Detroit evening times., 1945-08-28
Rdps Job
Guarantees
By LEWIS HANEY


What do you think Of the
National War Labor Boards
order guaranteeing full employ
ment To the regular employees
OF certain chain OF shoe
stores?"
Answer: | think il bad order
which may serve as an entering
wedge for a bad socialistic system
of government spending to make
work" for all citizens. Like price
fixing, it is completely subversive
to all free private enterprise, since
IL assumes the government poll
ticians have the right to tell a
businessman what hours of work
he must employ.
1t should be particularly clear
that in the retail shoe business
there are peak loads, as at Christ
mas and Easter. when full en-
ployment can be reached, but that
people won't buy as much at other
periods. To force business to carry
full employment GA hours OF
work per week for 50 consecutive
weeks per year. is a burden that
would hurt everybody.
DRAIN ON ECONOMY
After all, the only Justification
| for labor is the production of
valuable commodities or services
which free individual consumers
desire to buy. Therefore, TO force
men to work" full time when
their labor is not required for such
| production, is a drain on the
economy. 1t actually would reduce
the total of full productive en-
ployment, and thus reduce the
standard of living.
Real full employment" must
mean enjoyment of all who are
qualified by will. skill, and
strength to work efficiently at
Jobs which are productive of val
liable goods that can be sold above
cost of production. Anything be-
yond that is excess employment,
and is waste.
Another New Yorker asks:
Have we always been a
creditor nation? III not, during
what period were we q debtor?
NM
mean?"
U. 5. A DEBTOR
Answer: No; during the greater
part of our history we have been
so-called debtor nation. BY this,
is usually meant that we had an
"unfavorable balance of trade in
the sense that we exported less
goods than we imported, and so
had TO send out gold in payment
TO other nations. More truly, all
kinds of international payments
should be considered, including in
terest on foreign debts and invest
ments, shipping service, travel,
etc. On this basis, we were a
debtor nation most of the time
down to World War /. say 1918.
/ Since then we have invested more
abroad, provided more of our own
shipping, and had less immigra-
ton (and immigrant remittances), },
and have become creditor ma
ton.
Recently, however, our exports
have been so largely "lend-leaSe"
and therefore not paid for, that
we have temporarily become a
debtor nation again, and gold has
been flowing out.
BIGGEST ISSUE
Los Angeles asks:
isn't the New Deal still in
power? Isn't this bearish ?"
Answer: The New Deal is no
longer clearly predominant, but
it is not dead, and is trying TO
come back. This is the biggest
issue just now, and doubts about
the outcome are the chief thing
holding the stock market back.
You are right, / think. in noting
signs that Mr.. Truman is demand
ing that Congress give him
greater executive powers, seeking
/ to create a supreme economic
council reminiscent of the brain
trustD, and advocating certain
dangerous New Deal policies such
as the so-called full employment
bill, which is just pump printing
TO make work. Also the Breton
Woods program is a world New
. nnaI