The Daily Alaska empire., 1928-06-19
MOUNTING COSTS OF GOVERNMENT.

In his budget address to heads of depart ments and bureaus in Washington recently, Presi- dent Coolidge devoted a few striking sentences to the cost of governmental administration point ing out the upward trend of expenditures of State, county and municipal organizations during period when the Federal Government was stead fly reducing it's own costs. Although addressed directly to members of the Government, men whose duty it is to handle the business of of the national Government his words should be noted carefully by every citizen.
 The picture and it not altogether a pleasing one was painted in these words:
 Students of business trends, experts
 in economic conditions, view with alarm
 the continued advance in the cost of gov
 ernment The cost of government in the
 United States Federal, State and muni-
 cipa in 1921 S9,500, ,000,000. In
 1925 1t had increased to S11,124,00O,-
 900. During that period the National
 Government had reduced it's expenditure
 by S2,000,000,000 In that period States,
 counties municipalities and other tax
 ing agencies increased their cost by $3,
 OO000 900. This year 1926 recorded
 another advance in cost to $11 GOT ,000,-
 O00 This steady increase in govern
 mental cost the part of the States
 and municipalities is menace to pros
 perity. It not be ignored It can
 hot longer continue without disaster It
 will not correct itself can conceive
 dependable guaranty of genu-
 inc prosperity than a nationwide eff
 fort in behalf of less and wiser spend
 ing by State and local governments
 Already the adverse effects of the
 great increase in such expenditures, with
 the corresponding rise in their taxes,
 being felt With much capital in
 the country, investments are show
 ing tendency to be insufficient to
 furnish good a market we could
 wish for labor While serious
 employment exists, and the trend of
 wages is still advancing, if all the
 money that can be made in employing
 labor is going to be taken away in
 local taxes, old and established industries
 will attempt to struggle along, but new
 enterprise is not going to be undertaken.
 About the worst enemy of the wage
 is Government extravagance An
 other adverse tendency is for people to
 take their money and use it is specu-
 lation, which contributes nothing to the
 sum of our national wealth.
 Even here in Alaska the tendency of costs o Government has been upward. It is true tha Territorial taxes have been stationary since 1925 but appropriations have been greater in the pas four years than at any time since the creation of the Legislature. Students of this situation are convinced that, unless checked, this mount ing tide of expenditures will continue to pon where the present tax rates are too low to pro vide funds for all the necessary appropriations Such situation should be permitted to de velop None of the Territory's major industries over-prosperous Yet it is from them mos of the Territorial revenues derived. Tl impose heavier tax burdens them would bt unjust to them and unwse economic policy What is needed is more prosperity in tn, industries Alaska now has, and Industries to provide employment for population. Any thing that tends to retard that prosperity should be discouraged And high taxes are the sures deterrent to good times in all branches of bus ness and trade. likewise preventive to the estab lishment of additional industries.