Evening star., 1932-04-02
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
CITY BUDGETS.

Forty years ago we spent less than
half billion dollars a year on all city
governments in the United States. To-
day we spend approximately $1,000
900, 900 a year for much the same pur-
poses.
Most of the actual benefits we receive
in the field of government are Local
rather than State or national. Thus
police protection, traffic regulation, edu-
cation, safeguarding of public health
are functions entrusted for the most
part to municipal governments. While
the Federal Government spends only
S14,000.000 a year in education-and
this Is the vocational and landgrant
college workout of total of 81 600,
1000, the State spends about $780,
100000 year for education, and all the
cities spend total of close to $4,000
100000 a year to develop an educated
citizenry. Similarly, the cities bear the
brunt Of the expense for highways, u
which of course means streets and paw
ing. With sewers and other public i'm
provements. this item is in excess OF
81 ,000, 900, 900 year in the city budget,
whereas the States, with their large in
terests in highways, spend not to exceed
$500 000,0 900. Thus the municipalities
spend for education and streets and
public improvements about half of their
budgets.
Half a Billion for Police.
The next big item in the city budgets
is social welfare, which is in excess of
S700. .000,000 a year Here again the
cities have had to bear the burden of
relief work from year to year. Even
in times of prosperity there have been
f1I,1 Is,ysI l. al oh kN1a
necessities.
Police protection costs the cities
$500, 100000 year.
So by classifying city expenditures
we find that education takes 80 per cent,
social welfare, 20 per cent; highways,
18 per cent, and police protection, Is
per cent. Remaining items are divided
in general administration, public utili-
ties etc.
Now outside of current expenses the
big items In city budgets is debt re-
demption and interest. This amounts
to 81 900, 100000 year.
When it Is considered that State and
local borrowings were averaging in the
neighborhood of $1,000,000 900 a year
up to 1929, some idea Of the Importance
of calling a halt to increased borrow
ings by States and cities can be OBJ
tanned. In other words, if the States
and cities had not had impressed upon
them the necessity of stopping their
public borrowings, their annual budgets
would have had to take care of further
increasing expense for debt redemption
and interest.
1t is significant that total cost of in
terest and debt redemption for the cit
les alone is two-thirds of that same
item in the Federal Government. The
latter spends. about $1,500,000, 900 a
year both for interest and debt retire
ment.
Enormous Interest Item.
If We take the combined cost Of Fed
eral, State and local expenditures in
America we find that the taxpayers are
spending approximately $2,800,000, 900 a
year for debt redemption and interest.
This is close to 25 per cent of the COM
bined budgets Of all governments inside
the United States. This means that
the area within which economies can
be made is approximately rs per cent
Budgets, Of course, must be so arranged,
therefore, that current governmental ex-
penses can be met out of taxes and
other revenues and still leave 25 per
cent surplus to take care of interest
and debt redemption.
The difficulty really is that people
have not realized that debt redemption
and interest are as vital part of a
budget as any single operating item In