View original document

The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.

A D JU STM EN T O F GOVERNM ENTAL R E S P O N S IB IL IT IE S
V IA GRANTS
James A. Maxwell, professor of economics, Clark University
T

h e

C a se

foe

F

e d e r a l is m

When our Federal system was set up nearly 160 years ago, lines were
drawn th a t set limits to the powers of the National Government, and
reserved certain powers to the States by constitutional provision. The
lines drawn were not, indeed, clear cut, and they are even more blurred
today. But the demarcation was and is of great significance.
The importance of the federal form of government to the United
States is not less now than then. The very growth in the duties and
complexities of government may make it more important. Some gov­
ernmental decisions must be Federal, but there are many governmen­
tal services affecting the diverse life of the people about which uni­
form regulation and administration from a central source would be
mischievous as well as impracticable. Centralized decision would be
irresponsive to the variety of State and local needs.
The case for federalism—for decentralized decisions and adminis­
tration—rests on more than an appeal to efficiency. This is a dynamic
nation; the appropriate way to handle governmental functions does
not stay put. In such circumstances, State and local governments
provide limited laboratories for experimentation in administration.
Even more important is the fact that the State and local governments
are bulwarks of democracy. Only where the people of a nation have
adequate powers of decision can they develop a public spirit and the
specific knowledge and techniques that give life to free institutions.
A strong belief in federalism should not, however, be regarded as
synonymous with an extreme belief in States rights. States rights
can be defined so as to have genuine meaning, but this meaning should
not be twisted to block adjustments in the relative responsibilities of
Federal and State-local government. In the modern world changes
must be made, and rigid resistance to change can be injurious to the
success of federalism.
At present, with respect to economic policy, no area exists from
which Congress and the States are barred by lack of constitutional
power.1 According to the Commission on I ntergovernmental Rela­
tions, “the crucial questions now are questions of policy: whicliTevel
o u g ttlo move? O r should both? "OrNeither? AVhatare the p ru ­
dent aiid proper divisions of labor"^a£~d" re^onsibilijty between them ?
These are questions mainly for legislative ^udgment, and the criteria
are cliefly political, economic, ana administrative, r ather than legal.
The enphasis is on mutual and complementary uMertakingg iji,furm 1 The Commission on Intergovernm ental Relations, A R eport to the President fo r
T ransm ltta to the Congress (W ashington : June 1955), p. 32.

200



ECONOMIC GROWTH AND STABILITY

201

therance of common aims.’’ 2 The Commission goes on to say th at a
realisticprogram to prevent overcentralization will depend not merely
on Federal restraint, but “on the readiness and ability of the States
and their subdivisions to assume their full share of the total task of
government.” 3
S t a t is t ic a l B

ackground

Table 1 shows public expenditures as a ratio of net national product
(gross national product minus capital consumption allowances) for
various nonwar years 1890-1955. For all levels of government, it was
8-11 percent of NNP 1890-1929. The figure jumped to 20 percent
during the 1930’s first because of a fall in NNP (the denominator) and
later because of a sharp rise in government spending (the num erator).
A t present, because of carry-over costs of W orld W ar I I and the con­
tinuance of international tensions, government takes 29 percent of
NNP.
War-related versus civilian expenditures

I f the total government expenditure is split into two broad cate­
gories (a) that for war-related purposes and (Z>) th at for civilian pur­
poses, the significance of the former in the postwar period is apparent.
From being 3 percent of N N P in 1940, it rose to 14 percent in 1955;
government expenditures for civilian purposes, on the other hand,
declined from 17 percent to 15 percent.
Another piece of factual background is brought out by table 2. I t
shows th a t the structure of governmental expenditure for civilian
purposes has changed notably in one respect between 1940 and 1955;
welfare expenditures grew relatively, as well as absolutely. They were
52 percent of the total in 1940 and 59 percent in 1955. The other main
category of civilian expenditure, economic development, has relatively
held its own.
Federal, State, local shares
I f next, expenditure is allocated among the three levels of govern­
ment—Federal, State and local—it is not surprising to find th a t respon­
sibility for the relative increase in government spending has been Fed­
eral. Table 3 shows that, for many years before the 1930’s, Federal
expenditures in peacetime were 25-35 percent of total government
expenditure. In the depression of the 1930’s, the Federal share jumped
(to 50 percent), while th at of the localities dropped (from 57 percent
in 1929 to 31 percent in 1940). By 1955, the Federal share had risen
to 62 percent and the local had fallen to 21 percent. The State share
throughout was quite stable, being 18 percent of the total in 1929 and
17 percent in 1955.
If, finally, the classification of expenditure by levels of government
is joined with the classification of war-related versus civilian, the fact
emerges that postwar the State and local governments, and especially
a Ibid., p. 33.

