AMERICA'S DEBT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 83, 8 April 1933, Page 9

AMERICA'S DEBT.

EXCEEDS WEALTH. RESEARCH THEORY. Figures Show World Creditor Nation to Be Insolvent. INTERESTING RETURN. (United P.A.—Electric Telegraph—Copyright) (Received 11 a.m.) NEW YORK, April 7. Based on a highly theoretical estimate of the cash into which the physical assets of the United States might be converted under the present abnormal conditions, a research released to-day by Mr. J. H. Rand, jun., indicated that the total debt is in excess of the total wealth.

Mr. Rand, who ia president of Remington Rand (incorporated), presented the figures prepared by the research department to his company showing the total debt at 141,924,300,000 dollars, and the wealth at 138,000,000,000. The debt estimate is similar to the recent figures given by the National Industrial Conference Board, but there are no recent estimates of national wealth.

The figure for that is far below the figures which appeared two or jthree years ago. This is evidently due in a large part to the difficulty of converting physical assets into cash under the current extraordinary conditions.

Mr. Rand emphasised tJiat such figures and estimates were theoretical, but had no doubt as to their reasonable accuracy. He is chairman of a group of 300 business leaders which has recommended the devaluation of the dollar. The debts are larger than the wealth at present, because the debts are relatively fixed in value on paper, while wealth fluctuates with the theoretical current cash value.