Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1936-02-23
BY NICHOLAS ROOSEVELT.

the New Deal, has spent an
average Of $l.88 for every dol
L lar it has collected in revenue.
When the additional sums needed to
finance the bonus and the necessary
borrowing to cover the deficit Of the
fiscal year beginning July are pro-
vided, the national debt will have been
increased by nearly $l5,000,000, 600
since June 80, 1888.
Such sum is fantastic and incom-
prehensible. It Is equal to the average
nual income OF 10000, 900 American
families. It Is Is times more than the
entire Federal Government spent in
1914.
But this is not all. The Government
has pledged its security behind nearly
5000, 900, 900 of so-called contingent
iabilities"-debts and loans which, II
not repaid by the debtors, will have to
be repaid by Uncle Sam. Under ex-
listing statutes the Government can
underwrite several billions more,
Every dollar of this which the Govern
ment has to take over will have to be
paid by American taxpayers.
What does all this mean to the aver
age citizen?
Pay Day Is Coming.
That the Federal Government. by
living on borrowed money, has been
able to postpone the day of reckoning
But pay day cannot be evaded. Some
one will have to pay for the New Deal
So long as the Government can bor-
row, our children will do the paying
This makes it easy for the New Deal
ers-and hard on our children.
But common sense shows that 1t is
impossible to go on indefinitely living
on borrowed money. The mortgage
which dad put on the old farm a few
years before he died has to be paid of
by his sons.
1t is just the same with Government
borrowing. The money which the pres
net administration receives from the
sale of United States Government
bonds and Treasury certificates will
have to be repaid during another adj
ministration. Wilson borrowed to wage
war. Harding, Coolidge and Hoover
paid of nearly half what Wilson Dor
rowed
But when the end of borrowing
comes-and it is already in sight-we
shall either have to cut expenditures
or increase taxes-or both.
Economy Hard to Practice.
Unfortunately, it is desperately hard
to cut expenses. The average politi-
clan prefers spending to saving-espe-
cially If fair share of the spending
is done in his own district and his own
friends profit from it.
Economy necessitates reducing the
number of people supported in whole
or in part by the Government. This
means not only cutting down Federal
allowances for relief and Federal
grants to farmers, but reducing the
number of political henchmen on the
Government pay roll. Taking away
easy jobs from friends and relatives
of politicians brings troubles for the
politicians in question. Cutting relief
payments and farmers benefits risks
losing votes. AS rule, therefore, the
politicians gang up" on those who
would reduce expenditures or avoid
new extravagances - Just as they
"ganged up" on the President in the
matter of the soldiers bonus. Their
motto is spend till it hurts"
If the Government insists on spend
ing at the present rate after it stops
borrowing 1t will have to raise sl.88 in
taxes for every dollar which 1t now
raises. In other words. Federal taxes
will have to be nearly doubled. Only
thus will the Federal Government be
able to operate on pay-as-you-go
basis.
U. S. Family Would Pay More.
If this happens the average Ameri-
can family will have to put aside a
larger amount of its earnings for the
Federal Government.
Already taxes under the New Deal
have been drastically increased. In
1884 the Government collected little
more than $3.100,000.000, of which
only about a sixth represented indi-
vidual income taxes and estate taxes
that is, the taxes paid by the very
rich. The balance came from all
kinds of taxes paid by rich and poor
alike. For the fiscal year beginning
in July. 1886, the Government counts
on receiving $5,650.000,000. The bulk
of it will have to come out Of the
pockets of the consumers-of the aver
age men and women.
This is fact which many persons
fail to understand. A look at the
Presidents estimates, however, makes
this clear. Less than two billions OF
the S., 1850, 600, 900 which the Govern
ment expects to collect in revenues
comes from income taxes. OF this
item the major portion will be de-
rived from corporation income taxes
which means taxes that are passed
on to the consumer by being in
cluded in the price which is charged
for the goods sold.
Hidden Taxes Paid by All.
A l1alf-billion dollars is expected
from the tax on alcoholic beverages
and another half-billion from the
tobacco tax. These taxes also are
paid by the consumers-usually with
out the consumers knowledge. Out
of the cost of every package of cigar
cites, for example, six cents goes in
taxes. There are also taxes on soap,
perfumes, toilet articles and count
less other items-taxes paid to the
Federal Government and included In
the price, with the result that the
average man or woman is unaware
that he or she is paying it.
At present, the average family pays