Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1950-11-17
Every American
GM Stockholder!
BY BRADFORD ". CARTER
For Labor Press Association


WASHINGTON sLPA)-The worlds richest cor
w poration, will probably make billion dollars
this year For the first nine months it has already
rolled up net profits of more than $7OO O0O 600 Yet
its head is worried about the "trend to socialism"
But he has answer.
It's simple. His remedy is Every American a
stockholder in business enterprise. That should be
rnanagements goal in order to support the capital
istic system and counteract the trend to socialism
So advised Alfred p Sloan, Jr. chairman of the
board of General Motors Corporation, in accepting
the Best of All Industry" award for the GIN 1949
financial report at Financial Worlds annual awards
banquet in New York the other evening.
Mr. Sloan old man Carter thinks you've got a
wonderful idea He wants to be the first to join
your club, become stockholder in business enter
prise-by preference, in your own General MOTORS,
because you boys seem to be doing well.
There's little matter, though of where to get
the folding stuff with which to do the investing
II you really want to 60 down in history Mr..
Sloan, figure out way whereby every :"
after paying for rent, and groceries, and clothes,
and shoes for the kids, and the dentists BILL and
the doctors bill, has SOME dough left to invest In
stocks-especially with the cost OF living going up
every day.
Mr. Sloan old man Carter has always wondered
how many Americans do own stock, especially
since the corporations always weeping about
the poor widows and orphans who would be hurt
any time corporations taxes 60 up.
The Wall Street Journal of July %, 1850, sup
piled the answer. 1t said that of the so million
families in America, only million own stock OF
the A million families that stock, those fami-
lies with incomes of $4,000 year and over own
80 per cent of the stock. And only per cent of
Americas population has incomes of $4,000 or
more.
J. A. Livingston, the financial pundit, supplied
interesting figures the other day, on div1-
dends. He said the top per cent of the population
received 65 per cent of all dividends paid out to
individuals; the next per cent received IL per
of all dividends All the rest of the population
together, the other 95 per cent, got only % per
cent of the dividends.
Dividends have been raining from the sky this
year-extra, special, extra speciaIall kinds The
600, 900. How is that 81 1000 900 900 going to be
split? Who's getting the gravy? Well, when we take
Livingstons percentage figures and apply them to
our population of $50 900 900 this is how it looks:
1 per cent of population Il, 500 O0O) get 65 per
cent ($4,550 O00, ,0O0) or $3, ,O33 each.
per cent of population (6,00O O0O) get IL per
cent ($840 000, ,0O0) or $140 each
95 per cent of population (142 SOC, ,OOO) get 23
per cent ($1 ,610 0O0, ,0O0) or 1.30 each.
But let's play the tune to the Wall Street Jour
nails figures If only million families of the SO
million families in this country stock, that
means that the 100000 will divide this years
$40 900 in dividends. But even of those
families that hold stock the families with incomes
of ZOO and hold 80 per cent. That means
that 80 per cent of this years dividends or $780,
600 600 will 60 to families with income of $40 600
a year and over But the Wall Street Journal also
says that only per cent of the population has in
comes of 200 more. That means that only
zoe, 900 of the million families that stock will
share $5, 600 600 900 this year in dividends, while
the other 200 600 families that stock will get
the other $L4OO, ,00O, 900.
That that the top 100000 families get
an average of $4,000 each in dividends, and the
other 100000 families get average of only $438
each
So you see, Mr.. Sloan, all you have to do to
realize your desire of every American stockhold-
err just to figure out how the nations 46 600 900
families that do not own any stock can manage to
salt away enough dough to buy even one share of
stock
Old man Carter will be happy to print your
solution
Official Publication