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Ben Bella's biggest problem by far is the economy. This year, he said, will be one "of austerity, of convalescence." To show that he means business, he pushed through a skin-and-bones budget of $564 million, giving some ministries one-tenth of what they had demanded. He also put a $400-a-month ceiling on all government salaries—his own included—and slapped a 100% tax on income above $800 a month. To the ascetic Ben Bella, who lives in a dingy, three-room bachelor flat with a nephew who does all the cooking and cleaning, that seems perfectly reasonable. For those who think otherwise, he has a stern answer. "This," says Ben Bella, "is the price of independence."