The Trend in Federal Expenditures
| Published date | 01 May 1924 |
| Date | 01 May 1924 |
| Author | Charles P. White |
| DOI | 10.1177/000271622411300102 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
1
The
Trend
in
Federal
Expenditures
BY
CHARLES
P.
WHITE
University
of
Pennsylvania
A DISCUSSION
of
the
trend
of
federal
expenditures
might
be
undertaken
from
at
least
three
angles.
First,
we
might
confine
our
interest
solely
to
the
cost
of
the
services
which
the
Government
is
attempting
to
give,
without
any
distinction
as
to
whether
this
cost
is
being
met
from
the
pro-
ceeds
of
taxation
of
the
people
as
a
whole,
or
whether
it
is
covered
by
fees
paid
by
those
who
are
directly
benefited
by
the
services
rendered.
In
other
words,
our
primary
interest
in
this
case
would
be
in
the
degree
of
economy
that
is
exhibited
in
Government
activities.
We
should
raise
and
attempt
to
answer
the
following
questions:
Are
the
serv-
ices
now
being
rendered
by
the
Gov-
ernment
necessary
and
helpful
to
its
citizens?
Would
the
services
be
per-
formed
at
all
if
left
to
individuals
or
private
agencies?
Are
they
being
per-
formed
at
a
lower
cost
than
would
be
possible
under
other
forms
of
control,
and
is
the
present
cost
the
lowest
pos-
sible
cost
consistent
with
adequate
service?
From
this
angle
the
study
would
constitute
an
investigation
into
governmental
economy
or
efficiency.
The
second
line
of
attack
would
be
to
consider
the trend
of
net
expendi-
tures,
that
is,
to
deduct
all
earnings
due
to
sales
of
property
or
services,
and
confine
the
discussion
to
amounts
which
must
be
drawn
from
the
people
in
compulsory
payments-a
type
of
investigation
which
would
necessarily
tend
more
in
the
direction
of
taxing
problems.
How
much
is
being
re-
quired
in
taxes
to
carry on
federal
activities?
Does
this
amount
con-
stitute
a
burden
on
the
mass
of
people,
and
if
so,
is
the
burden
wisely
and
equitably
distributed?
A
third
possibility
would
be
that
of
inquiring
into
the
nature
of
the
func-
tions
the
Government
is
assuming,
in
an
attempt
to
detect,
if
possible,
any
changes
in
the
type
of
services
that
are
being
demanded
by
the
people.
For
instance,
are
we
requiring
that
the
Federal
Government
undertake
a
greater
amount
of
educational
work;
are
we
insisting
that
the
Federal
Gov-
ernment
assume
a
greater
burden
in
the
care
of
delinquent
classes,
etc.?
IN
THE
FOOTSTEPS
OF
DR.
ROSA
It
is
generally
conceded
that
the
pioneer
work
in
investigations
of
both
the
second
and
third
types
has
been
done
by
Dr.
Edward
B.
Rosa,
whose
masterly
and
exhaustive
article
ap-
peared
in
The
Annals
for
May,
1921.
His
computations
were
made
for
each
of
the
eleven
years
from
1910
to
1920,
inclusive.
Since
then
the
work
has
been
brought
up
to
date
by
the
United
States
Bureau
of
Efficiency,
which
has
classified
actual
expenditures
for
1921
and
1922
on
the
same
basis
as
was
used
by
Dr.
Rosa,
and
in
addition
has
made
a
similar
classification
for
the
years
1923
and
1924,
using
the
estimated
ex-
penditures
as
given
in
the
1924
Budget
submitted
to
Congress
by
the
President
on
December
4,
1922.
It
is
the
inten-
tion
of
the
present
writer
to
draw
upon
these
two
sources
of
information
in
an
attempt
to
present
some
of
the
impor-
tant
changes
that
have
occurred
in
federal
expenditures
since
1920.
Dr.
Rosa,
it
will
be
recalled,
first
arranged
the
activities
of
the
Govern-
ment
on
a
functional
basis,
recognizing
eight
groups
in
all,
three
being
con-
sidered
primarily
civil
in
nature,
and
the
remaining
five
considered
as
non-
To continue reading
Request your trial