must be made good by taxes and practically every
tax is added to the cost of living. Other forces
pushing the inflationary spiral constantly upward
are the increases in minimum wages, larger un-
employment-compensation checks, and longer
periods to enjoy them. More money but no more
goods.
Stockpiling, however necessary, creates short
ages of goods as they are locked up in Govern
ment warehouses. But the dollars paid for the
goods continue to circulate.
Our aid programs to foreign countries may be
necessary for many reasons, but they are definitely
inflationary. We do not send billions of dollars
abroad. That is a short cut of language. Foreigners
can’t eat money! We send billions of dollars’ worth
of goods abroad. The wheat, cotton, steel, eggs,
etc., vanish overseas. But the money paid to Amer
ican producers for these goods stays home and
continues to circulate. More money at home and
less goods. Prices rise.
THE CRUELEST TAX
OF ALL.
All of these practices of the Government, and
many more, adulterate all dollar savings. Inflation
is a species of taxation and the cruelest of all. No
one is exempted from it. The people pay thrice,
in prices today, in taxes tomorrow, and in the
loss of their savings the day after.
The national grab bag, once opened, is hard to
close. Only an awakening of millions of voters
whose savings are melting away under the impact
of high taxes and inflation as it gathers momentum
can turn the tide.
The Government has become the prisoner of
its own debt. In order to finance its debt as cheap
ly as possible, it forces interest rates down. This
policy, of course, forces all interest rates down.
The thrifty American who once got four percent
on his savings-bank account now gets around two
percent. This is a loss of income from savings of
62 percent.
STILL THE BEST MONEY
IN THE WORLD
With the possible exception of the Swiss franc,
the American dollar is still the best money in the
world. We must keep it so. But new pressures are
arising to depreciate it still further. Of especial
importance at this time is the escalator clause in
labor-union contracts, now recognized and imple
mented by Government officials. This clause raises
wages as the cost of living goes up, regardless of
whether the wage earner produces more goods.
But as wages go up, prices must go up. And so on
and on, in an ever-ascending wage-price spiral. The
demand for an escalator clause in union contracts
is apt to become universal. However helpful it may
be to the individual employee and his wife for a
few short months, it is self-defeating for the na
tion. How about escalators for the landlords, for
stockholders, for Government bond holders, for
professional men, for merchants, for life-insurance
policy-holders, for everybody?
No, the escalator clause is no cure for inflation.
We must go to the roots of inflation and stop the
governmental practices that cheapen money and
force the cost of living constantly higher.
There is no necessity for inflation, and it can
be stopped if the problem is understood. Amer
ica’s tremendous capacity to produce is on the
side of sound money. With our constantly better
tools, our harnessing of energy, our science, inven
tion and technology ready to work their miracles,
we can produce such a flood of goods as to keep
goods and money in balance. But no technology
can produce goods as fast as a government can
produce money.
The millions of thrifty Americans must demand
that Government spending at all levels be limited
to necessities and cut to the bone; insist on rigid ^
economy and efficiency, including purchases for
the armed services; demand balanced budgets from
now on—pay-as-you-go taxes; stop politicians from
creating artificial shortages of goods (not con
nected with stockpiling for national defense);
make payments on the national debt whenever it
can be done; and especially get Government bonds
out of the commercial banks and into the hands
of the people, where they are not inflationary.
HERE’S WHAT
YOU CAN DO.
You yourself can do very practical things to
combat inflation. Here are some of them:
1. Write your Congressman. Yes, this is what
you’ve been told so often! It is old advice. But to
curb inflation it is still the best advice and far too
few act on it. Remind your Congressman that you
expect him to fight for economy; rebuke him
when he yields to the pressure of some special
group that wants exemption from controls or a
special subsidy. Send him a word of appreciation
when he stands up to be counted on the right side.
2. Whatever your walk in life, you can do
your bit to keep prices down. You can give a good
day’s work for a day’s pay; if everybody does that,
we shall produce more goods at less cost. If you
manufacture or sell goods, you can give good value
and refrain from taking advantage of the fact that
you could profiteer.
3. You can stop unnecessary spending. You
can do without that TV set for a while. Later on
things are going to be more abundant and cheaper
than they are now.
4. Economy begins at home. Watch your local
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