The sun. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1937-1972, March 30, 1967, Image 7
The Newberry Sun, Newberry, S. C., Thursday, March 30, 1967—PAGE 7
Vietnam vets
would get
benefits
Two bills which would grant
full benefits to veterans of the
Viet Nam Conflict and increase
pensions for disabled veterans
already on Veterans Adminis
tration rolls received support
today from the Administrator
of Veteran Affairs. William J.
Driver appeared before the
Subcommittee on Compensation
and pension of the Veterans
Affairs Committee of the
House of Representatives to
urge passage of the legislation.
Theproposed legislation, H.
R. 4786 and H. R. 4788, in
troduced by Committee Chair
man Olin Teague, (D-Tex.),
incorporate the recommend
ations of president Johnson’s
message to Congress on Jan
uary 31, concerning veterans’
benefits.
Driver told the Subcommittee
, “I consider these measures to
be extremely important and
worthwhile, and I urge their
early and favorable consider
ation."
H. R. 4788, the Viet Nam
Conflict Servicemen’s Benefits
Act of 1967, provides benefits
to all veterans who have served
since August 5, 1964, on the
same basis as veterans from
World Wars I and II and the
Korean Conflict.
Commenting on President
Johnson’s message Driver
said, “The enactment of H. R.
4786 would eliminate all
distinctions, insofar as eligi
bility to receive veterans’
benefits administered by the
Veterans Administration is
concerned, between veterans of
the Viet Nam Conflict and
those who served during the
Korean Conflict and other
periods of war.”
The bill would extend to
disability compensation at war
time rates, (2) disability
pensions for nonservice-connect
ed veterans and death pensions
for widows and chil^ en, (3)
extension of VA med il bene
fits, (4) a burial flag, v 5) $250
burial allowance, and (6) $1600
toward the purchase of an
automobile by certain disabled
veterans.
Driver said the first year
cost would be approximately
$10 million which would in
crease to approximately $22.5
million by the fifth year.
The other bill receiving sup
port from Administrator
Driver is H. R. 4788,which
relates to the current non-
servioei-connected disability
and death pension program. It
calls for a 5.4 percent increase
in these pensions and was
estimated by Driver to affect
1.4 million veterans, widows,
and dependents. The bill also
provides that retirement bene
fits and social security bene
fit increases would not be
counted for income purposes in
determining eligibility for
these pensions.
Driver estimated the cost of
the pension increase at $82.3
million the first year, decreas
ing to $80.3 million by the
fifth year.
Georgia jobs
for students
Six Flags Over Georgia, At
lanta’s new $12 million family
amusement center scheduled to
open in mid-June, today an
nounced special Personnel De
partment procedures for spring
vacationing college students
who wish to apply for summer
employment at the park.
No appointments are neces
sary. Members of the Six Flag
personnel staff will be on hand
to meet applicants at all times
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday
through Saturday effective im
mediately, according to the
announcement by Errol McKoy
the park’s director of person
nel.
Six Flags Over Georgia has
some 1,200 summer employ-
— Canadian.
Wildlife Flock To Expo 67
Ducks and geese and swans will come a-flocking when
EXPO 67 opens in Montreal this April. Wildlife from every
region of Canada will find a home at Notre Dame Park—a
tranquil cross section of Cana
dian countryside in the midst water — Regatta Lake - where
of the bustling fair. races and displays will take
Nestled on 40 acres of land place. The park itself, located
reclaimed from the St. Law- on the southern tip of He Notre
rence River, the magnificent Dame, curves in a “V" around
man-made park will provide a
natural sanctuary for beauti
ful black and gray Canadian
geese, mute swans, mallard
ducks, and white-tailed deer.
More than 60,000 trees and
shrubs and over 100,000 wild
and cultivated flowers will be
planted along with thousands
of square yards of Canadian
grown Merion sod to provide
this oasis of greenery. The
Merion turf was especially se
lected for the park because of
the fringes of this crystal lake.
Tranquil countryside, beau-
its ability to withstand the tiful wildlife, and shimmering
roughest wear and tear and
weather.
water—a vision of nature that
will make for one of the most
Adding to the scene will be gloriously colorful sights at
a large body of sparkling blue EXPO 67.
