It may not be the signal for unrestrained cheers. but the fact that “Tax Freedom Day” comes five days earlier this year at least offers a glimmer of hope on the tax front. May 5 is the date to circle. That, says the Tax Foundation, Washingtonbased research organization, will be the time when the average taxpayer – if he applied all earnings to fulfilling his federal-statelocal tax obligation for the year – would have finished the task. The earlier Tax Freedom Day comes the sooner the taxpayer can “start working for himself.” A review of the foundation’s past calculations shows that Freedom Day has crept (or gallopedl deeper and deeper into the calendar during the past half century. The milestone came May 10 last year. It was May 4 in both 1979 and 1980. Looking back 52 years. the date was Feb. 14 in 1930, March 9 in 1940. April 4 in 1950. April 18 in 1960, and April 28 in 1970. Another cause for some economic satisfaction came recently when the Consumer Price Index dropped at a 3.6 percent annual rate in March, the first such decline in 17 years. Again, this must not be interpreted as a permanent anti-inflation policy success. But it does support other signs of a turnaround in the devastating inflation rate of the 1970s. The March price decline received a boost from the world oil glut which forced a dip in fuel prices. and from lower housing costs. influenced by high interest rates and the recession. Yet the progress of the past year belies assertions by some politicians that reversing inflation might take a decade or more. Anti-inflation gains haven’t come without pain – the depth of the recession, higher unemployment, more bankruptcies, and a slower rate of economic activity. There’s room for speculation as to whether the pain has been greater than necessary. The Wall Street Journal conjectured: “If a meaningful tax cut had been made by Congress last July as the President requested, it is probable that the recession would have been less severe and important antiinflation progress would still have been made.” In any case, the antiinflation initiative was necessary to reverse the vicious cycle of a weakening economy and erosion of living standards. it is hoped the earlier Tax Freedom Day and the Consumer Price Index drop will prove to be harbingers of further welcome economic news.