Evening star., 1948-08-08

put of consumers durable goods Is
, no longer growing. With rise OF
IS per cent in durable goods in 1916
there was an increase Of IS per cent
in installment credit. In 1947 the
percentage increase in installment
credit of IS per cent accompanied a
growth of but one-third in durable
goods.
+ Gradually, the increases in credit
have outstripped the expansion in
output of goods. BY the middle OF
1947, durable goods production had
stabilized at level that has been
maintained up to the present time
Yet installment credit continued to
rise-$1 900 .0O0, 900 for the first six
months of 1948 and more in pros
pect."
Supply Nearing Demand
If the controls 60 back on, you'll
think twice about buying that auto
matte washer Or at least you'll
buy only the washer and get along
with the old radio -phonograph.
You'll be better OF If you do just
that, Of course. You won't have SO
many debts and you might even be
able to save q few dollars for
rainy day.
When the crash came in 1S29-30,
the people who were hit the hardest
were the ones who were buying all
sorts of things on time and had
months and months of bills yet to
pay. Unemployment and pay cuts
for the still employed may not be
as violent and as quick in any COM
ing defiation as they were in the
early 193Os but they are certain
to make it tough to meet those in
stallment payments. And If you
don't pay, they come and take back
the washing machine.
The easier credit terms referred
to are just one indication that the
economy is getting closer to q bal
ance of supply and demand. With
credit controls such rs the one
third-down rule, the supply could
shoot past demand overnight.
The Housing Problem
Already this has happened in
some lines. Jewelry and furs suf-
fered a long time ago. Jewelry busi-
ness this May was OF $11 ,000, 900
acknowledgements 10 per cent over
! the previous May, the latest figures
available show. Mems clothing and
shoes, as well as all clothing in gen.
eral, also were down in the year.
Dollar sales of food have jumped,
of course, leaving less and less to
buy the other things of life.
One of the tragedies of the pres
ent price spiral is the amount OF
debt many persons are taking on
in trying to obtain q home. Our
millions of new families are still
struggling for a roof over their
heads. Some of them will be paying
installments way beyond their in
comes ability to pay for years to
come.
This year, the housing industry
is predicting, 1000 900 housing units
will be constructed in the United
States. But, as Secretary OF Com
merce Sawyer told the Senate Bank
ing Committee last week, 1T is not
enough"
Has Infationary Effect
Last year." the Secretary said,
when we were building about $780,
900 dwelling units there were g.
000, 900 marriages and We had al
most 1000, 900 new babies. We cannot
be satisfied with breaking 4 record
of 1925 when we built $4,000 homes.
THE population Of our country
was then only 10000, 900 as COM
pared to 145,000,O00 today. Ger
tainly our standard Of living has in
creased greatly during the las. two
decades.
THE availability of good living
standards must keep pace with that
standard Of living-at reasonable
prices. Today's costs Of building
materials and construction have
more than doubled over the prewar
level Much of this price rise, which
is still continuing, is due to the bid
ding of buyers in a scarce market"
Our housing program, thus, has
an inf1ationary effect. The Presi-
dents Council OF Economic Advis-
ers recently pointed this out and
Senator Taft, Republican, of Ohio
used it as an argument to put of
enactment of the Taft-Ellender-
Wagner long-range housing bill
until next year.
But the council pointed out this
important distinction between es-
sential need and capacity to pay
current costs:
/ Must Have Home
The basic housing needs Of a
growing population in the face Of
serious and cumulative shortage
would be sufIicient to sustain the
present level or even q higher level
of home building for many years to
come.
But only 4 few years at most
would be required to saturate the
demand of those who can acquire
houses at current costs, and that
saturation would portend q serious
downswing in residential construc-
ton"
The Government has made house
buying easy for the excl, far too
easy for the financial stability Of
many of the ex-soldiers. No money
down or only a few hundred dollars
has landed many a soldier In a
badly built $4,000 house which
will strain his pocketbook for years
to come to meet the installments.
TIara again is the cos,s,yrnar cradif