Show The F Federal deral Budget THE pHE FIGURES of foremost importance in iii the JL budget for the new fiscal year beginning next July 1 l and terminating June 30 1939 are The request for for expenditure opposed to anticipated revenue of indicating a deficit of bringing in prospect a national debt of a new record high Mr Roosevelt points to as the mOst important figures in the budget the budget the figures representing the cuts made in estimated expenditures for the coming fiscal year But deducting this amount from a budget that with it included would have been ha has cre created ted the very problems which may overthrow his recommendations in congress and put the budget up to a considerably higher figure than he submitted The items covered by the reductions involve for the most part those things for which congressmen congressmen congressmen con con- gressmen and senators will fight hardest to tose se secure secure se- se cure for their own states which translates into personal political advantage As an economy the may not appear appear appear ap ap- ap- ap pear at first blush to be a saving of magnitude placed against the total budget request figures but but it is six per cent cent of of the deficit more than 40 per cent If it could have been doubled it would have brought the budget within of balance With a calculated daily expenditure expenditure expendi expendi- ture by the federal government of less than four days' days spending saved in addition would have brought the budget into irit actual balance bal bal- ance Though there is is' is some contrary opinion this i the consummation devoutly wished to bring full recover recovery and put the nation fiscally on ven even keel Now these figures may be a little difficult to follow Very little study of them should reve reveal l however that the country is within sight of at a balanced budget and can attain it if the people stand willing to make the sacrifice The sacrifice sacrifice sacrifice fice can qan be made in two ways ways and and no one has yet figured out a third way Sacrifice a is to reduce government spending spending spend spend- ing to the point where it is covered by government government govern govern- ment income This means public economy and public economy means curtailment of governmental governmental govern govern- mental service and this means lopping off a monumental amount of pork barrel spending and political waste It must mean also getting along for a time without some vital functions of government It all simply means living within the national means This may be pretty tough f f. f a time but that is what i is meant by sacrifice L Sacrifice b is to bring governmental income up to government spending This is not pleasant to think about because it can only mean that the government must gather in more taxes There is no other way It would mean collecting federal taxes from those in the low income groups whose purses are already thin in a time of high prices and of high taxes from state and local governments This group now pays no federal tax except the so- so called painless taxes of which sad to say there is ls no such animal Even widening of the tax base to include wage earners whose income in most cases does not permit them and their families an adequate standard of living will not provide sufficient federal revenue Congress then may be persuaded persuaded persuaded per per- to turn to the greatest fallacy in all tax economics a a soak the rich levy going far outside outside outside out out- side the ability to pay theory It puts the brakes on progress creates unemployment curtaiLs cur cur- tails both production and consumption brings about a very real economy of scarcity increases prices and finally destroys the ability to pay For a time that would be sacrifice sacrifice and and to tough gh After that nothing is left to sacrifice It is in this light that the budget should be studied studied not not merely read and forgotten It should lead the people to make up their minds how they want deficits eliminated so they can go about attacking the national debt and decreasing decreasing ing the overwhelming interest charges This is the price we pay for living beyond our means portent of bankruptcy If it comes it will not be the treasury which incurred the debt and the bankers who carry most of it and the bondholders ers owning part of it t who will go down We will all go down together The trend is in that direction direction tion and it ought to be turned back before it is too late |