Milford chronicle., 1921-12-16
Copyright, Western Newspaper Union
THE BURDEN OF TAXES
By EDWARD G.LoWRY

| before the war the government VI
the United States spent about one bill
lion dollars a year for all purposes
including interest on the public debt
In the fiscal year ending June 30, 1920,
the first full fiscal year after fighting
stopped, the government spent in
round figures six billion four hundred
million dollars. In the fiscal year 1921,
that is, up to June 80, 1921, it spent
So, 5,115, 1927, ,689.30, and in the fiscal year
of 1922, which will end on June 80,
1922 it will spend more than four bill
lion dollars, says Secretary Mellon of
the Treasury Department.
These figures include interest on the
public debt which amounts to about
one billion dollars, but include moth
ing for sinking fund or other, debt re-
demptiOn. Including both interest and
sinking fund, the government will
spend more than four times as much
the fiscal year 1922 as it spent yearly
before the war.
These expenditures and these heavy
charges are a part of the price of vic
tory. Your whole present problem is
to curtail them. 1t concerns you to
know just how these immense sums
were gathered and how much you paid
and are paying toward them, for of
course we, the tax payers, the men and
women with jobs, the men and women
who have what the census calls gain
full occupations, paid every cent of it.
1t was our money until the govern
ment took it.
Let US examine the fiscal year 1920.
1 have not the detailed account for
1921, but it was slightly less than the
year previous, as the year ending June
80, 1922, will be a slightly less burden
on us than the year preceding. Ac-
cording to a careful analysis made by
the late DIR. e. B. Rosa, of the United
States bureau of standards, a govern
ment scientist who was deeply and in
telligently interested in the subject,
every man, woman and child in this
country contributes an average of
fifty-three dollars in taxes to the sup
port of the national government. Ac-
tually it is nearer fifty-fOur than fifty
three dollars, but am taking the
smaller sum for the sake Of the round
number. That is, the average family
of five persons pays $265 a year out
of its earnings to the federal govern
ment alone, in addition to what is
paid for state, county and city taxes.
The estimated average yearly income
of a family of five is something more
than $700. But before any of that $500
is spent $265 must be turned over to
the general government to run the
of the United States.
The actual amount that each one of
us paid was $53.77. We paid it through
the medium of internal revenue taxes
and customs duties on imported ar
ticles divided as follows:
Per
Capita
Income and excess profit. ......$ .$37.20
Cigars and tobacco. cO............. PIT |
and other utili-
ties ................... Z.IZ |
Autos, candy, furs, jewelry, etc. 2.52
Beverages I.S6
Special taxes on capital stock,
6Cc. s........ .......ssssssss .0J |
Estate inheritance ......... 81
Stamps on legal papers, etc.,. 20
to amusements, etc. II
Insurance and miscellaneous. %
IOLdl .ssssssssssssssse '9Oo.tG
The taxpayer is next of kin to the
treasury. At any rate he is the first
person notified when the treasury
needs money, and he always has to dig
lown into his jeans for whatever is
needed Taxpaying, even more than
charity, begins at home. The boys
pest friend is his mother. but the tax
payers only friend is himself. The
)nly thing that can be done for him is
o disclose as viyidly as possible how
much his government is costing and
ct him decide what he will do about
t. It all comes down to this: The
more money the government spends
through defective organization or eX-
the less you have to spend
n save.
CO MuSA AOA LAAC SOoL VI IAAC
we support. We are all mi
lority stockholders. The concern has
10 other source of revenue than our
It doesn't make any
money. In times like these, when al
most everybody feels that he gets too
title for what he sells and has to pay
90 much for what he buys, it seems
o me the least we can do is to take
n active and intelligent interest in
his great common enterprise of ours
nd make sure that it is well organ
zed; that it doesn't waste or spend
that the employees are
aid an adequate wage and have
roper working conditions; that their
lOrale is kept high and their enthu-
iasm in our interest unabated; in fine,
hat as a business it shall be conduct
d as efficiently and economically and
n as modern scientific principles as
ny large private business.
Is it?
That is a question you must answer
or yourself after 1 have acquainted
Ou with the actual situation and con-
ition.
TO BENEFIT II
nv MATERNITY RTTI III