◆ SpookStack

We have the ability and resources to meet the needs of all of our people, and many of those overseas. We are not meeting those needs. Yet we spend billions on bombs, planes and missiles which we hope will ‘never be used. As J. William Fulbright, Chairman of the Senate For- eign Relations Committee, recently said, “There is indeed a most striking paradox in the fact that mii- itary budgets of over $50 billion are adopted by the Congress after only perfunctory debate while domestic education and welfare programs involving sums which are mere fractions of the military budget are painstakingly examined and then either considerably reduced or rejected outright...” What are our public needs? One out of five families in this coun- try has less than $3000 income per year. Another one out of five fam- ” ilies is deprived of a good diet, decent housing, or basic medical atten. tion. This means that 40 per cent of the nation’s population lives either in deprivation or in outright poverty. Some of our needs, spelled out in dollars, look like this: « Our housing includes about 3 million dilapidated units. If everyone in our growing population is to have a decent home by 1970 we must build about two million units at a cost of $25 billion every year. This means an increase of about 50 per cent over what we are spend- ing now, At least some of this could be built by private developers but, since much new housing should go to low-income people, govern- ment will have to play a major role. , * Just to keep our educational system going at its present inadequate level will require spending 50 per cent more by the year 1970 than at present because of our population growth. This means we must aim at spending about $30 billion each year at minimum, rather than our present $20 billion. * One of the most serious needs in our society is adequate medical ware for all Juct ta kaan un with tha nonulatinn much lese imnorave Saad BRDD feed. ae EF CCP Sp wea AG Badd, Gta soo aU re medical care, we should spend, by 1970, $1 billion to train physicians and $9 billion to build hospitals. We should spend $4.5 billion by 1970 to provide minimum state and local public health services. Ade- quate income for all wage earners while they are. ill will take $22.2 billion by 1970. And this is not even Medicare—it is only extended insurance coverage, e To bring the buying power of all American families (so important in maintaining demand for goods) up to a minimum of $4000 per year, not a grandiose sum, and of persons living alone up to $1500, will take $30 billion a year. This $30 billion could be added to the econ- omy if we had full employment, if plants were producing at full capacity, and if our graduated income tax were fairly applied. * Many of the poor are aged. The average benefit under social security 4 astalaed