Show waste-hunters waste bag hag billions A million dollars is still a lot of money at the local tax level And certainly when organized organize waste-hunters waste can cut 2000 million that's two billion you know out of local budgets in a single state state and and without impairment of public that's that's important news in 49 other states I How Pow this has been done in California in 35 years of eyed eagle-eyed surveillance of local spending by a citizens' citizens group of gimlet eyed vigilantes is the subject of a report report report re re- re- re port by Patricia and Ron Deutsch in the September Readers Reader's Readers Reader's Readers Reader's Read Read- ers er's Digest that should be exciting and encouraging reading reading reading read read- ing for everyone everywhere who pays YS taxes How You Can Curb Your Local Taxes is a factual report on how the alert ale and efficient California Taxpayers Association Tax Cal-Tax for short checks waste at state county and town levels responds to brush Drush fires of extravagance extravagance extravagance ex ex- wherever they may break out and saves save taxpayers taxpayers taxpayers tax tax- payers for every doUr it spends In 1960 lOGO for example example example ex ex- ample Tax Cal lightened local tax burdens by 14 million It rescue rescued one county from underwriting a road program program program pro pro- gram it didn't need It saved a year by having the janitors at the State Capitol report for duty at 5 pm p.m. when they could start work instead of at when they would sit around at public expense for an hour and It squelched a small pension concession that saved Los Angeles County 50 million It effectively attacked abuses of state relief relie-f and adult education established central purchasing for the school system In short Tax Cal-Tax found a way to combat a universal weakness in the conduct of civic civi affairs that affairs that those favoring favoring favoring favor favor- ing high wide and handsome spending always attend public pub lie lic meetings while those those- who must ge get up the money sit home until its it's too late to howl So effective in fact have its methods proved that the Tax Cal-Tax pattern of organization organization niza tion and operation have been imported into 37 87 other states and at least two dozen former fonner Cal Tax Cal Tax men have fanned out into other states as budget experts nd admin admin- Two have even evea gone Into the U US U.S. Bureau of the Budget Budget and and we can hope there will vill be more People figure said one of these vigilantes that since government spends billions of dollars some of that money ought to be spent on them They forget they themselves themselves them them- selves have to pay the bills But Tax Cal-Tax is reminding them them them-In in the most impressive way we have yet heard of Here Is a a. story that should be read aloud aloud in in the meetings of every taxpayer group in America I |