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Show As I See It Shifting Government to Local Level By J. FORD ANDERSON The President's program of shifting government from the federal level to : the local level is causing some stir in the nation's capital and local ; governments. The idea that Uncle Sam can pay 1 for everything from the top level, and i that this makes it easier for the taxpayers is a myth. The general I consensus is that the local areas can't ! afford to foot the bill on the local i level. When I say local level, I mean states, counties and cities. Also, it is the consensus of opinion ! that Uncle Sam can pay the welfare ; and food stamp bill easier than local governments can. : Who in the world would know better than the local people who would need j welfare or food stamps or any help for S that matter? The local people could distribute any needed help much more efficiently than an agency that is located thousands of miles away from the area. Furnishing the funds from the federal level or in other words giving the local area a blank check with which to furnish the needy with needed help is another mistake. It has been reported many times that when you send your tax dollar to Washington the amount that usually gets back to benefit the people is about ten cents. This is after it goes through the Washington, D.C. sifting machine and all the operating expenses ex-penses to handle that dollar are taken out. If you taxed on the local level for our welfare needs and we reduced the income tax as the President is doing, we will come up with a minimum operating expense and we will realize possibly a 75 cent benefit after expenses ex-penses are paid. So we would realize a savings of about 65 cents on the dollar by handling our own affairs here at home. And our overall taxes would be reduced. Another thing is that we would be able to find work on the local level which would benefit the community for anyone that was able to work. One of the main damages that the present welfare system has done to our people is furnish a crutch for many able bodied people to lean on. I don't think anybody objects to helping people that really need help. But as you have noticed in the news lately, welfare and food stamp abuses have been numerous. Some have had as many as 16 fake names on the welfare rolls drawing government checks. Many have received checks inlhe names of deceased individuals for several years. This is not likely to happen on the local level where the program could be watched more closely. If the taxes for this purpose were furnished on the local level you can bet that the people would see that things were done on the up and up and would only be supplied when a person really needed it. And they would have to work for it if they were able. |