3 P resident Eisenhower repeated this thought in his speech to the Conference of State
Governors on June 14, 1957. He s a id : “But, like nature, people and th eir governments
are intolerant of vacuums. Every State failure to meet a pressing public need has created
the opportunity, - developed, the excuse, and fed th e tem ptation for the National Govern­
m ent to poach on the S tates’ preserves. T ear by year, responding to tran sien t popular
demand, the Congress has increased Federal functions. Slowly a t first, but in recent times
more and more rapidly, the pendulum of power has swung from our S tates to the C entral
Government.'1'




202

ECONOMIC GROWTH AND STABILITY

the formerr have expanded their civilian expenditures faster than has
the Federal Government. As table 4 shows, in 1955 the Federal share
was 29 percent; in 1940 it was 42 percent. The decline affected about
equally the two major categories of social welfare and economic devel­
opment. This postwar behavior of Federal civilian expenditure is
explicable by the expansion of its war-related expenditures. W hat if
this latter could safely be reduced ? Reduction in Federal taxes would
be one consequence, but part of this reduction would probably be offset
by an increase in State-local taxes. Moreover, a more rapid growth
of Federal civilian spending might be expected.
In the intergovernmental statistics given above, expenditures have
been charged against the level of government providing the money,
even when this money has been turned over to another government in
the form of grants. F o r example, over one-half the payments to
recipients of old-age assistance is provided by Federal g rants; the
Federal Government is the source of the funds which go to State and
local governments as reimbursement of expenditures already made
by them.
Table 5 shows that, while Federal grants postwar have grown
rapidly in absolute amount, the growth has not been as fast as Statelocal expenditure. Federal grants go predominantly for social wel­
fare with economic development a poor second. (See table 6.) In
the next decade, however, economic development may gain ground
because of the increase in grants provided by the Highway Act of
3956, and because social insurance payments, which are not financed
via grants, will grow over expenditure for public assistance.
F

ederal

G

rants

Grants are the chief device by which governments cooperate in
handling a function, and opinion about them has been divided. Those
critics who believe in a precise separation of governmental functions,
with assignment of complete responsibility to a level, argue that
cooperative action is relatively ineffective, leading to friction and
fumbling in administration. They are, furthermore, critical of the
process by which grants are selected. Congress makes the decision,
often guided by pressure groups which aim at bypassing the State
governments. Grants may, therefore, take the Federal Government
into functions which historically and constitutionally belong to the
S tates; they may bring centralization. The government which holds
the purse strings will, it is asserted, control the activity. Still another
criticism is that grants bring about a redistribution of income among
the States, so that income is taken from a rich State and transferred
to a poor one. A t very best this process means a waste of crosshauling
as revenue is pulled in to Washington and then distributed to the
States.
. The proponents of Federal aid present counterconsiderations of
some persuasiveness. B ut in the literature dealing with Federal
grants, an interesting aspect is that whereas opposition to grants is
usually expressed in general terms, proponents tend to stress the
merits of particular grants rather than of a system of grants. For
example, the opponent of Federal grants to education will stress argu­
ments relevant chiefly to this type of grant.



