Ford UFO Files

,. ·-" . ,
-2-
The trouble with a little Inflation ts that It never stays little. Once it is accepted as
a national wert of life, it gets out of hand. Unless the Federal Government takes definite steps to
contain it 1 it hurts those who can least afford to be hurt--people in a low income group and our
older people who have to rely on a rtxed lncome.
Inflation, tn short, Is "legalized robbery." It steals from o man 1s or woman's pocket-
book just as blatantly as any professional pick-pocket. Every day, inflation steals a sizable per-
centage of all a man earns. Remember the figures I quoted--tomatoes up 50 per cent, pork chops
up 23 per cent, potatoes up 21 per cent and on and on.
And we•re In for even more trouble ahead., The wholesale price Index, which reflects
prices retailers pay before adding on potential profit, iumped 3.6 percent last year and another
~
one-half of one percent fn the first six weeks of this year alone--forecasting even more rapidly-
~lqt
rising consumer prices to come. What is so shocking about this Increase is that over the seven-
------year period from 1958 to 1965 this index rose only one percent I
The causes of Inflation are only too well-known--Federal extravagance, Federal deft-
cits, Federal borrowing, and Federal spending, iust to mention a few. The Administration Is
cooljy ignoring this fact. Embarked on a policy of "spend now, pay later," it is shutflqg1ts ~-
to the robbery technique tnflatton has developed.
There ts no greater thief than inflation. The man who put aside some money for a rainy
day or for retirement 1 for example 1 found his savfns;J had last two percent of their purchasing power
last year alone.
If inflatfon continues at that rate for 20 years, one dollar in every three saved would
$ tr~Py vanish.
Why? One reason is that we haven 1t had a balanced Federal budget since 1961. With
· -... o wor on in VIetnam we must now, more than ever, cut back on unne.cesS(Iry spending. We must
·1'1\Qke w-rq that our policies obtoad are not undermined here at home by Inflation.
This Is Congressman reporting to you from Washington.
-------
(A eopy of this seript Is avcsllable on Teleprompter Jn the House TV S~~to).
#II#
-.,