Imperial Valley press., 1932-08-01

/ the board of freeholders that funds
i be contributed to them to carry on
the work assigned to them, the fol-
lowing statement has been given to
The Press:
The people of Imperial county,
by initiative petition requested the
nomination and election of a board
of Is freeholders to formulate and
propose a county charter. The
freeholders have been duly elected
and qualified and are undertaking
the mandete, but the attorney
general of the state of California
has advised the supervisors that no
public funds may be spent in de-
fraying the expenses of this board.
The demand for the formulation
of a charter is the outgrowth of
too much government and too much
expense in its maintesance. This
period of distress and depression
has forced TO the attention of every
thinking citizen, that period OF
affluence and prosperity h
brought upon him an Overwhelming
financial burden that he cannot
bear in even normal times. and
should not be borne at any time.
The burden came gradually. The
accumulation of public service is the
direct cause. Our economic struc-
ture has acquired complexities and
and the entire press
of the United States is loudly call
ing them to our attention.
Leroy A. Lincoln, vice president
and general council of the Metro
politan Life Insurance company in
a recent address to company man
ayers, summarizes the situation
splendidly.
He says in part:
Surely, this year as never be-
fore in the history of the United
States, our people are becoming
more tax-conscious. Taxes have
become a staggering burden to cit
liens in every walk of life. Not
only the big corporations. and the
individuals that were considered |
three short years ago, but |
also the people of moderate means
the poor, the indigent-all are
directly or indirectly feeling the
burden, and rising in protest.
And the most healthy sign is
that this protest is not altogether
confined to a wish to load the tax
On the other fellows back; we also |
hear a rising crescendo of protest !
against the occasion for the tax
Itself, the overwhelming burden of
governmental expenditure.
by the natural perversity of
things, taxes become high when T!
they are hardest to pay. Taking as
an example years like 1928 or 1929,
taxes were easy to pay because in
comes were higher, whether among
the so-called rich" or among peo-
pie of more moderate means; and
in those years the tax policy of
the government and of the state
tended toward reduction. Then
came the past two years with bad
business, much unemployment, and
a general condition of depression,
and it is in these times, as luck
will have it, that taxes have to be
increased when they are hardest to
pay. We are seeing such increases
in the federal government, we have
seen them in our own state gov
ernmenrs, and the same con-
dition exists practically everywhere
throughout the states and the mum
icipalities.
And now the ready answer on
the tip OF everyone's tongue, is:
Reduce expenditures. This is vital
and fundamental, but difficult. In
recent speech Ex-Governor Smith,
who has had a most extraordinary
experience with reference to state
finances and state taxation, was
quoted as saying that he always
felt the problem was, not to reduce
expenses but to keep expenses from
going any higher.
I'm our various governments. we
seek plans for reducing salaries.
Proposals for horizontal reductions
OF 10 per cent are common. In my
judgment, this is an empty gesture,
except as reflection of a reduc-
ton in the cost of living. In the
first place, the total amount of
such reductions will make but a
small impression on the vast budget
of the federal government or of the
state governments. Indeed, I per-
sonally should favor an increase
in the salaries of public servants,
from the top to the bottom, but I
should decrease the number of pub
lie servants. Mr.. Erie Thorpe, edi-
tor of Nations Business, recently
made the statement that 10000 900
people in the United States are di-
rectly or indirectly dependent on
public payrolls. The total popula-
ton of the country is only 125 ,O0O.-
0o0 Generally speaking, the public