The National government has not yet adopted the budget plan, and the President has not the power to veto any item of an appropriation bill unless he vetoes the entire measure.
This is a limitation which is greatly deplored, as it prevents him from cutting out any provision in the bill which he may think unwarranted or extravagant, or which has come out of the “pork-barrel.” This is a term applied to appropriations given by Congress to certain local communities for some Federal building or for the development of some local resource which is not of advantage to the National government, and which is given not because there is any need for it, but because the representative from that district in Congress wants to make himself popular with his constituents by getting for them some public plunder.
Every Dollar That Is Spent in Any Department of Government Comes Out of the Pockets of the People: It is not easy for the public to realize this. The Congressman who gets an extra appropriation for a post-office or other public building that is not needed, in order to please his home people, may get more votes, but he is adding to the public burden. In return for a vote for his post-office he may have to give his vote to a fellow-Congressman for an unnecessary expenditure in another State. The chain so formed is practically endless, and its inevitable effect is to raise the cost of government unwarrantably. Every such expenditure, every unnecessary public salary, every dishonest public official, every tax-dodger, every incompetent piece of public work, adds to the burden of taxation which the people have to pay.
FOOTNOTES:
[3] In some counties local arrangements make it difficult for absent owners of property to know when and where taxes are due. Every tax-collector should be obliged to follow the usage of any good business house and mail a bill for taxes.
XII
PUBLIC HIGHWAYS
Road-making has been a function of government since the early ages. The old Roman roads still exist as evidence of the labor and care that were put into them.
Ease of communication, which permits people to journey from home and see what the rest of the world is doing, is a great factor in binding people together, and tends to promote progress.
Good roads are important to every citizen, not only because of the increased use of the automobile, but because they are a vital part of the business life of the country. The farmer needs them to move his crops to market. Without them he may be unable to sell his produce at the time it is most needed and when he could get the best prices for it. The merchant needs them to receive supplies and make deliveries; the manufacturer needs them for the moving of his raw material; the city-dweller needs them so that food may come into city markets. Public highways are the connecting arteries between city and country.
New York State has recognized the need of good roads, and has spent an immense amount of money to secure them. Some years ago a bond issue of $50,000,000 was authorized in the belief that such a large sum of money would put the roads in a condition to meet all requirements for many years.