BALANCE, ITS MEANING

For every dollar spent during the current fiscal year the United States Government has taken in 51 cents in taxes. On February 4 the deflcit was $2,011,041,971. If Senator Glass' efforts to delete the "not loss than the prevailing wage" clause injected into the work-relief bill is not successful the cost of the program will be jumped, according to administration estimates, from $4,880,000,000 to $7,000,000,000. Thus over two billions more would be added to the wrong side of an already unbalanced budget for the present fiscal year.

Balance comes from two Latin words "bis" (twice) and "lan" (plate or scale). Webster's Dictionary defines balance as the "state of equipoise between the weights in opposing scales . . equilibrium, steadiness, stability." How far we have gotten away from equilibrium, steadiness, and stability in governmental fiscal policy is abundantly and graphically indicated by the above figures. The phrase that a thing is of no more importance "than zeros on the war debt" might well be amended to "on the treasury deficit."

The Administration is apparently going ahead with its attempt to restore prosperity by egregious expenditure. It is said glibly that this puts the burden on the taxpayer of the future. Beyond very grave doubts whether any expenditure can be transferred to the future for payment, the amount of deficit that the country can stand now is of some concern. Everyone is agreed that there is a limit. Scales have been broken heretofore by being overweighted. We should realize that the abstract definition of the lexicon, "equilibrium, steadiness, stability" is there because it has concrete, practical applications.