The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1916-05-10
American Annual Income
Forty-Six Billion Dollars!
BY Basil M. Manly

VI Tie I uitcu Stdtcs lie lOit
was FORTY-SIX BILLION
DOLLARS!
This amount seems an alb
suredly large annual national
income until IL Is pointed out
that, were ID distributed even
Iy among the 100, 100000
people of the United States,
il would give each person an
income of only $500 a year.
The income of the average read
er of this paper, il is true, will not
amount to more than $500 for
each member of the family. But
the reason for the difference be-
tween $460 and $500 becomes
clear as soon as 1t is remembered
that there are thousands of fami-
lies, each of which receives the
income of MORE THAN A THOU
SAND ORDINARY WAGE AND
SALARY FARMERS!
There are TEN American fam
lilies which together receive the
in come of more than QUARTER
OF A MILLION WAGE EARN
ERS. JOHN ID. ROCKEFEL-
LER'S INCOME ALONE is
EQUAL TO THAT OF 100000
AVERAGE WAGE FARMERS!
How Figure Is Determined.
How do we know that the in
come of the American people Is
$46,O00,O0O,0OO?
In order to answer this question
we have to go back to 1910, the
last year for which complete Of
fetal statistics are available. A
very conservative analysis of these
statistics shows that in 1910 the
national income was $36,7 ,OOO,-
600.
This figure differs from the
previous estimates of national in
come, which have placed the total
at from 30 to 81 billion chiefly
because these previous estimates
have entirely omitted the enor.
nous income derived from the in
crease in the value of land and
other property. This so-called
UNEARNED INCREMENT is one
of the largest single sources OF
income.
Increase Immense.
When we know the amount oil
the national income for 1910, II
Is very easy to calculate the fig
ure for 1914. The best single in
dex of the increase of the national
income is the amount of individ-
ual deposits, which increased 2e
per cent between 1910 and 1914
AS check on this, We know
that the value of agricultural
products increased 80 per cent
and the net value of manufactur-
ed products increased 20 per cen,
during this period. In order to
be we'll within the facts, however
we will figure on an increase for
1914 of only 25 per cent over
1910, which makes the national
income for 1914 FORTf-SlN
BILLION DOLLARS.
How Stoks Gained.
The public generally has nc
conception of the rate at which
the value of corporate property
has increased in the United States
over and above any new invest
ment.
Some idea may be gained from
the fact that the average price OF
all securities traed in on the New
York stock exchange increased
from $77.24 for the five years
10000 to 1852 for the five
years 1904.
This is an increase of $21.5S
during the 10 years on each
share. An almost identical in
crease is unquestionably due to
the reinvestment of earnings, but
this is more than offset by the
enormous issues of stock divi-
dends, which in the aggregate
amount to hundreds of millions
of dollars.
Now these figures are so enor-
nous and so startling that they
may seem incredible.
But just consider that the
American people spend annually
for Injuries more than SIX Bill
LION DOLLARS, of which more
than two billions are spent for in
toxicating liquor, and you will
readily see that forty-six billion
dollars must be very conserva-
tive estimate of the total national