ECONOMIC GROWTH AND STABILITY

203

Separation o f functions

F or the purposes of this paper only general arguments are rele­
vant, and here the most sweeping one relates to separation of gov­
ernmental functions and therefore of responsibility. The desirability
of clear-cut divisions and unified decisions would be beyond dispute
if governmental functions could be neatly divided and as neatly
maintained. But no precise division has ever commanded widespread
agreement. I t is of the nature of a Federal Nation like the United
States to be heterogeneous in economic interests, traditions, and social
outlook. A division which means overcentralization to one area may
mean decentralization to another.
The pages of the Report of the Commission on Intergovernmental
Relations (the Kestnbaum Commission), and of the reports of its;
study committees, offer convenient confirmation of these generaliza­
tions. States such as Kansas and Oklahoma regard the Federal soilconservation program as a national responsibility which should be
State and Federal. (See Kestnbaum report, pp. 159, 164—66.) A
State like New York stresses the national importance of public hous­
ing, slum clearance, and urban renewal, while a State like North
Carolina takes a very different view. Similar contrasts can be found
in the attitude toward development of water resources: Oregon versus
New Jersey; forest-fire control: New York versus Washington; for­
est planting: Massachusetts versus California; stream pollution:
Connecticut versus North D akota; natural disaster relief: Maine ver­
sus Texas. In short, no manifest line can be drawn between a policy
which puts into Federal hands a power to make decisions which might
be irresponsive to the variety of geographic needs, and a policy which
puts in the hands of the States important responsibilities which they
cannot meet. Even if, at any point of time, such a line were visible, it
would inevitably get out of date. And flexible adjustment of func­
tions to accord with a changing environment is not easy, since it is
of the essence of federalism to guard against frequent constitutional
change.
In circumstances of this sort, the device of grants may serve to
link the interests of the States and of the Federal Government. A
governmental function, vocation rehabilitation, which is prim arily a
responsibility of State and local governments, may also be a m atter of
national concern. To shift the function to the Federal level would
certainly be difficult and might be undesirable; to leave it as wholly a
State-local responsibility would be to neglect a national need. These
unsatisfactory alternatives can be avoided if the Federal Government
offers grants to stimulate State-local performance, to carry p art of the
cost of the function, and to establish standards of performance at a
level appropriate to the national interest. Such a step may increase
the Federal power; it may bring some centralization, depending on
the scope and stringency of the Federal conditions. B ut the history
of .grants offers no instance in which a grant, has .been a prelude to
Fecleiial assumption o f control; it cloes .offer instances o f ^ a n tr v M c h
have foutlived ^ tF^sefulness and of others which have not Been
newsituation s.
Redistributive effects

The criticism that grants redistribute income among the States is
correct. I f per capita income is taken as a measure of the richness



