Complete each of the following: 1. Some services that I get from my local governmen are: α. b. C. d. e. 2. Three forms of city government organization are: a. b. C. 3. City laws are called 4. In the mayor-council plan of city government th chief officer of the city is called the 5. The form of city government in which an elected group of representatives makes the city laws and each membe acts as the head of a department for carrying out the laws is called a 6. In the city-manager plan of city government the offi cer who carries out the laws is called the 8. The officer of my county whose duty is to carry out the laws is called the His name is 1. If you live in a city, town, or village, learn how the waste is collected and visit the plant where it is collected and treated. 2. Visit the water supply plant of your local government and learn how the water is made pure. 3. Visit the schools and libraries of your community. 4. Visit the city hall or county seat of your local government and learn how the work of government is carried on. CHAPTER XVIII How We Pay for Our Governments The fact that public money is spent for public services "makes it clear that the cost should be distributed [divided] in some way so that each will pay his fair share." -John A. Lapp. We are glad to pay for what we get. If we buy food, or if a doctor serves us, we expect to pay the bill. These are our private bills. But we also have public bills that must be paid. Our governments help us to live well. They make it possible for us to have better homes and schools. They often furnish services about which we think nothing. Yet the services cost money. The public bills must be paid. In general, we pay them through taxes. SUPPOSE THAT NO TAXES WERE PAID Suppose that the people in a city have stopped paying taxes. There is no water supply. The people are not sure that the water is pure. The milk and foods have not been tested. The streets are not clean. There are no police to protect the people and their property. The prisons are open. The schools are closed. Many people are sick. Diseases are spreading. We would not want to live in such a city. We would not want our children to play there. We want pure water and food, clean streets, and good schools. We want officers to protect us from crime. We know that it is better to pay for what we need in order to live well. But the services of the Government cost money. The public bills get larger each year. We spend public money today for services that we did not have fifty years ago. For example, we now use public money to help prevent accidents in mines and factories and to help the farmers. WHERE THE PUBLIC MONEY GOES The chief duty of every government is to protect persons and property. Over three-fourths of the money spent by the National Government goes for this purpose. The next largest amount of public money is spent to teach and train our citizens. Our governments pay more than $2,000,000,000 a year for schools and libraries. Public money is used to pay the teachers and the other public officers. A large amount of public money is spent on roads. The cities spend much more money than the other local governments or the States. If we live in a city, we demand that it supply us with many services. We want to enjoy our family and home. We want police, fire, and health officers to serve us. Of course, they must be paid for their work. Our State government gives us a few of the same kind of services that our city supplies. It gives money for the support of schools over the State. It may aid a university or college to which we can send our children at moderate cost. It spends money for roads, courts, and prisons. It helps to take care of persons who are poor or who have been hurt. It may care for those who are not able to work. The National Government serves more people than our State or city governments. It must keep up an Army, a Navy, and an Air Force. It must pay interest on borrowed money. It must meet the expenses of war. It costs more to build a big battleship than the total expenses for one year of a large city such as Buffalo or Minneapolis. WHERE DO THE GOVERNMENTS GET THE MONEY? The greatest part of the necessary money is raised by taxes. A tax is money that we must pay for the support of our Government. The law commands us to pay our |