SUMMARY OF AFBF 

 RESOLUTIONS 



(Continued from page 15) 



gating additional authority to the Federal 

 Government in new areas, but rather one of 

 reshaping and coordinating the policies in 

 the fields in which government policy now 

 largely prevails so that they will more 

 definitely contribute to a stable price level. 

 The control of money, credit and fiscal 

 policies of the federal government should 

 be coordinated under one authority. This 

 should be an independent agency, the mem- 

 bership of which should be appointed by the 

 President and confirmed by the Senate. The 

 policies of this monetary authority should 

 be regulated as far as feasible by formula, 

 based upon some established index which 

 would direct the authority to take action 

 when the index reached certain levels, in 

 order to promote a dollar of constant pur- 

 chasing power. 



Legislation should be passed giving the 

 proper agency of government the responsibility 

 for maintaining the supply of money and 

 credit appropriate to the production needs 

 of the nation and a stable price level. Steps 

 should be taken to allow the Federal Reserve 

 to rejoin control of credit. 



We believe that the fiscal policy of the 

 federal government, which includes the han- 

 dling of the national debt, is an important 

 factor in stabilizing our national economy. 

 Due to the magnitude of the national debt 

 and future tax load, management of these is 

 going to have a greater effect on the level 

 of prices and production than ever before. 

 A long-time stable federal tax policy should 

 be adopted with a tax rate which balances 

 the budget under normal business conditions. 



We believe that the government should 

 adopt policies in regard to expenditures. 



We urge that the American Farm Bureau 

 Federation cooperate with other groups in 

 creating an understanding of the problem of 

 price stability. We should also strive to 

 bring about conditions which will permit 

 our Federal Government to assume its 

 proper and constitutional role in determin- 

 ing and regulating the value of money and 

 thus adding greater stability to the general 

 price level, which is essential to the preser- 

 vation of free enterprise. 



Taxation 



The American Farm Bureau Federation 

 believes that a sound national policy is 

 essential to the welfare of our entire econ- 

 omy. Taxes should be not only equitable 

 and fair, but also chosen with due regard to 

 their effect upon the economy. 



The American Farm Bureau Federation 

 is opposed to any material reduction in the 

 income tax rates as long as inflationary 

 tendencies prevail and there is a high level 

 of employment. We call upon the Congress 

 to use discretion and not use an instrument 

 as vital to our National welfare as a tax 

 and fiscal program for political purposes. 

 We believe that under present conditions 

 all possible revenues should be applied to 

 a reduction in our national debt. Further- 

 more, we believe that every effort should 

 be made to eliminate all non-essential gov- 

 ernment expenditures and reduce essential 

 expenditures to the minimum necessary for 

 good government and adequate national de- 

 fense. By at least maintaining revenues and 

 reducing expenditures, the minimum con- 

 tribution can be made to stablizing our 

 economy under present conditions. 



The personal income tax should be the 

 major source of revenue for the federal 



government. We favor keeping the personal 

 income tax base as broad as practicable 

 through the retention of low exemptions 

 and the avoidance of a general federal sales 

 tax. All self-supporting persons should 

 make a direct contribution to the support of 

 government. The income from all future 

 issues of Federal, State, and local govern- 

 ment bonds should be subject to the same 

 taxation as other income. 



We recognize that if full employment is 

 maintained, the bulk of the jobs must be 

 provided by free enterprise. Therefore, the 

 following recommendations are made per- 

 taining to corporate taxes. The corporation 

 should be exempted on that portion of its 

 annual earnings distributed to the stock- 

 holders as dividends, where such dividends 

 are taxed in the hands of stockholders. 



Federal excise taxes should be largely 

 limited to amusements and taxes on the so- 

 called luxury goods, including alcoholic 

 liquors and tobacco. The transportation 

 tax on movement of goods and commodities 

 should be repealed. "The Federal gasoline 

 tax should be reduced to one cent a gallon 

 and it should nut exceed that amount. 



The Federal social security taxes should 

 not be increased until a study of the entire 

 problem is made, showing the need for a 

 change from the present rate. Taxes for 

 unemployment compensation should be lev- 

 ied upon employer and employee alike. 



Taxation of Cooperatives 



We believe in the private enterprise 

 system and look upon farm cooperatives as 

 part of that system. Cooperative earnings 

 returned to members as patronage dividends 

 should not be subject to tax since such 

 dividends are now taxed in the hands of the 

 individual members of the cooperative. 

