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8. On the Supreme Court of the United States there

are

1. ten justices.

2. one Chief Justice and nine Associate Justices.

3. one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices.

9. To establish our lower Federal courts, the Constitution gave authority to

1. the President.

2. the Congress.

3. the States.

Complete each of the following:

1. Two things which the justices of the Supreme Court promise to do when they take their oath of office are:

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2. Two kinds of Federal courts established by the Congress are:

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3. Two reasons why we need Federal courts are: 1______

Some more words which the student should understand:

diminished-reduced in amount, made less.
discharge complete, finish, carry out.

impartially—fairly, justly, without taking sides.
incumbent-which are laid.

litigation-the act of carrying on a suit in a law court.
ordain-give a formal order for.

CHAPTER 26

How We Pay For Our Government

"Our government units represent the people. Through the payment of taxes the people help pay for the services of their governments."

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We have learned that our government is divided into many units or groups, such as the town, the city, the county, the State, and the Nation. Each of these groups is made up of human beings, who have set up a government and given it authority both to govern and to serve them. The people naturally expect to pay for government services just as they do for services supplied by private citizens. Since the government does so many services, the cost of government often seems high. Let us consider, in this chapter, the cost of government services.

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Each of the government groups must be supported by the people who are its members. The people support their governments by paying taxes. And, of course, all money paid as taxes should be used for public purposes.

WE WOULD NOT WANT TO LIVE IN A COMMUNITY WHERE THERE WAS NONE OF THE SERVICES WHICH WE GET FOR OUR TAXES

Let us see what kind of a place it would be. We would find that among other things:

1. Our property would not be protected by law.

2. There would be no public schools for our children. 3. There would be no public-school classes for grown-ups or special free schools for teachers.

4. Our health might not be well protected against contagious diseases.

5. Our food would not be inspected, and we would not have expert advice as to whether it was fit to eat.

6. Our water supply might not be kept pure and drinkable.

7. There might not be enough water to use in our houses or to fight fire.

8. Garbage might not be removed promptly.

9. Sewage and rubbish might not be disposed of satisfactorily.

10. There would be no policemen to preserve the peace. 11. There would be no jails for criminals.

12. There would be no courts.

13. There would be no money to build roads, bridges, airports, and to make other improvements.

14. There would be no public playgrounds or public parks.

15. There would be no public money to help care for those who are out of work or sick.

16. There would be no public money to take care of old people.

17. We would be less safe in traveling from place to place.

Would we want to live in such a place? Our families would have few of the chances of comfort and happiness which they now have. How much better it is to pay for the services which we need. We could not possibly, all by ourselves, get our families all of these advantages. Therefore, we pay our share of the cost with our tax money and let our government agencies serve us. (See Figures 8 and 53.)

HOW DO OUR GOVERNMENTS MANAGE THEIR MANY AFFAIRS?

Our Nation, most of our States, and many of our cities now have budget systems. Any budget system is a list of needs for which money must be spent, an estimate of how much each need will cost and another estimate as to where the money is coming from. When the amount of money which can surely be counted on is as great as the amount which must be spent, the budget is said to be balanced.

In most States the governor plans the budget. In some

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The services named, above

are some of those for which the taxpayer pays

Figure 53

We Must Pay for the Services of Our Government

cases there is a board or commission in charge of this important work. After the budget is planned, it is submitted to the State legislature, which must approve it before it becomes effective. In a county the county board usually plans the budget. In a city, as a rule, the mayor, the city manager, or a special board has the duty of preparing the budget.

The Federal Government, the greatest business concern in the Nation, also has its budget. Like all other businesses, it must plan how to meet its bills. The President, with the help of the Director of the Bureau of the Budget, figures out what the expenses of the Government are likely to be for the coming year. Then he suggests how the money can be raised to meet these expenses. When the plan is completed, it is sent to the Congress, which must approve or reject these proposed expenditures and the proposed ways of raising the money to meet them. For the Congress has the full authority to decide how money shall be raised and spent by the Federal Government. The President and the Executive Departments cannot spend any money unless they are authorized by the Congress to do so.

WHERE DOES THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT GET ITS MONEY?

There are a number of ways in which the Government of the United States gets the money which it needs to pay the cost of its services to the people. We cannot study all of them, but some of the most important are indicated below.

(1) A great deal of the Government's income comes from taxes on the incomes of persons and business organizations. A person's income is the money which he receives in any year as salary, wages, fees, profits, interest, dividends, or rent. Most companies' incomes are received as profits from selling things, or fees for services, or interest on money loaned, or rents collected. The Federal Government permits payers of income tax to make deductions for various expenses which they have paid out, and then col

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