204

ECONOMIC GROWTH AND STABILITY

or poverty of a State, rich States a t present receive relatively small
grants, and poor States relatively large ones. (See table 7.) A rank
correlation of per capita grants and income by States for the fiscal
year 1953 gives a value of minus 0.59. This modest negative correla­
tion for grants as a whole conceals the fact th at some grants, most
notably those for health services and public assistance, ar^m uch more
equalizing. Those for employment security, on the other hand, show
a positive correlation, i. e., larger relative grants to the richer than
to the poorer States.
Equalization by means of distribution of grants is, however, only
p art of the process of interstate redistribution of governmental income.
In addition, the Federal revenue from which grants are provided
drains relatively more from the richer States. W ith one exception
(grants for employment security administration which come from pay­
roll taxes) the money distributed as grants comes from general reve­
nues. I t is, therefore, reasonable to assume th at the incidence of the
revenue spent as grants is the same as th at of aggregate tax collec­
tions. The incidence of Federal taxes per capita in fiscal 1952 ranged
from $112 for Mississippi to $1,015 for Delaware. Kank correlation
of these figures with per capita income payments for the fiscal year
1953 gives the high value of +0.93. A visual indication of the dual
process is given by the accompanying charts, the line w ith the positive
slope showing the progressive incidence of Federal taxes by States,
and the line with the negative slope the regressive incidence of Federal
grant expenditures. Congress, in fram ing the formulas for allocation
of Federal grants should bear in mind the redistribution which comes
from raising the revenue to be spent as, grants, as well as th a t from
the formulas.
Equalization, carried too far, would have unfortunate effects on
resource allocation. If, for example, Government welfare services
are provided to employables at generous levels, and through equaliz­
ing grants, incentive to labor mobility would be reduced. Equalizing
grants for development purposes m ight also create misallocation of
resources. On the other hand, equalizing grants when spent on welfare
services for unemployables would not likely im pair resource alloca­
tion, since mobility of persons not in the labor market should be
discouraged rather than stimulated.
The practical likelihood th at Congress will overdo equalizing grants
seems not to be great. Yariable-ratio formulas, providing poor States
with a higher, and rich States with a lower percentage reimbursement
of expenditure, bring objection from the rich States. The logical
proposal that, for established welfare functions, the Federal Govern­
ment should give no grants to rich States, confining itself to variableratio grants to poor States, has not appealed to Congress or to the
rich States. And yet such a scheme would require a much smaller
Federal expenditure, and it would relieve the rich States entirely
from the onus of Federal conditions.
I t should also be remembered that, while equalization grant for­
mulas and a progressive Federal tax system redistribute income so as
to favor the poor States, the process is less powerful than if the
Federal Government, as an alternative, took over the whole activity.
Some part of the cost of provision of a welfare expenditure, such as
old-age assistance, is shifted at present via Federal grants from tax­
payers in poorer States to those in richer. But entire Federal respon­



ECONOMIC GROWTH AND STABILITY

205

sibility for old-age assistance could be expected to redistribute costs
even more from poorer to richer States.
A final criticism of grants will be discussed, not because of its
weight, but because of its recurrence in popular discussion. I t is that
collection of revenue by the Federal Government, and its subsequent
disbursement as grants, merely reallocates resources already under
the jurisdiction of State and local governments and available to them
for taxation. As has been indicated just above, such a statement slurs
over the important fact that, in the process, there is a redistribution of
resources so that some States get more and some less. But even if
collections and grants balanced State by State—even if the process
paralleled that of federally collected State-disbursed taxes—the de­
scription would be inaccurate. Federal collection of most revenues
is more efficient and equitable than State-local collection; a given
revenue can be raised with less real cost by the Federal Government
than by State-local governments.
The gist of this discussion is that two basic difficulties stand in the
way of designation of functions as wholly Federal and wholly Statelocal. The first is that governmental interest in most functions is not
divisible into these two segments, and, as a result, responsibility can­
not easily be so divided. F or some functions, indeed, the division is
easy. To provide security against external aggression is a task for the
National Government; to provide internal security is a task for the
State and local governments. But the current debate concerning re­
sponsibility for civil defense, and the existence of the F B I, impair
somewhat even these generalizations. The second difficulty is that the
ability of the Federal Government on the one hand, and of the Statelocal governments on the other, to collect revenue and to handle ex­
penditure, is disparate. The State-local governments can handle a
great many functions more effectively than can the Federal Govern­
ment. The Federal Government, however, can handle collection of
most revenues more effectively than can State-local governments. E x ­
cept in time of war, the tendency is for State and local governments
as a whole to have a plethora of duties in relation to the revenues at
their effective disposal. The case of the Federal Government tends to
be the other way around. Both of these difficulties stimulate use of
grants.
D

efects

or F

ederal

G

rants

The favorable appraisal of grants presented above should not be
allowed to obscure the fact that Federal grants, as now utilized, have
important defects. Their development has been piecemeal and hap­
hazard, so that no system of grants exists. Over the years Congress,
responding to pressures, has provided conditional grants, thereby
stimulating State and local governments to spend more than they
otherwise would for specific purposes. And once in operation, grant
programs live on, even though the original national purposes behind
them have been achieved. In such cases, grants serve only the fiscal
purpose of lightening the load on State-local budgets. Even when
grants continue to achieve national objectives, they may need revision
concerning method of apportionment, conditions, and administrative
rules.
The pages of the Kestnbaum report indicate the hold of status quo on
intergovernmental financial relationships. In 280 pages 174 dissents,
97 7 3 5 — 57-------15




