The Congress: Stretching the Revenue

"Devious" was House Republican Leader Gerald Ford's word for the Administration's request. "A gigantic crap game, with the taxpayer the only one who loses." Actually, in asking Congress last week for broader authority to sell Government-held loans to private investors, President Johnson was resorting to a revenue-stretching device that was pioneered by the Eisenhower Administration.

Since every loan dollar sold would be counted as a dollar saved under the federal accounting system, the measure would have the effect of reducing the Government's deficit by $4.7 billion in the coming fiscal year. Despite Ford's criticism, few Congressmen, even those unsympathetic...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!