E 888 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks May 1, 1995

Joyce is the author of ‘‘Kids and Drugs,’’ a

126-page handbook for parents and professionals that has been translated in part into

Portuguese and Arabic. Other publications include ‘‘Schools and Drugs,’’ a handbook for

parents and educators, and ‘‘Preparing for

Parenthood: A Lamaze Childbirth and

Postpartum Guide.’’

After teaching childbirth preparation for four

years. Joyce founded FLAME [Family Life and

Maternity Education Inc.] in 1971, an organization which teaches the Lamaze method of

childbirth.

Joyce Tobias is a remarkable woman whose

contributions to her community and her country as a leader and volunteer have made a difference. I know my colleagues join in honoring

this outstanding woman.

FORT EDWARD FIRE DEPARTMENT

DEMONSTRATES TRUE AMERfICAN INGENUITY

HON. GERALD B.H. SOLOMON OF NEW YORK

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Monday, May 1, 1995

Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I have always

held a special place in my heart for volunteer

fire companies and the invaluable service they

provide the residents of small towns like those

in my 22d Congressional District of New York.

As a volunteer firefighter myself for 20 years,

I understand the commitment necessary to fulfill such a role, regardless of the weather or

the time of day. The members of the Fort Edward Fire Department have selflessly provided

this vital service, and for that, we should all

pay tribute.

However, Mr. Speaker, as if these people

have not provided a great enough example of

community service, the members of this fire

department will unveil this Saturday, May 6,

1995, another accomplishment we would all

do well to emulate. The Fort Edward Fire Department will be holding a ribbon cutting ceremony to commemorate the opening of their

newly expanded and renovated fire station.

This project, combining two separate branches

of the fire department and providing much

needed expansion and improvement of facilities, cost over $400,000. However, the most

notable accomplishment is that it will be financed without a single penny of public tax

money. As we all strive to regain fiscal sanity

in the public sector and encourage public

service, the efforts of the volunteers who comprise the Fort Edward Fire Department are

worthy of significant recognition. In a time

where government spending and regulation

seem to play a role in all aspects of American

life, this achievement signifies an example of

true American voluntarism and wherewithal

which made our Nation the greatest in the

world.

At the open house this Saturday, the fire

company will be able to show off the improvements to the fine citizens of Fort Edward.

They will exhibit the new rooms and offices

they added to the station, the fine colors and

carpeting they chose to decorate the hall

where they will hold bingo nights, as well as

other special events to help finance their

project, and allow the children to climb all over

the fire trucks in the expanded truck bays, all

the while knowing they did so without spending any of the citizens hard-earned tax dollars.

This is an accomplishment which we should

all take comfort in commending. Therefore,

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all my fellow Members

rise with me and salute the achievements of

the Fort Edward Volunteer Fire Department,

they truly exemplify the spirit of community

service all Americans should strive to achieve.

IF YOU HAVE A JOB, YOU AREN’T

CAUSING INFLATION—GUESS

fWHO IS?

HON. PHILIP M. CRANE OF ILLINOIS

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Monday, May 1, 1995

Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, the Orlando Sentinel recently featured an article which destroys numerous myths pertaining to inflation.

Mr. Charley Reese, author of the article,

highlights congressional responsibility for inflation. He goes on to argue that economic

progress has been hampered by inflation

stemming from actions of the Federal Government and Federal Reserve System.

I commend to the attention of my colleagues

‘‘If you have a job, you aren’t causing inflation—guess who is?’’

IF YOU HAVE A JOB, YOU AREN’T CAUSING

INFLATION—GUESS WHO IS?

(By Charley Reese)

There’s a big con game going on. The con

is that politicians in both parties and the

bankers talk about problems caused by inflation without mentioning that they cause it.

To hear the central bank talk about it, you

would think inflation is caused by people

getting jobs. Uh, oh, the central bankers are

saying, too many Americans have jobs, and

so we had better increase the rates of usury

to keep inflation under control.

