OBJECTIVES OF FISCAL POLICIES : LOOKING AT GOALS

The Federal government's "getting and spending" will each involve around $200 billion in 1968. Such huge activities warrant continuous examination, and for many reasons. Federal finances must be characterized as "multipurpose" if anything deserves that term. Economists frequently use the term "fiscal policy" to apply to one dimension or aspect of results or intended results. Usage cannot be praised for precision. Ordinarily, we include effects on the levels of employment and prices. Less agreement attaches to effects on distribution of cost and benefits, economic growth, Federal statelocal relations, and international economic affairs. Yet with amounts at the magnitudes of present budgets, each of these aspects of life, as well as others, will be affected. What can we seek in terms of objectives?