Relations Between Federal, State, and Local Finances

The recent outburst of public interest in the relations between federal, state, and local finances is obviously a product of the welter of new tax legislation which has been enacted during the last few years. Although similar flares of interest in the past have not generally led to very substantial results, the present movement may prove an exception. It is significant, at any rate, that a number of investigating bodies, both official and unofficial, have lately been subjecting our intergovernmental fiscal arrangements to critical scrutiny. Moreover, President Roosevelt has indicated his intention of calling a conference on the subject within the coming year. Back of this new concern over the financial relations of our various levels of government is, of course, a growing conviction that these relations have much to do with our current fiscal woes.