The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1944-01-07

ICDOIJ W ~ " IL
gress are on the fronts, foreign af-
fairs and the results of his Cairo
and Teheran conferences. But there
are SO many pressing home front
problems that these subjects can
not be ignored.
2. It now begins to appear that
OPA hasn't chance in the world
of rolling back prices to September
1912 levels. No one in OPA will adj
NIT this, but it is a realistic ap-
praisal, none the less. The Bureau
OF Labor Statistics cost of living
survey for November, Just released,
shows that the cost of living has
now advanced SIS points above its
level of September 1912.
CURRENT LEVELS MAY
BE NEW BASE
Watch. therefore, for the emery
ence of a drive to abandon the Sep
TENDER 1912 base period and substi-
tute for it the price levels and the
cost of living today. The base period
of modified sterilization program
might thus become January 1914
Increase in the cost of living would
be measured from January 1941 to
January 1914, and an effort made to
let wages advance that much, but
no more.
8. There IS a good chance that
the BIS cost of living index itself
may come in for some revision, up
ward. The Presidents five-man
Committee on the Cost of living,
made up of two War Labor Board
members from industry, two from
labor and chairmanned by william
H. Davis, will meet January 6, be-
fore the President delivers his
message to Congress.
The committee may we'll submit
two reports. The industry mem
bers may find that wages -
that is the take-home pay including
overtime - have now advanced
faster than the cost of living has
advanced.
The labor members, on the other
hand, may well report that the BIS
index as now determined, covering
price surveys Of only Sc cities OF
over 100000 population. does not
begin to give an accurate picture of
how living costs have advanced,
primarily because 1t leaves out all
the new war industry boom towns
where costs Of living have advanced
much more rapidly than in the
older and bigger industrial cities
where markets and services are es-
tabhshed and price ceiling enforce
ment organizations are best. Also,
the labor report may emphasize the
point that quality depreciation in
the articles bought by workers fam
lilies does not show in the price in
dex. What the labor report win
probably contend is that the cost of
living has advanced from IS per
cent to 40 per cent since January
1941.
4. Points two and three above
lead up to the idea Of a new con-
ception for the Little Steel Formu-
la which is the heart of the stabil-
ization program today. If the cost
of living can't be rolled back to
September 1912 levels and if the
cost of living figures are further
more recalculated to that they come
out bigger, the idea of holding
wages down to September 1912
levels becomes harder to maintain.
But instead of the horrible
thought of breaking the Little
Steel Formula, there is now being
considered an idea to adapt" the
Little Steel Formula. Break" is an
ugly word. Adapt" is much more
polite. Adapting the Little Steel
Formula would work like this:
SUGGEST SLIDING SCALE
The present conception OF the
Little Steel Formula is that it is
rigid and arithmetical. That is, is
per cent increase in cost of living
equals Is per cent increase In
wages. This, it is argued, may have
been okay for conditions In Septem-
Der 1912. but if a formula is any
god 1t should be algebraic and fit
all conditions at all times. Hence,
*" In crease In the cost of living
should equal *" increase in wages.
Where "x'' is IS, okay, let it be Is.
But where TX" increase in the cost
OF living today is between IS per
cent and 40 per cent, there tx"
increase in wages should be IS per
cent to 40 per cent. Neat. isn't 1t?
What 1t amounts to Is setting up
a flexible sterilization program,
somewhat like Canada's. where cost
OF living increases call for auto
matte wage increases.
The puzzle as yet unanswered is
how to put these things over in
such way that they won't spell
out that still nastier word: In
F-L-A-T-I-O-N.