Evening star., 1936-05-08

ment in taxes.
Nebraska disbursed $7s1 per family
of Federal relief money and contrib
uted $239 of State and local funds
during 1898, 1894 and 1885. Iowa, on
the other hand, which is next door
to Nebraska and has about the same
per capita wealth, based on recent
census figures, paid s406 OF her own
funds per family and this was sup
plemented by only 1856 Of Federal
money.
Near Taxes Paid U. S.
Indeed, Iowa received in rele1
money from the Federal Government
Just a slight amount above the sums
paid by Iowa citizens in Federal taxes.
Just why Iowa should be able TO
balance her accounts with the Federal
Government on relief matters ana
Nebraska should get an excess Oh
$4,000 900 of money from the Federal
Government. derived from citizens OF
other states that do not consider
themselves in taxpayers paradise,
has been difficult to understand until
one read the Associated Press dispatch
from Lincoln, Nebr, telling how the
State hasn't borrowed any money or
taxed its own citizens by either an
income tax or a sales tax.
1t is disclosed also that Nebraska,
by a provision in her constitution,
has been forbidden to borrow. During
the last three years, Nebraska, how
ever, has had an opportunity to place
an amendment before its people or
at least to put on taxes that would
have spared it the necessity OF Dor
rowing to pay relief.
$4,000 900 from A. A. A.
Nebraska is one of the States that
received a sizeable sum from the
A. A. A., in fact about $57,000,0o0,
10 that the purchasing power OF the
State has been maintained by Federal
aid, and yet the State itself contrib
uted in taxes $4,000,000 less than was
paid for individual relief by the Fed
eral Government, entirely apart from
the A. A. A. benefits. All these facts
are coming to light at time when
some method of keeping down Federal
relief expenses is being discussed in
Congress in connection with the forth
coming appropriation. arr
It is contended by critics Of the
New Deal policy that the admins
trative weakness of the Federal Gov
ernment has been in granting aid to
States that were wealthy enough to
take care of relief from their own re-
sources.
This phase of the problem of Fed
eral Administrator Hopkins has been
conceded by that official on many
occasions to be perplexing. He has
realized that the withholding Of relief
unless q State did its part only added
to the grief Of the Federal authorities
who were charged with being hard
hearted or niggardly if they refused to
grant aid.
Burden Drifts on Washington.
But the truth is that. whenever the
Federal Government takes over a ma
tional function in which States should
participate, the tendency of the latter
Is to shift the burden to Washington.
It is to the advantage of a State like
Nebraska doubtless to shift the burden
because the industrial States of the
East usually get 1t in the neck when
higher taxes are imposed. This is
because Representatives in Congress
from the agricultural States often
raise a smoke screen about the alleged
wealth Of large corporations and really
gain political strength at home by
insisting that the rich" in the bigger
States of the East can pay the bill.
This was not so dangerous phil
osophy as long as taxes were low in
rate, but now that they have reached
the confiscatory point and it is ap-
parent that the budget cannot be bal
anced even if 100 per cent of all in
comes in the United States above
$4,000 a year were confiscated, the
menace to the Federal credit situa-
ton is becoming more and more
subject Of widespread discussion.
It would not be surprising if the
responsibilities of each State to the
Federal Government and the amounts
contributed became matter of con-
siderable controversy in the present
political campaign, especially as the
people of New York and New England
and Illinois and other States that
are paying in large sums to the Fed
eral Treasury in excess Of payments
TO them for relief come to under
stand that they are paying out money
60 enable about 20 or more States to
refuse to assess themselves either by
loans or taxes to pay for relief ex-
penses incurred within their own
boundaries.
(Copyright. 1850