206

ECONOMIC GROWTH AND STABILITY

STATE RANKS IN PER CAPITA FEDERAL TAX INCIDENCE

1952) AND INCOME PAYMENTS (FISCAL 1953)

RANK IN PER CAPITA TAX INCIDENCE

(-FISCAL

0




1©

20

30

ho

RANK IN -PER CAPITA INCOME PAUVCTTS

$0

ECONOMIC GROWTH AND STABILITY

STATE RANKS IN PER CAPITA FEDERAL

RAJIK IN PER CAPITA

GRANTS

CHAWTS AND INCOME PAYMENTS (FISCAL 19$3 )




207

208

ECONOMIC GROWTH AND STABILITY

qualifying statements, exceptions are recorded. Almost no specific
recommendation concerning grants is unanimous, and yet an academic
critic is bound to feel that the recommendations of the report were
disappointingly weak rather than bold. As such a critic, I cannot
believe that, for example, the grants for agricultural and vocational
education serve im portant national objectives; and that those for pub­
lic assistance and for public health do not need major overhaul and
probably consolidation into block grants.
Another defect of the Kestnbaum report is that it gave very little
attention to intergovernmental tax relations. And yet even the bold­
est opponent of grants is aware that discontinuance or reduction of
grants would throw a burden of expenditure upon State and local
governments which they could not easily provide. The proposition
naturally arises: Could not reduction of Federal grants be coupled
with reduction of Federal taxes? Even if State use of some tax
sources is less efficient than Federal, a realistic program of decentrali­
zation which would increase the importance of the States in our Fed­
eral system has marked appeal.4
The lack of boldness in the Kestnbaum report may be indicated also
by a brief examination of its treatment of present governmental re­
sponsibilities for two major functions, highway construction and
unemployment insurance.
Highway construction

Responsibility for no long-established function of government has
gone through so complete a cycle of change as highways. A century
and a half ago, Federal interest in highways was strong. But in the
years after the W ar of 1812, the Federal Government retired from con­
struction and not long afterward so did the States. The task of build­
ing and maintaining highways became, in the main, a local function,
and it remained so almost to the 20th century. Roads seemed to be a
local responsibility because traffic on them was local. Then the rise of
the automobile, by revolutionizing our system of transport, also revolu­
tionized the responsibilities of government toward highways. A t first
there was demand even for Federal construction of a system of inter­
state highways, but the more pedestrian plan of Federal grants pre­
vailed, with allocation of most of the money to local roads. Gradually,
however, under the guidance of the Bureau of Public Roads, the mile­
age eligible for Federal grants was limited, and in many States a
State highway system was marked out for direct construction and
maintenance by State highway departments.
The Federal grants for highways have been given a good rating by
most observers, and, in a historical sense, this rating seems correct.
Nonetheless, it seems that the political strength of the program allowed
and persuaded Congress to stick to a formula and allocation which
were out of date even before World W ar II. Postwar, indeed, Con­
gress enlarged and revised the program, giving attention to express
highways through or around the larger cities, and to designation of an
interstate system for which the major financial responsibility is Fed­
4 A t present, a Joint Federal-State A ction Committee is exploring w hat can be done.
Federal relinquishment o f taxes on admissions, local telephone service, club dueis, etc.,
bringing in a revenue o f about $750 m illion, is suggested as a quid pro quo to reduction
o f grants fo r vocational education, old-age assistance, national disaster relief, the schoollunch program , etc.




