| Show A SENSITIVE INDUSTRY A short short time ago the count rys largest cattle grower robert J kleberg jr president and manager of the king ranch in texas said that meat prices had reached their high levels because of its complex nature he added the meat industry is unusually sensitive to the law of supply and demand he also f forecast that meat price controls would result in a nation nationwide wide black market just as happened in the OPA days during and after the last world war controls on meat and practically everything else are abw now in effect but it is evident that a rigid freeze at some arbitrary level is an impossible goal indeed those officials who are responsible for the administration of the controls have said that there will be need for many changes and relaxations the cost of doing business both on the farm and in industry is still going up due in large part to government spending wage adjustments and other worker benefits when that is the case prices must follow whether we like it or not the greatest fear of those familiar with the intricacies trica cies of the meat industry is that government policies will tend to discourage production and that in itself would be a tremendous spur both to inflation and the black market at the present time the nations cattle supply is above normal the grain carryover carry over is the largest in our history it may be possible to increase meat production by as I 1 nuch much as 25 per cent in the next five years but the situation could change swiftly aly if over rigid price controls took the out of meat production and ranchers to retrench controls or no controls the real solution to the so called meat problem lies in expanding production and a strong meat industry brov provided aided for only bedrock spending and challenged congress to bildt jl it if it could challenge accepted senator byrd of virginia promptly outlined cuts of hi h lie he said could be made mad aate ly and another democratic leader senator george of georgia said 1 between and could be lopped off budget director lawton made tile the problem more difficult by telling the lie house ways and means committee that 68 69 per cent of the budget is earmarked tor for direct ballf military spending here and abroad that testimony ony brought from representative sheppard D calif the statement that his sub com i cittee on will not clear any item merely because it ears a defense label t inflation Is factor the size bile of odthe the budget to Is ot of special interest to the ordinary taxpayer this year because it Is tied to plans tor for pay as we go taxation to halt inflation the president has asked tor for a quickie tax bill 1 to increase levies by to be followed later by another bill to lovy levy taxation Tax atlon like that must ail affect feet every pocketbook in the country some labor leaders a bay ay t their he lr followers lowers would regard a tax increase deducted from payrolls as a cut in wages that makes the budget indirectly a touchy subject this year |
