LTB~RTY AMENDL~fiTT
On Monday evening, February 7, Mr.
Bedford spoke to a group of students
and faculty with special emphasis on
Section 4 of the Liberty Amendment,
which deals with the repeal of the
income tax.
Yr. Bedford started by stating that
the income tac, which was initiatoddin
1913 as the Sixteenth Amendment, is
unconstitutional if the intent of the
framers of the Constitution is taken
into consideration.
The income tax was between 2 to 1%
in its early stages with high income
earners paying about 3%. During World
War 1 the income tax skyrocketed to
25 - 30% for the average wage earner,
the maximum tax being around 90% for
the very wealthy. The tax was lowered
after the war to around its pre-war
level and stayed low until World War
II when once again it skyrocketed. The
income tax remained high after the war
to pay for the Marshall Plan and has
not been lowered to any significant
degree yet.
The repeal of the income tax is
financially feasible according to the
financial figures cited by hr. Bedford,
if the government would "not engage in
any business, profdss•ional, commercial,
financial, or industrial enterprise
except as specified in the Constitution."
(Section 1 of the Liberty Amendment)
If the Liberty Amendment were passed
and the income tax were repealed, the
federal government would have a reduc
tion in revenue of about 38.5 billion
(all figures arc from 1959).
However, the government loses . 4 . 45
billion a year in operating the over
700_ corporations it owns. The govern
ment would actually gain $6.5 billion
a year by repealing tho income tax and
getting out of business not specified
in the Constitution.
Purthermoro, 1),.o - ole would have more
money to spend if they no longer had •
to pay income taxes, which would lead
to an estimated J 9 billion increase in
corporate and excise taxes. Then
added to the $6.5 billion gain cited
previously, this gives a ::315.5 billion
surplus. 7hen the 1951 budget deficit
of $l3 billion is subtracted from this,
it gives a surplus of 2.5 billion to
pay on the national debt.
Thus the national debt could gradu
ally be paid off and the people of the
United States would no longer be paying
$l3 billion interest on the national
debt annually.
Mr. Bedford and Mr. Cherry are
forming a committee in Erie County for
support of the Liberty..:lmendrn.ent and
would like anyone who is interested
to help them.
JOB OPP ORTD - I.T ITI ES
The demand for two-year associate
degree graduates of The Pennsylvania
State University has increased markedly
this year and early indications are
that June graduates in these programs
will have no difficulty finding jobs.
The students are also expected to
find starting salaries attractive, in
some cases up to 10 per cent as high as
last year. And, in a few instances,
the two-year graduates abo-belnt::
offered starting salaries equal to, or
higher than, four-year baccalaureate
degree students.
The number of company recruiters at
Penn State's branch campuses -- where
the two-year technical programs are
offered -- is up nearly 50 per cent
over last year, making it the largest
increase in recruiters in any single
year.
Penn State expects to graduate
approximately 800 two-year technical
students this June from 15 of its 18
onnaolivy alth Campuses. Three of the
campuses are in their first year of
operation and won't have graduates
until next year. (Cont. Page Cz;)