Evening star., 1941-08-17
Prosperity Turns the Corner
But Huge National Income Brings Many Problems
By Raymond p. Brandt

1V1 ployed, more goods are being pro-
duced, a greater national income is being
built up than ever before in the United
States. At last, it can be said, we have
prosperity"
The European war and our national
defense program are, of course, respOn-
sible for the greatly accelerated tempo
of our national life. Had the phe-
nomenon occurred in peacetime, what
ever political administration then in
power, as in 1928, would claim the credit.
At present the Roosevelt administration
Is concerned over the problems created
by the unusual situation.
One Of the greatest of these problems
is what the Government can do about
the unprecedented national income and
a prospective shortage of consumer
goods. In his special message to Con-
gress on the need for price-control legis-
lation, President Roosevelt offered a
partial solution when he spoke of "ef-
fective taxation of excess profits and
purchasing power" and also asked legis-
lation ito deal more extensively with
excesses in the field OF installment
credit"
sellers Market Now.
Increased employment with increased
national income has created sellers
market" as contrasted with the buyers
market which marked the depression.
In 1929 the national income was $82,-
885 900 900: by 1882 it had tobogganed
to 40074, ,000, 600 and from there climbed
gradually to 500 ,378 600 900 in 1899,
jumped to $4,000, 900 900 last year and is
low at the rate of about $4,000 900 900
for this year. If there is a great rise in
prices it may go higher.
Who will get this money and how will
it be spent? The distribution of the
national income will determine in large
measure the pattern of our economic,
social and perhaps political life during
the emergency and the postwar period.
New Deal reforms and heavier taxes
have already distributed the income more
evenly through the population. Unless
there is great price imitation, plus a
runaway stock market, there are not
likely to be 5l3 persons with incomes of
sl000,000 and over reporting aggregate
net income of SLAP ,099 900, as happened
for 1929. The most striking benefciaries
of the present war and defense boom
have been the so-called submerged
third of the people, the 'ill-fed. i'll
clothed and ill-housed." Even if the
e1 mn mn q yoor - ,,arcoral i,,,or,.. noa;,,
become comparatively commonplace.
taxes will reduce them to more moderate
figures.
Who is getting the money now? The
latest estimates on employment. includ-
ing the men in the armed service. give
more than 50 ,2ss 900 at sainful work. The
1929 estimate was 50.002, 900.
Employment Breakdown.
The general breakdown of these figures
shows that in June of this year there
we're 3S,740 900 persons classified as
mon n-agriculture civil workers" against
36.854 900 such persons in 1929 This
group includes the manufacturing. serv-
ice and governmental employees. In
June, 1929. there were only 263000 in
the armed services: in June this year
the number was 1,74oOOO The agricul-
tural workers, including the working
farm owners, numbered 11,769000 in
June of this year: the comparable figure
for 1929 was 1885 900.
Several factors account for the de-
crease in the number of farm workers,
such as wider use of labcr-saving farm
machinery, the draft, higher wages in
the cities and agricultural surpluses
Increased employment has partly
solved some problems, notably govern
mental relief, and has created others,
notably the prospect of shortages in
some skilled and semi-skilled labor
groups.
After surveying 81 key defense cities,
the National Association of Manufac-
turers recently announced that its esti-
mate of unemployment, as of July 8. was
only 100000 or relatively little more
than the unemployment total of $780,