Salt Lake Telegram | 1936-05-08 | Page 6 | Only One Way Out

t t Only One Way Out OutI I AUDITOR AUDITOR SAMUEL F. F NICHOLLS rings J C ih th bell when he declares that the only W way Y Jori the city pity govern government ent to abandon the policy o of double spending is to cut down p d ng is putting into other words what The Telegram ram pointed out at the close of last thc report for 1935 was being prepared by the auditor and later when it was filed riled with tho the city commission The meaning remains unaltered Mr Nicholls at that time tune i pointed ou out that the city had lived within its budget The Telegram argued and still argues that this means menns neat nothing whatever when the budget is based on a false premise The Tho thing that is necessary as ts was indicated at the time is 15 for the cit city to live within its income D Double uble spending is n a product of trick bookkeeping book keeping Mr ITh n- n Nicholls damns it with faint praise when he ne remarks that it is not alarming and and- that private corporations indulge in it Well VeIl private corporations with a sound f fi financial Ii- Ii setup d do not follow the policy An individual in In- doing so will surely go broke unless quite unexpectedly a rich relative dies and Cleaves leaves es him a fortune with which to wipe out his s deficit Double spending is operating city I F government with stage money The special auditors who have just COMpleted com corn completed a report covering 1935 operations point 10 to the cash deficit of even after after- a reduction of during the year Whether er the city lives within its budget or not in 1936 If it spends beyond its actual income this defIcit deficit def def- cit will be increased Ultimate r recourse course with or without public consent will be to borrow and beyond that to increase ase taxes The payoff payoff payoff pay pay- off must come When it does the city government government govern govern- ment threatens the taxpayer and takes his money noney the threat being the menace to the city's credit Double spending is no new thing It goes goes' back through many administrations The evil springs out of budgets based on unreasonable unreasonable unreason unreason- ason- ason able estimates of collections of anticipated rev rev- Mr Nicholls points to the only way out out to to cut down spending He must qualify however by y saying that spending must be cut down to inco income e. e The whole thing i is no complicated p problem in financing Living laving within in income ome is th the S simple basic principle of all sound fl ing n W When Wien en it is departed from is when trick bookkeeping conies comes in to cover up for playing oo tf e w with th o peoples other he v money oney