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THE PEOPLE’S FORUM
Ttie Governor is proposing a slls - $l3O million kindergarten program.
Do you believe the advantages of such a program are worth the money?
DR. JO ANN MANLEY
Yes. early childhood edu
cation reduces first grade
failures, later failures, drop
outs and discipline problems.
Inflation Wipes Out
Income Gains Locally
(Special to the
Progress-Argus)
New York, Jan. 11 How
much more income does the
average Butts County family
have to have in these days of
high inflation to equal the
purchasing power it had five
years ago?
To what degree have
increased living costs and
bigger taxes eaten into the
wage gains that local
workers secured in the
period?
During the first three years
of that span in 1970, 1971
and 1972 living costs rose
at the relatively modest rate
of 4.1 percent a year, on
average.
Local families were able to
compensate for that rise
satisfactorily because their
incomes were going up
faster.
In 1973, however, prices
New Opportunities For
Individual Retirement Funds
Under the Employment
Retirement Income Security
Act of 1974, signed recently
by President Ford, beginning
after December 31, 1974, an
employee who is not covered
through his employment by a
retirement plan qualified
under the Internal Revenue
Code can set up his own
retirement fund.
According to Mr. Peluso,
local manager of H & R
Block, the nation’s largest
tax preparation firm, contri
butions to an Individual
Retirement Account by such
an employee can be deducted
for income tax purposes,
whether he uses the standard
deduction or itemizes. The
employee may deduct up to
15 percent of his earned
income or a maximum of
$1,500 for contributions to his
Individual Retirement Ac
count, and a husband and
wife can in some cases
deduct up to $3,000, the Block
spokesman points out.
Generally, no distribution
from an Individual Retire
ment Account is permitted,
except in the case of death or
disability, before the em
ployee is 59 V-i without a 10
percent tax penalty, and the
account must be distributed,
or distribution must com
mence, before he is 70 Vfe. The
earnings from investment of
the funds in an Individual
Retirement Account are
tax-free prior to distribution,
and are taxed as ordinary
income (subject to income
averaging) when distributed.
An individual who receives a
lumpsum distribution from a
qualified retirement plan
sponsored by his employer
because of the termination of
his employment will not be
taxed because of such
distribution if he reinvests
the distribution to a qualified
IRA within 60 days. How
GROVER MCINTYRE
Yes, I have some girls that
it will affect. I’ve always
supported it.
started climbing more rapid
ly. They jumped 8.8 percent
that year and soared another
12 percent or so during 1974.
Wage hikes, locally and
elsewhere, could no longer
match these increases and
most families fell behind in
purchasing power. In the
past year alone the loss was
about 5 percent.
Based upon figures ob
tained from the Tax Founda
tion and the Department of
Labor, only those families
whose incomes went up 34
percent or so in the last five
years ended up even.
Applied to Butts County,
the average local family that
had an income of $7,000 in
1969 now needs approximate
ly $9,400 to maintain its
normal standard of living.
The family that was
earning $9,000 a year
previously would have to
have no less than $12,400 at
ever, such tax-free treatment
may occur only once every
three years. The funds in an
IRA are not excluded from
estate taxes in the event of
the death of the individual
before the account is distri
buted.
Mr. Peluso points out that
there are three methods
provided for funding Indivi
dual Retirement Accounts:
(1) The employee can go to
a trust department of any
bank, or a trust company, or
any savings institution, and
make arrangements to set up
the fund.
(2) The employee can buy
an annuity contract from any
insurance company. He also
may purchase an endowment
policy, but that part of the
premium which applies to
life insurance is not deducti
ble from gross income for tax
purposes.
(3) The employee can buy
US. Government Retire
ment Bonds issued under the
Second Liberty Bond Act.
These bonds are available
directly through the U.S.
Treasury or a Federal
Reserve Bank.
In the event an employer
sets up a custodial account
for his employees’ private
retirement funds, an em
ployee can make arrange
ments to have payments
deducted from his salary and
paid into such account and
still claim the tax deduction.
