The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-02-27

from the $74.2 billion of 1941 to an
estimated $65 billion for 1912.
WheW!
! When you decide all those figures
by 1870 million-the estimated popu-
lation of the country-to find out
what's going to happen to the aver
age inhabitant, then these figures
begin to make sense. Performing
that trick, you determine these APP
proximate but simple facts:
The per capita income in 1912 will
rise to $777. ($101 billion divided by
100 million0 The per capita savings
and taxes will be $751;. 1921 billion
divided by 1870 million0 The per ca
pita net income will be $6l6. ($77
minus $161) The per capita pro-
duction Of civilian goods and services;
will be $500. ($65 million divided by
100 million0
Now, subtract that $500 worth OF
goods and services which will be
available to civilians from the $616
per capita net income. The differ
ence in SIG.
SOME LEFT OVER
What that SIG represents is the
difference between what the math-
ematical average person has to spend
$3.50 and the amount of goods and
services that will be made available
for the average person to buy. $500
! worthy
This SIG per capita average excess
spending power is what's worrying
the economists and congressman and
treasury experts and the people who
have to get up the new tax bill. It's
worrying them more, even, than the
possibilities Of Jap or a Nazi inva-
sion. What worries them is what
you and you and you--all 100 mil
lion of you-are going to do, collec-
lively, with your individual SIG,
which adds up to SIS billion.
At first glance, you would say why
worry about lousy $116 head for
poor Joe Doakes, his wife and three
kids. Isn't it dandy that the Doakes
| family Is going to have five times
SIG or $3.50 more to spend. Let 'em
60 buy that new car, those new tires,
that new radio, and stop at two mo-
vies and night club on the way
home.
That's just where things get diff
cult.
SUPPLY SLIPS
You can't buy a new auto. You
can't buy new tire, Pretty soon
there won't be new radios or refrig-
orators. But that extra money is
burning a hole in your pocket You
go to the stores and you start buy
ing. Business gets good. But be-
cause factories are now making
goods for you to buy goes way down.
Meanwhile, there is an increasing
demand from the buyers, all with
this mathematical average SIG more
to spend. Buyers start competing
with each other. What follows is
that prices start rising and the next
thing you know you have dat Of deb
bill initiation. That's what worries
the national smart men. Nobody
loves fat man when his name is
initiation.
The question then is what to do
With that extra SIG that every man,
woman and child theoretically is 60
ing to have this year. No one will
stand for having his pay reduced, his
profits cut.
There are suggestions for enforced
savings plans-various proposals to
take 10 per cent of everyone's pay
envelope away and give defense
bonds in exchange, and make the
bonds in such form that they
couldn't be cashed till after the war
is over. The advantage of this is
it might give everyone cushion OF
postwar spending capacity.
The government will take some of
that SIG in increased taxes. Just
how much is question. Some tax
experts think the government should
take it all. Gosh knows the govern
ment will need it. The only hest
fancy is over the question of how
much of an increased tax load you'll
stand for.