ECONOMIC GROWTH AND ‘ STABILITY

209

eral. But too much money continued to be spent on roads with rela­
tively little traffic, to the neglect of heavy traffic roads and of roads in
the more populous States.
The Kestnbaum report showed little awareness of this situation. I t
favored some increase of Federal aid channeled especially toward
“highways of major importance to the national security” (p. 216) ;
it wanted “a reduction in the extent and degree of Federal super­
vision" of the gran ts; it favored a pay-as-you-go plan financed “p ri­
marily from increased motor-fuel taxes” (p. 219); it wanted repeal
of the Hayden-Cartwright Act. Yet at this very time Congress, in
framing the Highway Act of 1956, was making major decisions in
highway policy. I t was to increase Federal expenditure on highways
from 10 percent of total governmental expenditure to 20 to 25 percent,
to provide for reconstruction of the 41,000-mile Interstate Highway
System almost entirely with Federal money, and to segregate Federal
highway-user taxes into a fund earmarked for highway purposes. I t
may be that a mileage will emerge which is entirely a Federal respon­
sibility, while the remaining mileage will be left to the State and local
governments with little or no Federal aid.
Unemployment insurance

Unemployment insurance was set up in 1935 on a cooperative
Federal-State basis by use of the tax offset. A purely Federal scheme
was thought to be impractical for a variety of complicated reasons,
among them the danger of being declared unconstitutional. The tax
offset scheme itself squeaked by the Supreme Court in 1937 in a 5 to 4
decision, with the majority putting much emphasis on their opinion
that the conditions and controls imposed by the Federal Government
were not excessive, and that the States were given a wide freedom
concerning the type of statute they might enact.
In the 20 years since this decision, the number of advocates of
federalization has grown, and, if a fresh start could be made, a
national plan of unemployment insurance might be favored. The
actual scheme of Federal-State cooperation, with its divided admin­
istrative and legislative responsibilities, and the resultant diversity
of coverage, benefits, waiting periods, and tax rates, does not meet
adequately the national interest in unemployment compensation.
Merit rating, in particular, has introduced a perverse behavior of
the contribution rate which impairs countercyclical finance and en­
dangers the solvency of some State reserves. These are formidable
faults which are inadequately recognized by the Kestnbaum report.5
Indeed, nowhere in the report, and in the report of its Study Com­
mittee on Unemployment Compensation and Employment Service, is
the influence of status quo so marked. A bare majority of the study
committee—6 out of 11 members—favored an increase in the tax
offset from 90 to 99 percent. This would, in effect, abolish the pres­
ent Federal grant for unemployment compensation and permit the
States to collect 99 percent of the employer tax. The Commission
gave its endorsement to experience rating. By a bare majority of 6
to 5, its study committee favored extension of coverage to employers
5 F our Commissioners, Senators M orse and Humphrey, Dr. W illiam Anderson, and ex«
G overnor A lfred E. D riscoll, favored a national system o f unemployment insurance, sup­
ported and adm inistered by the Federal Government.




210

ECONOMIC GROWTH ANT> STABILITY

of 1 or more employees, and the Commission went along, with 1
dissent.
.
The likelihood of major reform in unemployment insurance, not
to say federalization, is slight. The existing scheme works well
enough most of the tim e; it has the entrenched support of its admin­
istrators and indeed of all State officials in States with strong
reserves.
C o n c l u s io n

Two related policy conclusions seem indicated by this brief survey.
(1) The present system of grants needs overhaul to eliminate grants
which no longer serve an important national purpose, to revise grants
for which conditions, administration, apportionment are inappro­
priate, to add or enlarge grants for purposes where inadequate State
action is coupled with national need. (2) I f the net result is to
throw new financial responsibilities on State and local governments,
the Federal Government should offset, or more than offset, the
burden by reduction of Federal taxes, especially those suitable for
State-local administration. Such steps would help in reconstruction
of a more effective federalism.6
T a b l e 1.— P u b lic e x p e n d itu r e s and n e t n a tio n a l p r o d u c t a l l le v e ls o f gov ern m en t
com bin ed ( fisca l y e a r s )
1890
Expenditures (billions):

Expenditures (percent of net national product):

