Aid for the States: Is Revenue Sharing the Answer?

Abstract

The latest plan making its appearance on the American public scene as a solution to the problems of “big government” and the decline of state government in our federal system is that of revenue sharing between the federal government and the states. This proposal has met with a wide and uncritical acceptance by state legislators, members of Congress, and the public. A Gallup Poll taken on January 1, 1967, indicated that seventy percent of the American public favored the idea of revenue sharing. The sponsors of revenue sharing regard it as a means of revitalizing state governments; yet, an examination of this new plan of distributing state aid suggests that its results may be quite different from what its proponents expect. Most likely, revenue sharing will weaken the self-governing capacities of our states rather than strengthen them. This undesirable consequence may follow because revenue sharing would encourage those interests presently controlling most state governments to increase their activities. The point simply stated is that revenue sharing will not make reform of state governments any easier.