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214 Annals Am. Acad. Pol. & Soc. Sci. ix (1941)

handle is hein.cow/anamacp0214 and id is 1 raw text is: FOREWORD
THE national defense program and its financing during the continuing world
crisis present challenging problems to our republic. With soaring budgets, high
taxes, and rising debts, the nations are meeting the demands for larger and more
effective military forces. Daily new problems are encountered in the financing of
the costly armament program of the United States, which is rapidly developing
our defenses at home and which is being supplemented by increasing aid to Britain
and other defenders of democracy.
In this volume, the various contributors have discussed the underlying prin-
ciples and the basic problems of governmental financing during an era when arma-
ment financing is of predominant importance. Governmental spending, taxing,
borrowing, and financial administration are analyzed. Armament financing is re-
lated to the financing of other public services, and Federal financing is related to
state and local government financing in order to give the reader a broad perspective
of American governmental finances in the present emergency. Foreign experience
and earlier American experience in the financing of national defense and other pub-
lic functions in periods of great crisis have also been noted.
The writers of the various articles have expressed their deliberate judgments
of the problems to be faced and the principles to be followed in coping with the
tremendous responsibilities of financing the defense program. The duration of the
world conflict, its costs in men and materials, and its social and financial conse-
quences are obviously not altogether visible at this stage of the grim struggle, and
the mantle of the financial prophet can be assumed only with the realization that
forecasts of the rapidly changing social and financial patterns must suffer from our
present imperfect knowledge. Fortunately, the lessons of past armament financing
and experience in financing the recent depression provide a certain amount of illu-
mination upon the paths which our financiers must tread.
The reader will be aware of differences of opinion among the contributors upon
fundamental fiscal policy and its social implications. From such discussion, with
a generous interchange of intelligent opinion, there should arise a fuller under-
standing of the financial program which must accompany the organization of Amer-
ica's economic and military resources as we prepare for any emergency. There
should also result a deeper appreciation of the financial costs and the social conse-
quences of the great tragedy in which we seem destined to play a leading part.
ALFRED G. BUEHLER

ix

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