 Patronage dividends represent savings aris- 

 ing from the handling of a particular in- 

 dividual's business. They can be returned to 

 him either through adjusted prices or 

 through patronage dividends. , 



We will support such changes in the 

 internal revenue law as may be necessary 

 to require agricultural cooperatives to an- 

 nually report their operations and earnings 

 and to provide that there be income tax 

 exemption or deduction from taxable in- 

 come on only that portion of their earnings 

 which is distributed or clearly shown on 

 the books of the cooperatives as the property 

 of the patron and subject to tax in his 

 personal income. 



Free Enterprise and Cooperatives 



This time of adjustment from war to 

 peace demands statesmanship, common un- 

 derstanding and cooperation, not bickering 

 and bitterness. _ 



We, the most . numerous group of free- 

 enterprises, should exercise our freedom 

 of action and responsibility to organize, 

 support and maintain real farm cooperatives 

 as an essential, proper and effective means 

 of promoting free enterprize and coopera- 

 tion with other groups in our economic 

 democracy. In particular, farmers must de- 

 pend upon their cooperatives to conduct for 

 them such free enterprises as are necessary 

 to insure their ability to fulfill their in- 

 dividual responsibilties as custodians of the 

 land which supports all the people. 



Cooperatives, in behalf of their farmer 

 members, should own and control a reason- 

 able share of the natural and exhaustible re- 

 sources and raw materials. 



We consider these functions to be the 

 essence of free enterprize and economic de- 

 mocracy. We therefore oppose any revision 

 of federal or state statues or the enactment 

 of new statues designed to affect adversely 



the freedom or character of bona fide farm 

 cooperatives. Government should assist co- 

 operatives, coporations and individuals alike 

 in the rational development, conservation 

 and use of essential exhaustible resources. 

 We propose to resist with every resource 

 at our command all unreasonable attempts 

 to limit the service to farmer members by 

 their cooperatives and likewise we resent 

 any inference that the operations of real 

 cooperatives in the slightest degree under- 

 mine the principles of our established form 

 of representative government. 



National Soils Fertility Program 



An effective national soils fertility pro- 

 gram is long overdue. It is becoming in- 

 creasingly apparent that the fertilizer m- 

 dustry and farmer cooperatives, assisted by 

 existing public agencies, must greatly en- 

 large their programs for production and 

 distribution and better use of essential ex- 

 haustible plant nutrients, especially phos- 

 phate and potash in the more concentrated 

 forms. 



Farmers must be able to initally increase 

 substantially the mineral content of the land 

 so as to establish effectively vegetative cover 

 on the land necessary to reduce soil and 

 water losses and to efficiently grow the 

 kinds and quantities of crops and livestock 

 needed to improve nutritional standards of 

 the consumer and to enable the voluntary 

 adjustment of production in line with effec- 

 tive demand. For these and other impelling 

 reasons, we recommend immediate action on 

 all of the following fronts: 



(1) The fertilizer industry should be en- 

 couraged to increase greatly and expeditious- 

 ly its plant capacity for the profitable pro- 

 duction and distribution of both low-grade 

 and high-grade phosphate and potash. 



(2) Farmer organizations should mobilize 

 their abilities, influences, and resources to 

 acquire adequate natural reserves of phos- 

 phate and potash for utilization and to de- 

 velop a reasonable percentage of needed 

 plant capacity for the production of high- 

 concentrated materials. 



(3) The Tennessee Valley Authority 

 should be authorized by Congress to acquire 

 reasonable phosphate reserves in the Florida 

 area to supply the needed raw materials for 

 an experimental blast furnace phosphate 

 plant in the Mobile area and additional 

 reasonable reserves to protect the interests 

 of farmer cooperatives servicing the South- 

 ern States, the Atlantic seaboard States, and 

 the States in the eastern part of the North- 

 central region; and further, that the Ten- 

 nessee Valley Authority be authorized to 

 construct and operate an experimental blast 

 furnace phosphate plant in the Mobile area 

 for a reasonable period of time with a 

 definite plan for the production of materials 

 necessary for educational use and the dis- 

 tribution of any excess production to farmer 

 cooperatives and wherein such plant, witTiin 

 a reasonable period after the experimental 

 production has been demonstrated, be dis- 

 posed of to a private agency. 



(4) The test demonstration program 

 should be expanded throughout the United 

 States to cover a reasonable number of 

 farms operated by practical farmers, so 

 that in the planning and administration of 

 such test demonstrational program, farm and 

 community tests and demonstrations can be 

 carried on showing the improved uses of 

 concentrated mineral fertilizers and fertilizer 

 ingredients in conjunction with liming and 

 other improved agricultural practices. 



Per 



120 



no 



100 

 80 



CmI 



Fann Credit 



Many years before the enactment of the 

 Farm Credit Act of 1933, the American 



{Continued on page 34) 



24 



L A. A. BECOBD 



