Chester Mize: This is your congressman, Chester Mize, reporting to you from Washington. 

Although it didn't receive widespread press coverage, an interesting panel discussion was held in Washington recently on the provocative subject: is the private sector of our economy being phased out by the government? 

Now, legislative leaders from both parties took part in the discussion, which was moderated by the noted producer and panelist of Meet the Press, Lawrence E. Spivak. No conclusions were drawn, but some very interesting questions were raised during the exchanges between the panelists, and I'm sure that many a businessman in Kansas has stopped to ask himself some of the same questions as he sees the federal government grow and become more centralized. He wants to know if government is a partner or a competitor. He knows that in some cases the government takes 50% of his profits. So like it or not, he has to regard the government as a partner. And on the other hand, he sees the government as a supplier of goods and services and as a money lender, as an employer, as a regulator and an enforcer. And it's natural for him to feel that he's in competition with his own government and his own tax dollars. 

Now it was observed that the technological revolution during the following, during and following the World War, that's the Second World War, might be a cause for the government coming in closer touch with every individual. Yet during the 1950s, we saw some phasing out of government in business. Now the pendulum seems to have swung back, and the private sector has become so influenced by government that decisions which were formerly made in the marketplace are now being made in Washington by bureaucrats. It was also pointed out during the discussion, that we only have to look at developments over the last 10 years to see why government has become a threat to the private sector. Our population has increased 18%. Private employment has increased 16%, but government employment has climbed by 46%. Statements like this were countered by references to the growth of the gross national product, high employment, increase in profits and widespread prosperity to show that business does pretty well, even in the days of big government. The discussion also touched on philosophical aspects of the question as to whether the power of government is an infringement upon individual freedom, with the point being made that oftentimes the individual has no recourse but to turn to the government to protect himself from the loss of liberty. 

It was also pointed out that the government is responsible many times for creating areas of freedom in its social, economic and educational programs. Well, the debate goes on and the issue is far from settled. But many of the businessmen to whom I talk honestly feel that unless there is a halt to the growing power of government, the private sector of the economy will be phased out, and government will have killed the goose which lays the golden egg. 

Now let's turn to another item. In these days, when farmers are catching it from all sides for everything, from causing the high cost of living to living at the taxpayers  expense as wards of the government, I think it's refreshing to get some cheering statistics about the underside of agriculture. Overlooked in the heat of the current farm debate is the fact that losses of less than 1% on over $7 billion in credit loans of the Farmers Home Administration have been recorded. Of the total loan, 71 1/2% has been collected as of December 31st in both principal and interest. In 16 years of rural housing loans, losses have been only two one-hundredths of 1% out of 906,000,000 advanced to farmers and other rural residents. 1/5 of the borrowers have repaid their loans in full. The Farmers Home Administration loans are made, incidentally, to rural people who can't get credit elsewhere. 

Well, that completes this week's report. This is your congressman, Chester Mize, speaking to you from Washington.