Evening star., 1942-05-17

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capital.
But the rich man no more than the
average citizen will be able to buy an
automobile. As more and more COM
modities are rationed the limit OF hts
purchases will be defined Just as they
are defined for the average family, re-
gardless Of income. The sugar ration
in the big house will be based on fixed
amount for each individual living in the
house just as it will be for the suburban
bungalow.
Rationing Of Travel.
No longer will it be possible to charter
an airplane or a private car no matter
how much money one has. Transports
ton is soon to be rationed along with
other scarce commodities.
In other words, the total of goods
available to the consumer will be more
evenly distributed. If butter becomes
scarce as result OF heavy shipments to
Britain then this commodity, too. will
be rationed 30 that 1t will be available
In limited quantities to all. In 1882
millions Of families could not afford to
buy butter or milk or oranges.
The total income for 194l is put at
$92 900 000,0 900. l94l was q boom year
in consumer goods, exceeding even 1928.
The total number Of automobiles made,
for example, was 1888, 8,561, which COM
pares with another recent boom year,
1027 - oS@Ar -
l,808974.
Total income for 1912 Is estimated at
two different levels, one on the basis of
. successful wage stabilization at the
level Of March OF this year: the other
on the basis of upward trends of 1941
continuing unchecked. With wages sue
cessfully stabilized, the total for the cur
rent year is estimated at $4,000, 900 900,
by far the largest in the history of the
country
If the effort to stabilize wages fails. the
total is put by statisticians at Silt OO0,-
900 900. This includes soldiers pay,
although the measurement boys have
not been able to decide whether, on the
whole, soldiers pay will be spent by
families at home or by men In the field,
many Of them abroad.
Infiationary Gap $1,000, 900, 900.
OF the $117, 900 900 900, total taxes and
savings will absorb $3l 900, 100000 This
leaves sS6 1000, ,0o0,0 900 to be spent for ap-
proximately $65 000, 900 900 of consumer
goods which is all that will be available.
Subtracting IS from s6, the statisticians
get $21 900 100000 of purchasing power
in excess of the goods that are to be had
But this can be reduced another $4O00,-
900 900 by the fact that prices have risen
so fast that. figuring at the March. i942.
level We consumers will pay $50 .000, ,000,-
600 for q total amount Of goods and
services that were valued In 194l prices
at $65 .o00, 900 900. So the total OF the
inflationary gap this year Is $4,000 ,000,-
900.
1t is hard to realize how fast this
dynamite of purchasing power in excess
OF goods on the counter is being released
into our system. Here is the way one
Of Hendersons assistants put it: The
purchasing power of 130,000,000 Ameri-
SdlAo ID llSAl6 Oo IdPAOly l1ldC IL a y pei
cent sales tax were adopted tomorrow
it would do no more in a year than
absorb one month of the new money
that Americans are finding in their
pockets
This is being registered in various
ways. John Doe can't buy that new car
for his family because there isn't any
new car. So what he had saved up for
a down payment stays in the savings
bank. Already savings are at an abnor-
mally high level.
The economists in Henderson's organ
ization regard that development as per-
fectly natural and desirable. But they
also know that the entire $1,000 900 900
would not naturally find its way into
savings, even with the drive to get the
John Does to put their extra cash into
War bonds Inevitably good share of
that $4,000, 900 900 would burn holes in
the pockets and pocketbooks OF John
and Jane Doe.
They would go out and get into COM
petition for what goods were available.
Then not even Hercules could maintain
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