Tax Review: The Control of Government Expenditures

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Volume XXI No. 1

Executive Summary
With the $200 billion Federal government spending mark likely to be crossed in the next fiscal year, says Dr. Arthur F. Burns in this essay, the need for expenditure reform may be even greater than the need for tax reform. Pointing to recent expenditure reforms and proposing others, Dr. Burns discussed revenue sharing with the states; bloc grants; a ceiling on expenditures; and zero-based budgeting. In this connection he suggested reappraisal of earmarking funds, institution of new programs on a “pilot” basis, and strict enforcement of five-year projections of new programs.