OUR NATIONAL BANKRUPTCY
From the January 7, 1860, issue of Harper's Weekly Journal of Civilization:
By the showing of the Secretary of the Treas-
ury the income of the United States falls short
of the expenditure by thirty millions of dollars.
This amount is borrowed from year to year to
pay for the service of Government. How long
is this to last?
The United States are the only country in
the world whose income is dependent on the
precarious and fluctuating resource of foreign
trade. All other countries raise a revenue
squarely and fairly by taxing their people hon-
estly for the expenses of Government. Our
financiers have never had the pluck to face the
question, and to say to the people of the United
States: If you want a sixty million Govern-
ment, tax yourselves to pay for it.
The President, seeing the impossibility of
getting on with the present deficiency of rev-
enue, recommends an increase in the tariff.
No such measure will be adopted by Congress.
An average duty of 15 per cent.-as levied by
the tariff of 1857-is quite as much as people
ought to pay on the goods they require from
abroad; and, besides, the slavery question has
for the present so completely eclipsed the tariff,
that there is very little chance of the latter be-
ing seriously considered.
There is a great name in store for the finan-
cier who shall have the courage and the sagac-
ity to undertake a thorough reform of our finan-
cial system, so as to render the public revenue
independent of the fluctuations of trade. Soon-
er or later we shall come to this. It is absurd
to expect that this great country will go on for-
ever alternating between bankruptcy and pleth-
ora, when a direct tax might be levied with
so little inconvenience and so much fairness.
Where is the claimant for this post of fame?
Guess the direct tax didn't do much for the spasmodic cycle between bankruptcy and plethora.
By the showing of the Secretary of the Treas-
ury the income of the United States falls short
of the expenditure by thirty millions of dollars.
This amount is borrowed from year to year to
pay for the service of Government. How long
is this to last?
The United States are the only country in
the world whose income is dependent on the
precarious and fluctuating resource of foreign
trade. All other countries raise a revenue
squarely and fairly by taxing their people hon-
estly for the expenses of Government. Our
financiers have never had the pluck to face the
question, and to say to the people of the United
States: If you want a sixty million Govern-
ment, tax yourselves to pay for it.
The President, seeing the impossibility of
getting on with the present deficiency of rev-
enue, recommends an increase in the tariff.
No such measure will be adopted by Congress.
An average duty of 15 per cent.-as levied by
the tariff of 1857-is quite as much as people
ought to pay on the goods they require from
abroad; and, besides, the slavery question has
for the present so completely eclipsed the tariff,
that there is very little chance of the latter be-
ing seriously considered.
There is a great name in store for the finan-
cier who shall have the courage and the sagac-
ity to undertake a thorough reform of our finan-
cial system, so as to render the public revenue
independent of the fluctuations of trade. Soon-
er or later we shall come to this. It is absurd
to expect that this great country will go on for-
ever alternating between bankruptcy and pleth-
ora, when a direct tax might be levied with
so little inconvenience and so much fairness.
Where is the claimant for this post of fame?
Guess the direct tax didn't do much for the spasmodic cycle between bankruptcy and plethora.