The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1939-01-25

N-NNNo--NN~"
remark.
The obvious reply is another question: TOO much
for what?n
You can tie up a small bundle with small piece
Of string but takes big piece of string to tie up
a big bundle
The only yardstick for measuring the national
budget is the nations needs income ana RESOURCES
If the budget is "a heap of money
So the United States of America is "a heap OF a
nation"
This necessity for maintaining a sense of proper
lion was emphasized by President Roosevelt in his
message the first in our history to take a business
like attitude toward national finance
We urge everyone to read that message
Everything in life is relative Some ants look big
to other ants All ants look tiny to human beings
Human beings look like specks from thousand
feet in the air
So does the income of John Jones look large to
his small son who has allowance OF quarter a
week The income of a big corporation looks huge
to John Jones but the Federal Government is the
biggest business with the vastest obgatlons ana re-
sponsibilities of all.
Now the Governments income is necessarily re-
lated to the nations income AS the President shows,
in his table of proportional Federal and national
incomes:
If the nations income (now $6O,O00,0Oo00O were
to rise to $4,000 OO0 the Governments income
(without any increase in tax rates. would rise 10
about $1,000 100000 a year If the national income
went to $50 100000 the Governments proportonate
share would be 100000. With $4,000 100000
national income the Government would receive $10-
600000000
The nations income is the index of its prosperity
So long as our national income is rising we are
moving ahead. There is more money to meet our
obligations There is more business, more purchasing
power And naturally there is more Government
revenue.
So also with private business.
A million dollars per Sc may be small sum or
big one depending whether it is the small income
of a big business or the big income of smaller
business.
The selling costs of a 2O-million- dollar corpora
ton are naturally larger than those of 10mion-
dollar corporation. And you can't imagine a man
who was a director in both bowling because the
bigger firms costs exceeded those of the smaller one!
That's why it is absurd for men like Woodrum
and supposedly responsible editors to attempt to
frighten people with talks of heaps of money and
astronomical figures"
| The USA has big budget-because the U.SA
is big country.
President Roosevelt also deserves acclaim for his
suggestion that Federal bookkeeping be sane and
rational as that of private business.
Il In reply to the Tories who cry about any increase
in the nations debt he replies that of the S280000O0
900 of debt incurred for the 10 years ending in 1910
/ Eighteen billions represent money invested in
real assets tangible properties many of them self
hquidating-d bridges buildings, loans etc. Much
of the s19OO000O000 will be paid back.
II The net cost of the whole recovery program thus
has been only $4,000 100000 an average of billion
a year And in return the nations income has risen
S20000O00000 or so percent since its low point in
1882.
/ That's what call good investment
I But the Presidents point is that Government
bookkeeping should show those Government assets as
well Government debt and liabilities Today the
figures show only liabilities.
4 In any corporation bank statement you viii
find side the list of aSsets-on the other side
the list of liabilities)
i Congress would take a great step ahead in fol-
lowing the Presidents suggestion 1t is unfair ano
dishonest to pretend to people that all the money
spent by the Government is wasted.
Survival of economic democracy depends upon the
refusal Of people to be deluded by shyster states
men who seek to scare them with big figures ano
false alarms
+ There may be profit for few in pulling the
ton backward.
There can be profit for all of us only in marching
forward.