University of South Carolina Libraries
THE CHRONICLE Strives To Be A Cleon Newspaper, Complete Newsy and ReHoble She Clinton If You Don't Read IHE CHRONICLE ' You Don't Get the News Volume LII Clinton, S. C., Thursday, July 12, 1951 Number 29 A Regular Chronicle Feature SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS' NOT TAXABLE, BABSON SAYS y\ Much Insurance and Other Benefits Being Paid for With Cheap Dollar. By ROGER BABSON Babson Park, Mass., July 10.—To day, July 10, is my bithday and my trusted accountant has given me a very nice birthday present He calls to my attention that in view ot my age and now being off payroll, I can receive old-age in surance of $80.00 per month. How Old Are You? He further states that persons who are 75 or over can continue to work and draw old-age benefits. I, like other em ployed persons, have had money deducted from my pay check since 1037, but I gave this no attention, believing that the amount received would be insig nificant. But con sidering how quickly the months speed by as we get older, $80.00 coming so often looks pretty good But the above is not the best of it. This $80.00 per month which an eligible person receives is non-tax- abla. If he happens to be in the 50% tax bracket, this is lent to a check every month of $160.00, which certainly is not to be sneezed at. When the deduction from our pay checks was increased January 1, 1950, we were kind of sore about it. We forgot that So -JL I eial Security benefits were likewise increased. Under last year’s amend- means for discussing an end to the lations speech, that now as always we held the door open for peace in Ko rea, providing it was a real settle ment, calling for an end to aggres sion and restoring peace and secur ity in the area and to the Korean people. First reaction from the state department was contained in a brief statement which said: 'Tf Mr. Malik’s broadcast means that the communists are now willing to end the aggression tire, as we nave arwajs been, ready to play our part in bring ing an end to hostilities and in as suring against their resumption. But the tenor at (Mr. Malik’s speech again raises the question as to whether this is more than propaganda. If it is more than propaganda, aedquate EVER LAND A MC ONE? When yon fish, hunt, golf or engage in any outdoor sport, yon risk injuring someone, and claims for damages. No need to risk loss,—ask about oar Com prehensive Personal Lia bility Insurance. S. W. Sumerel AETNA-IZER Jacobs Bldg. Tele. 80 40’SfenJ AND ments a family can receive as much as $1,800.00 per year as opposed to the old maximum of $1,020.00. Inflation May Not Be Too Bad Some of the pessimists who are always knocking Truman and talk ing about inflation say that the purchasing power of your old-age insurance benefits in the years ahead won’t be much use to you on account of inflation. lhi» could be a serious affair if we now paid for these benefits in one lump sum. Readers, however, will net be do ing this. If your Social Security benefits when they are paid will be in depreciated d .•liars, then the payments which are deducted from your pay check will also be In de- pieciated dollars, at least so far as the average is concerned. I use this same argument to cheer up life insurance salesmen who are troubled as to what the value of the dollar will be twenty years hence. I assuie them that though the dollar may he much mere de- pi eclated at that time, yet, if the premiums arc pud in installments from now un* 1 ! then, they also will be paid to a large extent with de preciated dollars. Furthermore, re member that your increase in sal ary is largely due to the declining value of the dollar. Hence, consid ering all things, you wm not suf-! ter so much as you think you may! and perhaps not at all. Speaking of Taxation In giving this column to my ac countant friend to read over, he | suggested tl.aL I adu “When a per son roaches 65 and become*; eligible for old-age insurance benefits, his i wife is also entitled to One-half his i benefits provided she is also 65 or over and is nat cnlith d to higher benefits based on her own earn ings.” This is something worth looking up; also the taxable fea- j ture of life insurance. For instance, when I took out, as a young man, $40,000 worth of life insurance, the agent told me that this first $40,- 000.00 was exempt from taxation. I now find that if I pay tne prem-! ium and own the policies romplete- 1 ly, my life insurance money will be subject to the Federal Estate Tax the same as stocks or bonds. The Revenue Act of 1948 does make an exemption for a niarrud man to this extent: If the proceeds of the insurance is payable to your wife (or to a trustee under certain conditions) within 13 months of your death, it is not taxable. The mpney in such a case, however, must be subject to her sole con trol. The above means that my readers should immediately talk their insurance over with on agent that knows his stuff. Tnere are other technicalities which I cannot coyer in this column. The main thing to remember is that if you give your wife the proceeds of your ; insurance to do as she wishes with. !4t will probably be exempt up