IN THE past two decades in this country, we have witnessed a rapid expansion in spending by local government.
From 1948 to 1966, local government expenditures rose from $13.4 billion to $60.7 billion, which represents an annual compound rate of increase of close to 9 per cent. Some increase in public spending is to be expected: in a country with an expanding population and rising real income, the public sector has naturally been called upon to provide a larger quantity and improved quality of services. But an expansion of the magnitude of the increase in local government spending, well in excess of the overall increase in national income, does merit further investigation.