In a country with so many millions of people unemployed and underemployed, it is impossible for people to cause inflation by getting a job. Even if we had 100 percent employment, people getting jobs would cause

little if any inflation.

There are, to keep it simple, two kinds of

inflation. One is called cost-push inflation

and the other is monetary inflation. Politicians and money-lenders would like you to

believe that cost-push inflation is the only

kind that exists.

Not so. An example of cost-push would be

a situation in which there were a great

drought in the Midwest followed by a plague

of locusts, so that the grain crop would be

severely reduced. Because there would be insufficient grain to meet the demand, people

would bid up the price in an effort to get

what was available. That’s cost-push: a rise

in prices produced by an increased demand

for a commodity or product.

Monetary inflation, however, is when the

monetary authorities put so much money

into the system that the value of each unit

declines. Demand and working people have

nothing to do with it. That type of inflation

is entirely in the hands of the government

and the central bank.

That’s really what Mexico’s peso crisis is

all about. As it always does, the Mexican ruling party turned on the printing presses and

greatly boosted the money supply during the

election campaign. When this happens, eventually the monetary unit will decline in

value.

As the value of the monetary unit declines,

people are forced to raise prices just to

maintain their same level of income. Because of continued deficits and the profligate

policies of the Federal Reserve, the U.S. dollar has lost its value.

Money is not wealth. What one buys with

money is wealth—houses, clothes, tools,

services, etc. How much a given unit of

money can buy is called purchasing power.

Well, the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar, thanks entirely to Congress and the Federal Reserve, has declined so much that, if

you made $10,000 in 1967, you would have to

make $40,000 in 1995 just to be where you

were 28 years ago. To put it another way, it

takes $4 today to buy what $1 would buy in

1967.

But the key point to understand is that

this is the fault of Congress, not the fault of

the private sector. Back in the 1960s, Congress gave up any effort to maintain a stable

money system and indexed—those famous

cost-of-living allowances—most federal programs. It did that to take the sting out of inflation, a policy it was consciously pursuing,

because it is more politically palatable than

bringing the federal budget into balance and

reining in the central bank.

But, of course, if you aren’t on the federal

teat, your income didn’t get indexed to inflation. Inflation never affects people uniformly. Some can prosper; some can stay

even; and some will fall behind.

What outrages me is to hear bankers and

politicians talk about the real misery their

inflationary policies have caused while pretending that it is not their fault but someone else’s, either greedy consumers spending

too much or some unexplained, uncontrollable mysterious ‘‘thing.’’

It’s they. It’s the 100 senators and the 435

members of the House. It’s the Federal Reserve System, which Congress created and

which Congress could, if it had the sense and

the guts, seriously reform or abolish. They

caused the economic misery. Now they are

blaming the victims.

BART ROWEN SET THE

STANDARDS

f

HON. JOHN J. LaFALCE OF NEW YORK

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Monday, May 1, 1995

Mr. LAFALCE. Mr. Speaker, On April 13,

1995, the pioneer of modern economic journalism Hobart Rowen, died, leaving a legacy

of standards for the profession. International

economic issues and events were Mr.

Rowen’s specialty. Through five decades of

dedication and innovation devoted to economic journalism, Mr. Rowen reshaped the

standards for the profession by bringing the

sometimes arcane issues of international economics to mainstream America. He wrote so

that readers could understand and appreciate

the importance of economic events and the

impact of international economics on their

lives. Whether the subject was international

trade, monetary policy, or exchange rates, Mr.

Rowen’s knowledge and journalistic style put

him in a league of his own. I most recently

spoke to Mr. Rowen in February this year

about the Mexican peso crisis. His knowledge,

insight, and willingness to question traditional

economic assumptions were clearly demonstrated on this issue. Mr. Rowen will be

missed, but his legacy to economic journalism

has set the standard for years to come.

Mr. Speaker, I am submitting for the

RECORD, a copy of Mr. Rowen’s obituary that

appeared in the Washington Post on April 14.