to | $40,000; but if you try to be too specific and state how the money | is to be used, or give it to other beneficiaries, it may be subject to taxation. (These opinions of Roger W. Bab son are published in The Chronicle every Thursday.) conflict are available.” A so-called come over Congress. But from the vantage point of old observers here tion, and are “piddling” in ccwnpari-' son to the over-alhspending picture.: For instance great stress has been; I laid on firing some government, 'chauffers, cutting annual leave of I government workers, in slashing some personnel from government i payrolls, particularly in some of the (publicity and information esetions of agencies and other like action, . . . all of which will amount to a very few million dollars when the slashes, if they are economically sound, should be made in the billions. An other one of those blanket cuts, which penalize the economical government agencies and places a premium on extravagance in others, has been voted in the Senate—a ten per ent cut. In commenting on this tax meth od of cutting expenditures. Senator Hem J. Ellender, Louisiana, said: I am unconvinced as to the wisdom of blanket over-all cuts in appro priations ... a department which has expenses to the minimum . . . will be penalized, while anoher depart- the run of the floor in both honse and senate, smears and character as- these economy cuts are more or less “tactical” and for public consump- conscientiously pared its operating ment whose budget estimates are sassinations from the floor of both purposefully high will still have, in bodies, nndne influence of members spite of the cut, ample funds.” of congress with government agen- These observers declare this meth- cies, such as the RFC; inflnence of od of slashing appropriations forces pressure groups on congress ... all all agencies to pad their budgets and were pointed to by Jckes as part of penalize those actually trying to do the blame for leak of ethics in gov- a good job. j eminent. “In all my experience,” Congress and the Senate particu-, Ickes said, “I never heard of a gov- larly was again given a chastisement jemment official bribing himself " from three sources during the past week. Harold Ickes, former Secre tary of Interior, was the old cur mudgeon himself, having lost none of his colorful flair for expression when he was called before Senator Douglas’ committee on ethics in gov ernment, Ickes blamed congress for much of the so-called laxness in gov ernment and tor any laek jof confi- dence in government by the people. Payroll kickbacks by some congress men. lobbying by former congress men. and Senators, who even have Dr. Fred E. Holcombe Office Hours 9:M to l:S« 200 South Broad St OPTOMETRIST Offices at Phone 658 artyleiMTs lev way fane waaa a aaviaf aa aay trip— aatf yaa lava aa ax- tra 10% aaeh way aa a roNid-trlp Nakatt Rd. • One Trip Way Greenville - . $IJ0 $1.00 Columbia — ... 2.65 1.45 Charleston ... 7.30 4.05 Atlanta ... 7.95 4.40 Knoxville ... 8.49 4.65 Myrtle Beach ... 8J5 4.90 Wilmington, N. C. .. ...10.55 5.85 Jacksonville, Fla. . ...13.80 7.65 Washington, D. C. . ...18.85 10.45 New York, N.Y, 26.55 14.95 New Orleans, La. ... 23.15 12.85 Fayetteville, N. C- ... 8.55 4.75 Pins U. S. Tax CLINTON BUS STATION East Carolina Ave. Phone 59 G R E Y H O U N D As Washington Sees It... IHE NATI0NA1 SCENE Special to The Chronicle. Washington, July 10.—Amid a ten sion of peac rumors in Korea, the log-jammed 82nd Congress passed the end of the fiscal year without any appropriation measures reaching the desk of President Truman. As the deadline neared President Truman called administration leaders on Cap itol Hill to the White House and in cluded ^‘among them was Senator Walter George, chairman of the Sen ate Finance committee which is now considering the house-passed tax bill. Senator George has indicated he would pass over the tax bill for the time being until after a long look at government appropriations. The President, however, seeks fast action before any recess or adjournment! Also as the deadline neared, it ap peared extension of the present De fense Act for a Jew weeks was like ly, with such changes as the Congress might make coming later on. The peace proposal made by the Russian delegate to the United Na tions was viewed warily by official W ashington. President Truman promptly replied from Tullahoma, Tenn., where he made a foreign re- T~ Qene o[ Clinton., «•>. Q. Seersucker Sunback Warm Weather Favorite Only 3.98 • 103-inch sweep in skirt. • 18-inch center-back zipper for slip-on-ability. * • Bodice cut high enough—straps wide enough to cover your regular bra. • Made of seersucker . . . cool, needs no ironing, perfect for hot months ahead. • Navy, green, copen, red; also solids in maize, aqua and pink. • Sizes 8 to 20. SALE! 240 New COTTONS and BEMBERGS Values to 10.95 2 for 11.00 A new shipment in cottons and bembergs, also some juniors, mostly size 11. Come in and see this dress value! Special! All Nylon Cotton Blouses / Lovable Bras 1.98 i i 1.00 w,;! . ./ ^ Slightly Irregular 3 Styles in White Nylon and* Cotton Values to 5.95 Sizes 32-38; A, B, and C cups Quality Costs No More'