Grand Forks daily herald. (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1914-1916, 1914-11-26
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1914.
MORE TAXES OR LESS EXPENSES

In all the discussion which has ariS-
en- with reference To tax levicS, assess
ments and expenses, the one thing
that stands out clear and unmistake-
able is that tho people OF the state
must pay more taxes or the state must
spend less money. If a mui with an
income of but $1,000 year spends ST.
500 he will land in the bankruptcy
court. IL he continue. III" process. A
similar process, under l;kc conditions,
will have the same effect on Il state,
The gretcr part OF tho income of the
state is derived from taxes paid by the
people. The state government cannot
spend more han tho people pay. Hence
1t Is obvious that, inaSInuc!l us the ap-
preparations for all purposes exceed
the total income. wc must either pay
more money or spend loss.
Probably the average man has very
little knowledge Of what Tho govern
ment VI the state cc%ts him. He may
know something about the totals,
tina the state spends n million for
this. n some thousands for that pur-
pose. but In most cases he does not
know how much of that total he pays
out of his own funds.
The state may. under the law. col
lcct in taxes for all state purposes 9TH
or than the retirement Of state bonds
and the payment of interest on the
public debt, four mills on every dol
lar Of assessed valuation on all prop
nf>f u in fhn SfnfN Inst r-I. ,J o%;-.
assessed valuation bears to real value
is largely a matter OF guesswork. All
sorts of estimates arc made. but in
the very nature of things, they arc
only estimates. For the of
this article let us suppose that prop
erty in this state. on the average, is as
sessed at 20 per cent of it's real value.
Probably the actual proportion is con-
siderably lower than that. But on a
20 e cent basis, the mar whose
property is actually worth $1,000 pays
taxes on at assessment Of $1,000. On
that sum he pays q tax of four mills
on the dollar, or a total state tan Of
four dollars.
How near does the owner Of So
900 worth of property come to being
the average MANI" If he is a farmer
he may own, for instance, a quarter
section of land worth $40 per acre,
with buildings and equipment worth
another $1,000, with an encumbrance
on the whole property of $1,000. Or,
if he lives in the city. he may own a
modest home worth. say, $4,000, with
a small rental property worth $4,000.
the whole free from remembrance. If
these cases do not strike the reader
as average ones. he is at liberty to
change the figures to suit. and to raise
or lower the sum which he believes
To represent the average mans estate.
But. assuming that the $4,000 man
comes somewhere nearly being in av-
erage circumstances, then under our
present tax rate, the contribution Of
the average property owner to the
government Of the state is 81 n year.
That sum pays his share Of the main
nance of the state departments OF
the various charitable and corrective
institutions. of the miscellaneous pur-
poses for which money is a%ppropriat-
ed at each session OF the legislature.
and of all the work hat is being done
by all the educational institutions of
the state.
On our present basis of expenditure
four dollars does not quite meet the
bill. The question is whether we
should a more than we are wasting
money. we ought to stop. Waste is
i~nexcusable. If there is legitimate
need for more than the four dollars,
we must dig up the additional odd
cents. If the latter course Is the one
chosen. there is q simple, easy and d.
rect way to do 1t, namely, to raise the
assessment. If. coupled with that
act, the legislature exercises the dis.
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