Show r townsend pla plan n perils revealed economist explains how its taxes would wreck countr country y by DR WALTER E chairman department of economic economics new york university and member of the Nat national ronal advisory council of the american liberty league the townsend plan subscribes to the notion that organized society la Is under some obligation to pension people who are quite able to continue useful borle ork and to take care of them selves the whole plan Is a blow aimed wittingly or not at prudent and useful living at saving at in vestment at insurance if it were conceivable that congress could be so utterly foolish as to enact this plan into law the government probably could find no market for its bonds with savings destroyed who would buy the bonds with a collapse in bond prices our banks also would collapse because of their very heavy investments in such bonds insurance companies would have to dump their securities on the markets to meet the demands of their policy holders who nho would wish to convert their policies into cash for who would wish to insure against old age sav ings banks also would have to dump securities on the markets to meet the demands of their depositors tor for who would wish to save for old age more over people could not save with all these securities dumped on the market who could buy them the markets would collapse the banks would fold up the insurance companies would be wiped out all who own securities would find the values of their holdings driven to the zero point taxes would doom business the taxes on businesses would wreck them theta the taxes on the farmers would be so high they could not afford to farm the average laborer could not afford to labor grandpa and grandma could support three laborers besides themselves without any work and all five of the group would be better off than the average laborer today that Is a picture of what would nap hap pen can any one imagine a congress man with such characteristics that he will advocate a thing of this sort let yet there are some individuals of just this type who are finding their way into congress I 1 nation a virtues undermined one of the very startling things which this country has been compelled to witness during the last few years especially during the last two or three has been a constant undermining of the well known virtues of hard work thrift savin saving ft investment and ansur ance in opposition to these great and good institutions which have provided some of tl e best elements in our amer lean life we have been seeing aaita eions for less work worl movements which tend to penalize thrift and to bendan ger savings and the notion that the world owes one a living regardless of whether one works or saes or exer alses any prudence in preparing for old age and the uncertainties of life the reasoning underlying the town send plan Is a characteristic part of this brand of unhealthy thinking it flies files in the face of the most elemental lessons learned by people after thou sands of years of experience it runs counter to what should be the me most ordinary common sense |