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Show w HAS TAX EXTRAVAGANCE MORTGAGED YOUR HOME? There are three categories of public indebtedness which today contitute a heavy burden on the American taxpayer that of the states, that of the federal government and that of the cities. And serious as the first two are, the last is probobly the worst. The record of city governments might be expressed thus: Bond issues, more bond issues, and then defaults! A recent survey indicates in-dicates that 2,048 city governments are in default on securities to the tune of $1,000,000,000. Another survey places the total debt of defaulting cities with populations of 25,000 or more, at $959,-000,000 $959,-000,000 about ten per cent of the total debt for all cities, towns, boroughs and villages. The price of economical city government is constant watchfulness watch-fulness on the part of the local taxpayers. To date, St. George has come through in fine shape. Mayor Woodbury informed me recently re-cently that the auditors, who have just completed the auditing of the City's books, stated that St. George was in as fine a condiion financilly as any city in the state. Instead of being far over our bonding limit, we still are well withing bonding possibilities. Under present conditions this is indeed a credit to the men who have had charge of the City's expenditures. It is true that we might have had more improvements, but it is also true that we might have accumulated a debt of bonds far beyond our power to repay under present financial stress. When a town defaults on its bonds, it means that it has raised taxes beyond the point where the taxpayers can meet them, and that there is nothing to do but let the bondholders take the loss. And it means also that, during this process of increasing taxes, businesses have been forced to the wall, jobs lost and property confiscated and taken out of productive use. |