The Employment Retire
ment Income Security Act of
1974 also increases the limits
on tax deductible contribu
tions that may be made to
retirement plans for self-em
ployed persons and share
holder-employees of Sub
chapter S corporations. The
new limits are the lesser of 15
percent of earned income of
$7,500 (as compared with 10
percent and $2,500 under
THE JACKSON PROGRESS-ARGUS, JACKSON, GEORGIA
BILL JONES
From the standpoint of the
slate as a whole, yes, but
from the standpoint of Butts
County where we already
have a kindergarten pro
gram, I believe we could use
appropriations better in
other areas.
present to equal its former
buying power.
Similarly all across the
board, those who were in the
$12,000 bracket now require
$16,300 and the ones who had
$15,000, $20,700.
The upward surge in the
cost of food, transportation,
rent and other necessities
has created an especially
difficult problem for the
unemployed and for retired
people, whose incomes are
fixed, except for occasional
increases in Social Security
benefits.
In families in which the
man of the house has been
the sole support, the pressure
has been eased considerably
in recent years because
many, married women have
become wage earners.
In Butts County, some 55
percent of the married
women are employed, the
figures show.
prior law).
In addition to the forego
ing, Mr. Peluso of H & R
Block observed that the
Employment Retirement In
come Security Act of 1974
makes extensive changes in
the law governing employer
sponsored qualified retire
ment plans. Among other
things, the law is designed to
protect employee-partici
pants under such plans
against under-funding of
retirement benefits and
against loss of retirement
benefits due to the bankrupt
cy or insolvency of compa
nies. The law also safe
guards, to some extent, the
retirment benefits of an
employee who moves from
one firm to another.
Additional information
concerning income tax
treatment of retirement fund
contributions and distribu
tion, capital gains treatment,
or income averaging rules
under the Employment Re
tirement Income Security
Act of 1974 can be obtained at
any H & R Block Office.
PERSONAL
Mr. Julius Spoon is in
Monroe County Hospital,
Forsyth, and is reported as
quite ill as of last week. He
was scheduled for surgery on
January 9th.
%
Mrs. Mary Mote and Tally
wish to thank their friends
for the many cards and gifts
senl them over the holidays.
May God bless each one and
bring a good year to them all.
Mrs. Winnie Moore re
turned home Monday,
January 6th, from Carrollton
where she visited relatives
for the weekend.
BOYS IN
SERVICE
San Antonio Airman
Robert T. Horne, grandson of
Vlrs. Queen E. Horne of 8
”urry St., Jackson, Ga., has
oeen assigned to Lowry AFB,
Colo., after completing Air
Force basic training.
During his six weeks at the
Air Training Command's
Lackland AFB, Tex., hfr
studied the Air Force
mission, organization and
customs and received special
instruction in human rela
tions.
The airman has been
assigned to the Technical
Training Center at Lowry for
specialized training in the
supply field.
Airman Horne graduated
in 1970 from Henderson High
School and attended Clark
College, Atlanta.
There are approximately
263,500 rooms in Holiday
Inns throughout the world.
FREE
C** BEAUTIFUL
PORTRAIT
In Living Color
DON'T MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY
Any age, any number of children accompanied by a
parent wil! be photographed FREE in Living Color.
ONE complimentary color portrait will be given
to each FAMILY as a gift
Your child will be photographed
by a professional photographer.
group pictures will be taken,
but will not constitute as your tree picture.
Additional portraits may be purchased at our
reasonable prices. [No obligation]
C film charge; Adults also welcome
No appointment necessary
ROSENA'S FABRIC, JACKSON, GA.
Monday, Jan. 20th, 1 P. M. to 7 P. M.
a- *
LANE JOHNSON
Most definitely, I only hope
that they will remember to
work far funds for other
needed programs.
PERSONAL
Miss Marie Land was
transferred January Bth
from an Atlanta hospital to
Sylvan Grove Hospital, her
many friends will be interes
ted to know.
Admitted to Sylvan Grove
Hospital last Friday was Mr.
Rolfe Burford, who remains
a patient there this week.
Mr. Eu Judd of The Macon
Herald Publishing Company
was a visitor Friday after
noon at The Progress-Argus
office.