THE
M ANION
FORUM
By MARILYN M ANION
ARE WE OUR OWN WORST
ENEMY?
The war in Vietnam is prov
ing, among other things, to be
very expensive.
In terms of American lives
and money the expense is over
whelming. As billions of dol
lars are poured into the war
effort; as hundreds of thous
ands of boys are recruited,
trained, wounded and killed,
the prospect that the conflict
may drag on for 20 years or
more is a grisly one.
But there is little hope that
the war will end in the immed
iate future. For one thing, of
course, the United States has
not made up its mind to ach
ieve total victory. For another,
our enemy is not limited to the
men fighting against us on As
ian battlefields. The Vietnam
conflict is> after all, only a part
of the world-wide Communist
plan. And Soviet , Russia is
playing a larger role in Viet
nam than many people would
like to admit.
The Russians are spending
nearly a billion dollars a year
to help North Vietnam. Soviet
weapons, aircraft, oil, gasoline,
and even personnel have been
exported to North Vietnam.
Supplies from the East Euro-
ment opportunities for college
students or 1867 high school
graduates, McKoy said. No
job will be filled until all ap
plications are processed. Job
training at the park is plann
ed to begin after the close of
the school year.
McKoy urged interested stu
dents to come in person to the
personnel office in the park
grounds'. Six Flags Over
Georgia is located 10 minutes’
drive from downton Atlanta on
Interstate 20 and is reached
via the “Six Flags Road” exit
just past the Chattahoochee
River bridge.
pean satelite nations pour into
the Haiphong harbor along
with Russian goods.
The Soviets are able to ac
complish three important things
by this investment in the war.
They are keeping the United
States involved in a prolonged
conflict by enabling the enemy
to be well-equipped. Thus, they
are able to divert U. S. time
and money away from the all-
important nuclear race. And
finally, they are specifically
aiding the Communist cause in
Asia.
There is nothing particularly
secret about the Russian sub
sidization of Hanoi. Washing
ton must be ctelearly aware of
the fact. That is why our cur
rent policy toward the Soviet
Union and Eastern Europe is
rather difficult to understand.
President Johnson has prom
ised to continue the policy of
trade and friendship between
our government and the Com
munist regime of the U.S.S.R.
and its sattelites. The theory
behind this is that we can
“convert” the Red world to
capitalism through trade. The
theory has never worked, ex
cept in reverse. By bailing the
Red governments out of their
economic difficulties, we have
postponed the day when they
would have to reform their
economic systems.
Dr. Brutus Coste, a Ruman
ian exile currently with the
University of Pennsylvania
Foreign Policy Research Insti
tute, put it this way when he
spoke over the Manion Forum
a few months ago.
“ To the extent which the
Communist governments are
assisted to solve their prob
lems, they will be reluctant t - *
undertake changes that would
decrease the power of the
government. To the extent that
”Ou relieve them from the
pressure of necessity, you do
not work for revolution. On
the contrary, you help the
Communists maintain the rigid
totalitarian system that they
are carrying out now.”
It would appear that our
“bridge-building” policy to
wards Communist Eastern Eu
rope is tightening, rather than
loosening the Reds’ hold over
Income Tax
Information
Q.—Does the President’s tax
proposal have any 'effect on
the return I hav*. to make for
1966 income?
A.—No, the proposal does
not concern 1966 income.
Q.—What figure on my W-2
should I report as income?
A.—In most cases it is the
amount identified as “wages
paid subject to withholding in
1966.” If there is also a fig
ure in the space identified as
“ other compensation paid in
1966,” then the two figures
must be added and the total re-
jorted on your return as in
come from that employer.
Don’t forget that if you had
more than one employer in
1966 a W-2 is required for each
job.
Q.—A neighbor of mine had
some hard luck last year and
I paid a few of his bills. Can
I deduct this on my income re
turn ?
A.—Although your actions
were humanitarian, the law
does not consider gifts to in
dividuals as tax-deductible con
tributions.
Q.—If I file a separate re
turn can I claim my wife as
a dependent? She doesn’t earn
enough to support herself.
A.—No. The law does noi;
permit one spouse to claim the
other as a dependent. You
may claim an exemption for
your wife as she had no gross
income and was not the de
pendent of another taxpayer.
Q.—You billed me for taxes
I just paid. Why?
