and more political poli-tical persecution, the utilities would expand to meet any conceivable con-ceivable increase in demand for power. They are willing and able to economically distribute power produced by the existing exist-ing federal plants. Here is an instance where further spending spend-ing of tax money for power is unnecessary and completely without justification. Only the strongest kind of public pressure can force congress con-gress to really cut non-war spending to the limit. In the name of national security, national solvency, and national economic defense, the people must demand that that be done. M . |