76-19-A6
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Government Costs
TranscriptThe Tax Foundation has just released its 19th biennial, "Facts and Figures on Government Finance". If we followed the ancient custom of beheading the bearer of bad tidings, the Tax Foundation wouldn't have use for a hat anymore. As it is, bless them for giving us the sad facts of government's cost. For all levels of government -- federal, state and local -- in 1977, spending pro rates out to $9,607 per family or almost half (45 percent) of average family income in America, which is now $20,400. If we go back to 1950, we get the full jolt of how swiftly government costs are increasing. In that year, governments at all levels took only $1,615 for each family. Total spending for this year is more than $715 billion. Almost $450 billion of that is federal and something under $270 billion is for state and local government. Ralph Waldo Emerson, 100 years ago, said "In a free and just commonwealth, property rushes from the idle and imbecile to the industrious, brave and persevering." Either that isn't true or we're no longer a "free and just commonwealth". A young man in New York won the state lottery last spring which sets him up with $1,000 a week for the rest of his life. Of course, he has the same tax problems we all have so his net is something more than $600 a week. Still, he's no hardship case. Well, according to the report I just read he recently lost his supermarket managerial job for refusing to carry out orders. With 600 plus dollars a week outside income a fellow can be a little independent. The point is, he applied for his $90 a week unemployment insurance and went camping. But Congressman John Ashbrook has given us an example of why federal spending has skyrocketed the way it has. With as many buildings as they build in Washington, you'd think they'd be pretty good at it but practice has not made perfect. Congressman Ashbrook has made public a report by the general accounting office on the National Visitor Center at the old Union Station railroad depot. Like the Kennedy Center, Rayburn Office Building and the RFK Stadium, to say nothing of Metro, Washington's rapid transit system, it's going to cost a lot more than the original estimate. Top figure for bringing it into operation was $87.5 million. Now it's estimated at $180 million. Part of it opened on our birthday July 4, 1976, more than eight years after it was authorized. I say part of it because one wall is incomplete, major structural, mechanical and electrical problems will require repair and re-doing. Also, the parking facilities are still non-existent. It's things like this which make you understand why no one cheers when the White House tells us by not deregulating the price of natural gas, consumers will save $70 billion by 1985. It is estimated consumers will have to come up with $100 billion to pay for imported liquified gas to make up for the natural gas we won't have because of the price limitation. This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening. |
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