Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1914-10-16
WHERE MQNEY'COEs
OLD TIMER or IOWA HAS FIGUR.
Ed " ALL OUT FOR 30r,
OUR READERS ''
FACTS IN HUMOROUS VEIN
Misleading Statements Of Candidates
viii Not Stand the Test When Com.
mon Sense 10 Brought to Bear On
the Actual Figures.

! guess l am bout an average tax.
payer. see that my friend John r.
says one out o five pays taxes. He
bein' a banker ought to know. Now
supposin' it amounts to $50 apiece all
round; that would mean that !, as m
average taxpayer, pay about 800 in
taxes.
Let's figure little on this tax bust.
ness, having the records at hand right
from the state house where anybody
at all interested can get them. Figur.
ing's easy and some people can figure
out Iowa as robbed, ruined and bank.
rupt. But let's keep to the facts in
our figuring.
! got all the figures straight from
the records, as said, and ! want to
know where my money goes and all
about 1t. I'm going to get at it on the
basis Of that hundred pay in taxes.
Then 1t is easily understood and no
mistake.
In the first place find that OF my
hundred dollar tax bill the biggest
slice goes PUNK into our common
schools. How much d We suppose?
Just $35.03. But I'm mighty proud Of
our schools. And really that isn't all
that goes into our schools either, as
found out afterwards.
Then the next biggest bunch goes
right into our roads and bridges, but
we're building real bridges now and
making roads better and keepin' EN-
dragged 50 the buzz cars can make
fast time. They're putting 1890 of
my hundred right into roads. But wait
till they begin paving them and then
see what 1t costs.
Then we have seven or eight hun
dred mighty fine towns in Iowa, with
lights and water and paving and all
those things, and hundred good cit
les where we market our stuff. OF the
hundred in taxes paid by every one in
Ave, learn that $14.39 goes to make
these cities and towns so we can be
proud of them.
Now l find here another consider
able item in making up this hundred.
1t is $20.37. That goes to the county
seat and none Of 1t gets further
away than an hour in the auto.
1t pays for the county officers,
some drainage matters, for court
house purposes and some Of it goes
for roads. It pays for cemeteries and
to help the poor folks, and pays the
widows pensions and to help bury the
old soldiers, and to care tor the insane
in the county. Guess that's all right.
Now we come to an item about
which a lot of fuss Is made. find
that out of my hundred is taken 1902
for state purposes. That goes to Des
Moines to be used In the way the leg
islature says.
But here is just one more item. 1t
is for 1927. They call it "millage
taxes" and on inquiry | find that it
goes to Ames, and Iowa City, and
Council Bluffs, and Clarinda, Mount
Pleasant. Davenport, Vinton, Chero.
kee, Cedar Falls and so on. 1t is dis
tributed all round, but Ames gets
most Of it. Ny frien' John T., the
Cedar Rapids banker, says 1t is "ex-
penses OF state government" but X
50 all right. Then it also includes, as
I discover, the pay for all the work
those college extension fellows are DO
ing to help the farmers and to hold
Institutes and crop meetings and colt
shows and all that sort of thing. II
that's expenses of state government
it's all right.
What's left? o. most forgot it.
Just $1.02 and where dy' suppose It
goes. Why for capitol extension.
And they do tell that they're buying
it so cheap that it could all be sold
back in jiffy at profit, If anybody
ever finds Iowa bankrupt and busted
and needn' the money.
But wait, | find that here's million
dollar item didn't include in the
large amount of taxes we pay. 1t
Is a little side line. It's a million in
automobile taxes. But then it comes
back to US and goeS into our road
fund. So the road money Is more than
I had figured. That auto tax is col
lected in Des Moines, but it doesn't
remain there. Every township OF the
state gets slice.
Now, I've been wondering what be-
comes of the $500 in state taxes
pay each year. I made some inquiry
about that, also, and find that 1t
doesn't all go to pay. for janitors and
postage and committee clerks and
printin OF reports so that my friep',
the banker, can get all the facts il he
wants III.
FIR instance, an John T. never said
a word about this, either, ] find that
all the district judges--59 Of them
are paid by the state, and some of
them actually live in towns around
here. That takes 100000 a year.
Then, so it seems, when the rent for
the armory down at the county seat
is paid a check IL drawn on the state
treasury. and when the guard boys
have drill or go to camp the money
comes right from Des Moines 10 pay
EN-. It costs those fellows down there
$l50.000. y ,.-
Then, as 1 said before, the $35 pay