1929

1932

1940

1955

$0.6
.2

$8.8
1.9

$9.6
2.2

$15.5
2.5

$60.5
52.9

.8
11.0

10.7
95.0

11.8
50.7

18.0
93.0

113.4
359.5

6
2

9
2

19
4

17
3

15
14

23

20

29

8

11

1 The classification and the figures for (1890) 1940 are taken from an article The Growth of Public Expend­
itures in the United States, 1890-1948, by R. A. Musgrave and J. M. Culbertson, National Tax Journal,
June 1953. The figures for 1955 are only roughly comparable with those for 1940 since I have sometimes
had to guess where Musgrave and Culbertson would put the figures.
2 War-related expenditures are defined as those of the Military Establishment, veterans’ benefits, interest
on Federal debt incurred for defense purposes, and Federal foreign aid in 1955.

T a b l e 2.— P u b lic ex p e n d itu r e s fo r c iv ilia n p u rp o ses , 19^0 an d 19-55,1 a ll le v e ls o f
g ov ern m en t com bin ed ( fisca l y ea rs)

1. Regulation and protection............... ...........

......

................

4. Interest2. - ......................................................... ........................

1940

1955

1940

1955

B illio n s

B illio n s

Percent

P ercent

$1.0
3.6
8.0
1.3
1.7

$2.1
14.5
35.8
1.3
6.8

15.6

60.5

6
24
52
7
11
100

4
24
59
2
11

100

1 See footnote to table 1.
2 Interest on debt incurred for purposes other than defense.

6 A thorough overhaul of grants should not neglect their adaptability for countercycle
purposes. Some of the possibilities were summarized in a paper presented to your subcom­
m ittee by me in November 1955.




211

ECONOMIC GROWTH AND STABILITY
T a b l e 3.— D is tr ib u tio n by le v e ls o f g overn m en t o f p u b lic ex p e n d itu r e s
(fisc a l yea rs)
1890

1929

1932

1940

1
1955

Billions of dollars
1. Federal......................................................................
2. State................................................................... .
3. L ocal...
- ...........................................................
Total... __________________

_ ____________

0.3
.1
.5

2.6
1.9
6.2

3.5
2.3
6.0

9.0
3.4
5.6

70.2
19.6
23.6

.9

10.7

11.8

18.0

113.4

Percent of total
1. Federal......................................................................
2. State......... ...................... ............... ........................
3. Local . ....................................................................
Total_______

_______ . . . __________ -

33
12
55

24
18
57

30
20
51

50
19
31

62
17
21

100

100

100

100

100

i See footnote to table 1.
N ote .—F igures m ay n o t ad d to totals because of rounding.

T a b l e 4. — D is tr ib u tio n , by lev els o f govern m en t, o f c iv ilia n e x p en d itu r e,
1940 and 1955
1940
Billions
Economic development:
$2
1. Federal............................................................................ 1
2. State..
_. _ .............................................
1
3. Local.............................................. ...........................

1955

1940

1955

B illions

Percent

Percent

$5
6
4

55
25
20

37
38
25

Total.................................................................................

4

15

100

100

Social welfare:
1. Federal.................. - - -- - - - - ..................................
2. State ............................................. _ ____________ _
3. L oca l.................... ..............................................................

3
2
3

9
12
15

42
24
34

25
32
43

8

36

100

100

1
1
2

3
2
0

30
15
55

29
25
47

.........................................................................

4

10

100

100

Total civilian:
1. Federal________ ________ ____________
__________
2. State ............................................. .
.
..........
3. Local-............... .............................................................. ...

7
3
6

17
19
25

42
22
36

29
32
39

16

61

100

100

Total________ _ - ___ -

.

_,

--

................ ...

Other:
1. Federal...............................................................................
2. State.. .
.
.........................................................
3. L o ca l.......................................................
...................
Total---

Total.......................................................- . .

............

N o te .—F igures m ay n o t add to totals because of rounding.

T a b l e 5.— F e d e r a l g ra n ts and S ta te -lo c a l e x p en d itu r es

1947 _________________________________ ___________
1953............... ..................................................................................
1954
................... ........... ........................ . ......... .............
1955
- ..........................................................................




