Evening star., 1939-11-28

year. There is no sign of balanced
budget, and, what is worse, there is
no sign of any formula by which
such a result can be achieved.
Between now and January l, the
various Government departments
submit their final estimates. The
director of the budget is in the
midst Of his conferences now with
President Roosevelt. The first week
in January, a thick book containing
a bewildering set of figures will be
released as the Presidents budget
message, and hardly a hundred per-
sons in the whole United States out
side of the Government itself will
read the document, or, reading it,
will be able to tell what the Federal
disbursements really cover.
The budget is classified and there
Is form of comparison with other
years, but the necessity for the eX-
penditures or the reasons why in
creaseS are made never are revealed
in detail in the document. When the
various committees of Congress take
up the different appropriations, there
is again maze of figures, and politi-
cal pressure is applied behind this
or that item, so that the country
never gets a clear picture of what
might be eliminated from the eX-
pense side.
Minority in Dark.
The public, of course, has dele
gated the task of budget making
to the party in power. But under
our system of government the mi
nority is as much in the dark as
the rest of the people, and no re-
sponsibility attaches to the minority
party to present rival budget. In
parliamentary governments abroad
the opposition party demands ade-
quate information and presents its
own budget. The mere fact that
details can be obtained assists in
the process of keeping the budget
down to essentials.
1t is possible, of course, for minor
ity members of congressional COM
mitteeS to ask for detailed informa-
ton, but this process is long drawn
over a number of groups. At no
time is the whole budget brought
together by the minority party and
presented to the country as an eX-
ample of what could be done.
One reason, of course, for this
hesitancy to offer rival budget is
that it makes the minority party
say publicly what it would cut out.
This is considered, politically speak
ing, a dangerous thing, because the
groups which are to have expendi-
lures in their behalf curtailed soon
build up a political backfire against
Senators and Representatives who
are seeking to lop off specific ap-
preparations.
Another Side of Picture.
It would be a novelty indeed if
the Republican party casting aside
all thought of political reprisals,
were to dissect the coming budget
and show the Nation how cuts could
be made.
But there's another aspect to the
budget picture. It's the revenue
cutting side. If business were per-
mitted to expand, if the industrial
machinery of the Nation were al
lowed to function, and if labor rack
eteering and unWarranted interfer-
ences with production were seri-
ously attacked by governmental au-
thority, the total volume of busi-
ness done would jump materially.
Then tax receipts would rise. It's
another approach to the balancing
Of the budget. Though, to be sure,
the only way the job ever will be
done effectively is by applying both
methods-stimulat business vol
ume and reducing Government ex-
penses.
American business is increasing
Its volume. The need for pump
printing" is daily less and less. 1t
is true that national defense will
require more money than hereto
fore, but even this item is tenn
porary, being related to the dura-
ton of the war abroad. The ques-
tion is being asked here: Can the
country be given assurance that the
budget will be balanced except for
the new national defense outlay? The
answer is the national defense re-
quirements are about to become a
smoke screen for more unbalanced
budgets, whereas the financial and
economic resources of America do
permit of balanced budget largely
through stimulus to business VOL
ume The constructive legislative
program needed to expand employ
ment has been forced to one side by
overemphasis on extraneous issues
growing out of the European war.