Let's Cut 



STRANGLED BY INEFFICIENCY 



RED 

 TAPE 



Commission Report 

 Shotvs Ho-w To Do It 



IF YOU had a $5,000 debt on your 

 farm 20 years ago and operated 

 your business like the government, 

 you would now have a mortgage of 

 $60,500 on it. This may sound 

 pretty high, but it's based on the fact 

 that in the last 20 years the federal 

 debt has grown from 16.9 billion dol- 

 lars to 215.5 billion dollars. 



Here's some other facts to explain 

 your high taxes. The cost of operating 

 the government has jumped from $4 

 billion to $42 billion. The number of 

 employees in the executive branch of 

 the federal government has climbed 

 from 600.000 to 2,100.000. 



It costs the post office 2V2 cents to 

 print and deliver a penny postcard. 



It takes more than $10 worth of paper 

 work to complete a governmental pur- 

 chase order — yet half the 3 million 

 items purchased yearly by the civilian 

 agencies are for less than $10. 



These figures are taken from the 

 Hoover commission report. This study 

 of our government was begun in July, 

 1947, when Congress unanimously 

 created the commission. Six Democrats 

 and six Republicans comprised the com- 

 mission and former president Herbert 

 Hoover was named chairman at the 

 suggestion of President Truman. 



Some 300 outstanding citizens served 

 on 24 committees studying the major 

 problems of government. After work- 

 ing from 10 to 14 months they brought 

 back more than 2.000.000 words of 

 facts, figures and analysis. 



The commission then shaped its re- 

 port to Congress in which it pointed out 

 that: "The nation is paying heavily 

 for a lack of order, a lack of clear lines 

 of authoritv and responsibility, and a 

 lack of effective organization in the 

 executive branch. The commission's re- 

 port recommended reforms to provide 



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efficiency, economy and good govern- 

 ment. 



Legislation has been passed by Con- 

 gress to put some of the commission's 

 recommendations into effect, but much 

 more needs to be done. If all of the 

 recommendations were put into effect 

 that the commission says are necessary, 

 it is estimated that three billion dollars 

 per year would be saved. 



You as an American interested in 

 better government can do your part in 

 seeing to it that the commission report 

 is kept alive and not buried by passing 

 time and lack of interest. Farm Bureau 

 members and leaders can promote an 

 understanding of the recommendations 

 of the commission. 



A National Citizens' Committee for 

 the Commission report was set up on 

 June 12, 1949, to help in the educational 

 program so necessary to the success 

 of the commission's report. Leaders 

 representing agriculture, business, 

 churches, education, labor, the profes- 

 sions, veterans' and women's organiza- 

 tions are on the committee. An Illi- 

 nois Citizens' Committee also has been 

 set up and includes representatives of 

 all civic-minded groups of the state. 

 If you want more literature and infor- 

 mation on the commision's report, it can 

 be secured by writing the Illinois Com- 

 mittee for Reorganization of the Execu- 

 tive Branch of the Government, 79 West 

 Monroe Street, Chicago 3, 111. 



Esfimafe Milk Subsidy 

 Under Brannan Program 

 At $lVt Billion Per Year 



AN ILLINOIS College of Agricul- 

 ture economist presents figures 

 to show that the Brannan farm 

 plan would cost each family almost $70 

 a year more in taxes for milk alone. 



R. W. Bartlett claims that the govern- 

 ment subsidy per family for milk would 

 amount to $61.32. With an estimated 

 10 per cent added for administration 

 cost, the total cost — just for milk — 

 would be $67.45. And only about one- 

 twelfth of national farm income comes 

 from dairying. Bartlett says consumers 

 would pay this bill in larger taxes. 



Here's how he figures the $67.45: If 

 a family bought three quarts of milk 

 a day at 15 cents a quart — the price 

 Brannan suggested — the cost would 

 be 45 cents a day, or $164.25 a year. 



With no subsidy, and at the average 

 1948 price of 20.6 cents a quart, the 

 three quarts a day would cost 61.8 cents, 

 or $225.57 a year. The government 

 would pay dairy farmers the difference, 

 or $61.32. Administration costs would 



boost the cost to $67.45 per 



family, that is. 



Bartlett estimates that the Brannan 

 plan applied to milk alone would cost 

 $1,484,000,000 every year. 



L A. A. RECORD 



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