Show KEEP YOUR EYE ON BACK JAMES YARD TAXES LOCA L BURDEN STATE CITY AND COUNTY GREATER THAN C GOV OV DEMAND foil AID WATCHING YOUR COMMUNITY EX TURES MORE profitable FINDING bauit WITH NA TION I 1 BY ROBERT D GAREY CAREY governor of wyoming I 1 editors note robert D carey governor Gov einor of wyoming gives you food tor for thought ini the following it Is the popular thing just now to find fand fault with national taxes and to mutter dark threats about what ono one will do next election the governor points out that the nations national I 1 demand for tax pennies is not nearly as important to your pocket book as the state city and countes coun tys demand tor for tax dollars on account ot of large expenditures incident to the recent war and the increase in cost of 0 state and local government taxes have been greatly increased and people in all sections 0 of the country are objecting more and more to paying taxes the average taxpayer has little idea ot of governmental expenditures and Is inclined to blame the state government for any increase which may be levied against his property the fact Is that outside of federal taxes those that are the largest are to a certain extent maent local taxes which the people themselves could regulate in many instances it if they would but make the eff effort ort generally speaking the greater portion ot of money raised by taxation Is for or tho the support 0 of schools and for or municipal government in this state each paid by the taxpayer la in our two largest cities Is distributed as follows city government 39 93 schools 0 county government 1757 and state stathe govern gove rn me ment nt 13 1316 10 it will be seen from the above that the cost of state administration Is comparatively small which la is also true of 0 the county while the cost of maintain rig a city Is tar far out of proportion to that ot of either the state or county it appears that the smaller tho the subdivision ot of government the greater the cost of 0 the same schools need more ks As to schools there Is little chanco chance of reducing expenses as we are do da manding and expecting better sch schools and in fact act it would be a very poor policy to fail all to provide funds that they may be properly financed and improved while the cost of 0 supporting them Is great no right thinking person should object to paying his share and no expenditure of 0 public money will in the end bring greater returns necessarily the cost of 0 government has increased in proportion to the increased cost of 0 living and everything costs more than t did a few ew years ago consequently both officials and employed emp loyes must be paid higher salaries or wages supplies are am costing morr more and it Is much more expensive to care for or an inmate of 0 a penal or charitable institution further new and increased lucre anad demands are constantly being made upon the state and the state today to Is engaging in many activities that it did not formerly or morly per lapi the greatest burdon burden that the states havo have assumed Is the building of 0 highways the federal highway acts have caused every state to organize highway commissions which aro are necessarily large and expensive organizations and which lire are spending pending vast sums gums of 0 money th this to a large extent transfers to the state an aa expense which was formerly or merly borne by tho the county or local community and while it necessarily increases tho the state stale expenditures there Is no question but that it Is bringing about bettor better highways highway ya and Is saving large sums of money f or merly wasted upon poorly located and ill constructed highways demands unfortunately at each session of a legislature each community and inter est demands from rom the legislature appropriations for or its particular bene bea fit few members of 0 a legislature havo have a general engral knowledge kno wedge 0 of the state or its institutions and fred re have to take it for or granted that an appropriation is necessary and through lack of 0 knowledge money meney Is mine times voted unnecessarily As a usual thing during the first session of 0 legislature ater after a coveri continued on page eight from page one on p KEEP YOUR EYE ON BACK YARD TAXES nor has assumed office he has had little or no thild to investigate tho tb 0 needs of the different state ins titu tlona eions and on oil hla his account lg Is not able to advise tho the legislature as la is possible after he has been in office tor for some time there have been instances ln in title state when money was voted for or unnecessary improvements for institutions and recently recently tho state lias has abandoned an all expensive light and water plant which was provided for or one of 0 the institutions for or the reason that tha t it was burh more expensive to operate ororato it than to obtain light andl and water from an adjacent city this is an example of a member of 0 the legislature getting through an appropriation pria tion simply because he wanted something and this was about all he could think 0 of at the time another cause for the increase in taxes Is the voting ot of bonds which has become most popular and which are very otten often voted on with little consideration ot of the needs for which the money la is to be raised and as a lule little interest s taken in bond elections not long ago a bond issue ot of was submitted to the people of a school district and at the election voted one person tor for each 1000 of bonds to be issued it adems that many fall to realize that bonds must be paid and that to retire them and pay the interest the money ill us abe bo raised by some form of tax nelon i j 1 J alsus tl t l budget benefits there Is no question but that the adoption of tile the budget system la in many lually of thy theo stores states means the saying saving of large sums of money that were formerly voted without regard to the necessities of the state stale government in fact without a budget system appropriations are made haphazard while with the budget careful survey is made of all proposed expenditures vur further ther the provision in mazy many budget laws that no appropriation can be made by a legislature until alier after the passage of a budget at bill does much to discourage the in Lio of appropriation bills As to the cost ot of city government the people themselves by taking more in municipal affairs could bung about more efficient and more economical city government and it if cities would employ qualified persons to lo superintend their expenditures a great deal ot of waste could be eliminated it more careful consideration was given to the matter of voting bonds no doubt la in milay many instances they would not be voted but as long as people aro are demanding more and mole a i in expenses cannot be expected and only when the time comes that the people and their duly elected representatives make up their minds to spend no money except tor for that which is absolutely necessary ar y ca can they expect a reduction in state male city or municipal taxes |