A traveler to a distant land
may feel unconsciously uncom
fortable while vacationing, be
cause of the strange foods,
language and customs of the
countries he visits, and is often
surprisingly glad to see some
thing that reminds him of
home.
You can find 1,700 “familiar
faces” around the world in the
form of Holiday Inns which
offer you American style food
(in addition to local) and Amer
ican standards of comfort and
quality.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 1975
GIGI LEVERI TTE
(Continued from Page I)
she said.
Gigi is a sophomore at Tift
College this quarter, and is
undecided about her major.
“I was planning to major in
psychology, because I have
been told that you need
psychology in politics,” she
said. “But now I am thinking
about majoring in political
science.”
She is sticking with politics
no matter what; “I hope I
have many years to serve the
Democratic Party,” she
-said.
Notice
IN THE SUPERIOR
COURT OF BUTTS
COUNTY, GEORGIA
BUNNIE JEAN (BALL)
BOSTWICK
Plaintiff
VERSUS
HOWARD E. BOSTWICK
Defendant
CIVIL ACTION FILE NO.
2401
ACTION FOR TOTAL DI
VORCE
NOTICE OF SUMMONS
TO: HOWARD E. BOST
WICK, Defendant Named
Above:
You are hereby notified that
the above-styled action seek
ing a total divorce was filed
against you in said Court on
January 14,1975, and that by
reason of an order of service
of summons by publication
entered by the Court on
January 14, 1975, you are
hereby commanded and
required to file with the Clerk
of said Court and serve upon
Alfred D. Fears and Richard
G. Milam, plaintiff’s attor
neys, whose address if P.O.
Box 3886, Jackson, Georgia,
an answer to the complaint
Within sixty (60) days of the
date of the order of service
by publication.
Witness the Honorable
Hugh D. Sosebee, Judge of
the Superior Court of Butts
County, Georgia.
This the 14, day of January,
1975.
MARTHA R. SIMS
DEPUTY CLERK OF THE
SUPERIOR COURT OF
BUTTS COUNTY
l-4tc
Self Employed?
START NOW TO EARN
UP TO $7,500
DEDUCTION FROM
YOUR 1975
INCOME TAX.
[INSURED]
These gripes are taken
from residents of Jackson
and Butts County. They do
not necessarily express the
opinion of this paper; they
are screened according to
timeliness and importance.
* Yes! You can invest as much as 15 % of your
taxable income up to $7,500 in a Griffin Federal Re
tirement Plan, and you can take every penny of the
money as a deduction on your tax return for 1975.
Even if you are self-employed only part-time, a con
sultant say, or a free lance artist—you can take ad
vantage of the Plan.
Best of all, Griffin Federal will pay you 7%%
interest, compounded daily for an effective annual
yield of 8.06% on your tax-free money in amounts
of SI,OOO or more (min. 6 year term). Federal reg
ulations require substantial penalty for early with
drawal of funds.
NO FEES NO SERVICE CHARGES
GRIFFIN FEDERAL
348 Mulberry Si. P O Box 3601 Telephone 404- 775-2710
JACKSON. GCORGIA 30233
WRITE ’N GRIPE
Tfv^UMCLE
Our gripe for this week is
with the bad deal we middle
class Americans-are getting
on our income tax. It seems
as if we make less and pay
Uncle Sam more than any
logic can make us under
stand. It really galled the
griper as to why the rich
seemed to not pay even their
fair share.
ruth at random
By Ruth Bryant
WITHOUT A “YOU” NO “ME”
Without a sound no music
Without a cloud no rain
Without a sun no shadows
Without a heart no pain;
Without a voice no singing
Without a lock no key
Without a friend no friendship
Without a “You” no “Me”!
The cartoon is done by Jerry
McLaurin, our “artiste ex
traordinaire”. If you have
any gripes, please address
them to me, Cindy Brown or
to Jerry McLaurin, and we
will do the necessary and we
hope, humorous elaboration.
Maybe if we quit sending so
much cash to the “furriners”
and the man in the moon we'
could afford to pay a little
less income tax. After all, it
would be a shame to see
some countries use our own
money to destroy us. And
someday, we may find that to
be a sad, dangerous truth.
EQUAL HIMISMK
LENDER