Grants

State-local
expenditures

M illio n s

M illio n s

$1,678
2.781
2,987
3,126

$14,171
32,937
36,607
40,375

Percent

11.8
8.5
8.2
7.7

212

ECONOMIC GROWTH AND STABILITY
T a b l e 6 . —Federal

grants, 1947 and. 1955
1947

1955

1947

Millions

Millions

Percent of
total

$935
(644)
602
(208)
65
10
67

1,678

$2,094
(1,427)
724
(584)
248
26
35
3,126

1955

55

Percent of
total

67

36

23

4
1
4

8
1
1

100

100

T a b l e 7.— Per capita income payments (fiscal 1953 ), Federal grants (fiscal 1D53),

Federal tax incidence (fiscal 1952), by States
Income
payments

Delaware...................................
Nevada......................................
Connecticut. . . .......................
District of Columbia...............
New Y o rk ...............................
Illinois....................................
New Jersey....... .......................
California^...............................
Ohio.........................................
Michigan..................................
Washington . . .
.............
Maryland..................................
Massachusetts........................
Pennsylvania...........................
Indiana..... ................................
Oregon.....................................
Rhode Island ...... .................
Wisconsin.................................
Montana...................................
Wyoming..................................
Colorado....................................
Missouri....................................
Kansas. ...................................
New Hampshire.......................
Nebraska..................................
Iowa..... .....................................
Minnesota
Arizona......................................
Utah_____________ ______
Texas.........................................
Idaho.......................................
Vermont..... ..........................
Maine........................................
Florida......................................
..........................
Virginia _
New Mexico.............................
Oklahoma.......................... ......
South Dakota...........................
North Dakota..........................
West Virginia...........................
Louisiana..................................
Georgia......................................
Tennessee.................................
Kentucky................................
South Carolina.........................
North Carolina.......................
Alabama .................................
Arkansas. .............. ................
Mississippi...................... ........

Federal
grants

Federal tax Income
incidence payments

$1,616

$17.19

$412

2,256
2,201
2,132
2,122
2,110
2,038
2,035
2,008
1,942
1,916
1,846
1,806
1,792
1,778
1,751
1,718
1,705
1,694
1,690
1,654
1,652
1,631
1,590
1,586
1, 558
1,546
1,524
1,488
1,484
1,468
1,448
1,382
1,364
1,352
1,350
1,337
1,310
1,296
1,270
1,245
1,240
1,162
1,156
1,146
1,092
1,078
1,021
953
830

15.52
51.19
10.92
7.88
13.04
13.75
8.84
21.29
12.47
14.67
25. 71
12. 37
16.31
10.04
11.81
17.85
17. 27
14. 51
30.45
32.74
32. 85
23.68
21.79
16. 73
16.64
17. 25
18.34
25.96
28.17
18.84
24.89
21.06
18.09
17.02
13.17
30.68
34.51
28.93
27.23
19. 21
34.94
23.31
19.05
18.56
19.40
14.11
18.44
25.30
19.26

1,015
653
698
697
676
552
510
505
460
445
381
485
549
446
336
387
538
376
350
333
412
405
302
408
326
300
361
293
243
318
241
359
372
378
277
239
245
218
224
249
258
220
209
231
170
213
163
139
112

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49

Federal
grants

36
1
46
49
42
40
48
18
43
37
12
44
35
47
45
29
30
38
7
5
4
15
17
33
34
31
27
22
9
24
14
19
28
32
41
6
3
8
10
22
2
16
23
25
20
39
26
13
21

Federal tax
incidence

1
5
2
3
4
6
9
10
12
14
19
11
7
13
26
18
8
21
25
27
15
17
30
16
28
31
23
32
37
29
38
24
22
20
33
39
36
43
41
35
34
42
45
40
46
44
47
48
49

Sources: The Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, Report, pp. 303-304, Selma Mushkin, Illus­
trative Estimates of Federal Expenditures and Revenues by States (U. S. Department of Health, Educa­
tion, and Welfare, Washington, 1966, mimeographed), p. 58.