Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1919-11-25
WHY BOND INSTEAD OF
BUILDING FROM TAXES
Good Roads are Needed Right Now
For the Increasing Traffic

Someone will say, why should Mar
athon County Bond, borrow money, to
build roads, and pay interest on this
money, instead of raising the money
from taxes from year to year and
thus save the interest? The reasons
are these:
You need good roads now. You
need them to haul the traffic Many
OF our roads are impossible in spring.
You ought certainly to have them in
the next five years. You need hard
surfaced road like the concrete road.
They cost money. To build them in
the next five years would cost $4,000
600. r
Now then, if you divide $4,000, 900
by five you will find it amounts to
100000 year. Then look up, and
you will find the assessed valuation
OF Marathon County is $50, All. 90.
TO raise 100000 year on and as
sessed valuation of $S3,497, 477.OO
means a tax of 1.0437 on a dollar,
$1O.437 on $1,000, or 104.37 on a farm
er assessed for 100000. This tax
is prohibition and we have not yet
met farmer in the county who wants
to pay this amount.
Well, then we say, we have got to
pay interest, if we borrow the money.
You surely have, but figure this out,
and you will see it is the difference
between tweedle-dum and tweedle-dee.
Ii the farmers are taxed 100000 a
year, it means that each one is taking
so much out of his pocket and turn
ing it into the county and losing the
interest on it. What is the difference
between that and gong out and Dor
rowing the money and paying inter-
est on it. In each case you lose the
interest.
Suppose you wanted to build a barn
to cost 100000. You had $4,000. 90.
You can do one of two things: Spend
the 100000 on building it, which you
have, or borrow $4,000 and build it.
1t works out the same either way.
II you decide to use your own money,
the 100000 which you have and had
out at interest at so, you release TIE
mortgage, get your 100000 and lose
the interest 1t makes no difference,
which, way you do it, you are out the
interest.
Here is another proposition in fav-
or of the bond issue When you bond
to build wholesale than to retail, as
you are doing.
Then there is another feature, if you
bond, you will build hard roads in
five years time and these roads cost
very little to maintain. You will
save tens of thousands of dollars on
| maintenance. If you don't bond, it is
going to take you years to get these
roads, and in the meantime the cost
of maintenance of the old types of
road is piling up.
Finally, here is an important factor
not to be forgotten. Your rate of tax
ss is fixed by the relation between the
| assessed valuation and the amount
| to be spent. As the assessed valuation
| increases, 1t tends to lower the rate
Ii you attempted to raise $4,000, 0000
in five years by taxes, you would get
the advantage of only a small increase
in assessed valuation. Your 1919 as
| sessed valuation is $50, 497, 477.00 in
1924. 1t is safe to figure it will be
| $1O9,252, 226 based on the same ratio as
| the past five years. That sos, 252, 226
is the assessed valuation on which
| you would be paving your taxes
On the other hand spread it over
twenty years your assessed valuation
| is going up every year.
After all, future generations are GO
ing TO get the value of the rcais you
will build under the bond issVe, and
! ought not future generations help pay
| for them?