A.—Your payment could
have become separated from
your return or the payment
might have arrived after the
date it was due.
To clear this up, write the
office which sent you the bill
and give them full details on
your payment (date, amount,
purpose, .etc;.). Be sure to
give your social security num
ber and to print your name
when you write.
It’s a good practice when
making a tax payment to write
your social security number, as
well as your name, legibly on
the check or money order.
Q.—What can you deduct for
medical expenses? Is it the full
amount of the expense or just
what we have paid so far?
A.—Only the amount you
actually paid last year should
be used as the basis for figur
ing your medical expense de
duction. Remember to deduct
from that total whatever re
imbursement, insurance, etc.,
you received for these expen
ses.
Medical expenses which ex
ceed 3 per cent of your adjust
ed gross income will be de
ductible. However, only medi
cine and drugs over 1 percent
of your adjusted gross income
?an be included as a part of
those medical expenses. If you
or your wife are 65 or over,
these limitations do not apply
to either of you for the year
1966.
Q.—Our daughter graduated
from college last fall and has
been working for some months.
Since she still lives at home
with us can we claim her as a
dependent?
A.—It depends on several
factors. To be eligible to claim
her as a dependent you must
have provided more than half
of her support for the year.
However, if she earned more
than $600 during the year she
must either be under 19 at the
end of the year or a full-time
student for some part of each
of five months for her to still
qualify as a dependent.
the people. In addition, we are
helping our enemy arm itself
with the supplies it needs to
fight us. This is curious be
havior indeed—and the Amer
ican people merit an explana
tion from their President.
Help offered
in completing
Medicare forms
Missing signatures and ad
dresses are two frequent prob
lems that Blue Cross - Blue
Shield has run into in process
ing doctor bill request for
payment forms from medicare
beneficiaries, Miss Martha
Pressly, social security District
Manager in Greenwood said
today.
Representatives of Blue Cross
Blue Shield, the carrier for
medicare doctor bill payments
in South Carolina area, have
reported that some beneficiar
ies have received repayment
for doctor bills later than was
necessary because they forgot
to sign their forms or to in
clude their addresses.
The signature on the request
for payment form authorizes
the carrier to pay the claim.
Blue Cross-Blue Shield doesn’t
know where to send the check,
and the only way to get it is
to write back to the doctors,
who are sometimes reluctant to
give out their patients’ ad
dresses.”
Miss Pressly noted that there
are two ways to get payment
for doctor bills under medicare
and that under the first method
thedoctor agrees to make the
claim to the medicare carrier.
But when the other method is
used, the beneficiary pays the
doctor bill and sends the claim
to the carrier.
“Beneficiaries sending in
their own request for payment
forms should be especially
careful to give all informa
tion called for, including their
address, medicare identifica
tion number, and their signa
ture,” Miss Pressly said. “Also
the beneficiary should either
have his doctor complete the
second part of the request for
payment or enclose an item
ized receipted bill before send
ing in his claim.”
“Because Blue Cross - Blue
Shield has reported some prob
lems with claims from this
area,” Miss Pressly said, “we
are suggesting that beneficiar
ies making their first claim
bring the forms and receipts
to the social security office.
By letting us check the request
for payment forms before they
are sent to the medicare car
rier, the beneficiary can be
sure that this claim won’t be
delayed because some item been
left off.”
Miss Pressly said that per
sons unable to come to the
office at Grenewood can mail
in their forms. People who mail
in their forms should indicate
their telephone number so that
they can be contacted if ad
ditional information is needed.
Q.—Is my wife’s social se
curity number required on a
joint return? Practically all of
our income comes from my sal
ary.
A.—In some cases your wifes
social security number would
not be required on your joint
return. Her number would be
required, however, if any of
the following are met:
1— She had no wages subject
to withholding.
2— She had income subject to
self-employment tax.
3— She had separate income
from dividends or interest of
$10 or more.
If any of these conditions
apply, a joint return without
her social security number will
hold up the processing of the
return. You will then have to
be contacted to obtain the mis
sing information. This natur
ally delays processing and the
issuance of any refund you
have coming.
Q.—My husband and I have
separated. Who is entitled to
claim the children as depend
ents?
A.—The children may be
claimed as dependents by the
person who provides more than
half their support during the
taxable year.