AMERICA’S PROSPERITY

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, Issue 209, 18 August 1927, Page 4

AMERICA’S PROSPERITY

jyFONETARY wealth, writes the New Y T ork correspondent of the London “Daily Telegraph,” is a subject of engrossing interest to mankind and, while the question as to whether or not the mere possession of great sums of money in itself brings happiness and contentment must be left to philosophers and writers of fiction, the sudden accumulation of much gold by any individual or nation excites widesjn-ead comment. The United States to-day, owing to circumstances which need not be analysed here, is possessed of half the gold supply of the world; since 1919 money has rolled into the United States Treasury in such volume that the national debt has been reduced by £1,700,000,000; and all Europe is its debtor for vast sums which will continue to flow westward for the next sixty years; direct taxation has been reduced till the average wage-earner with a family pays his Governmeht nothing unless he is fortunate enough to earn more than £BOO annually, and wealth pier capita is the highest in the history of any nation.

For generations past America has been regarded by Europeans as the land of plenty, of high wages and extravagance, and if in popular opinion New York’s streets have not been literally paved with gold, the acquisition of that commodity has been regarded as a matter of such comparative ease that residents have been looked iijioiv. as actual or potential millionaires. Be that as >t may, your everyday American is not nearly so sure of his own prosperity ns statistics apparently declare him to bo, and although lie may foe good-

naturedly tolerant of his reputation abroad as a man of wealth, at the end of each year when he balances his books he is generally gratified 'f the figures show a small balance on the right side of the ledger. Against the American’s comparatively high income must be set the fact that his dollar to-day buys less than 60 per cent, of what it did in 1913, and that the standard of living has -risen far out of proportion to the contents of his weekly pay envelope. To-day, unless he be a man of exceptional determination, he must aspire to th» ownership of a motor-car, a radio, and other modern luxuries. If he is married and has a family he must pay a rental for moderate accom modation of £25 per month instead of £5 as in pre-war days. He must find the means for the purchase of expensive fur coats, of periodical "permanent” waves at £5 per wave for his wife’s hair. Doctors cost 12/per visit, and specialists would eat up the total ot one’s bank balance or mortgaged’ income. College educations for children whose forbears never dreamed of college are now the recognised obligation of the father of moderate means. Summer holidays cost, even with rigid economy, £lO per person per week. The question of whether American prosperity is real or artificial, is therefore debatable. Of money there is a plenteous supp<, jobs are abundant, and no one need go hungry or destitute, and yet charity organisations are working overtime, hospital clinics are crowded, business failures are reported by the hundred every month, and without doubt there are more people here living on the ragged edge than ever before in the country’s history. To what extent American prosperity is feeding upon its nerve or itself is a question which economists are debating. Overproduction in most industries is enormous and every device and argument known to an ingenious people is used to stimulate consumption. A thousand electrical appliances, for instance, are forced upon the householder in order '0 stimulate the conspmption of electrical current. Great buildings easily good for another fifty years of service are torn down and structures manytimes greater containing thousands of tons of steel, brick and mortar are erected in their place. Household furnishings, kitchen utensile, shearing appliances, motors, radios, etc., are cast aside for “the latest thing out." People cannot afford them, but they are gold on the “easy payments plan,’’ which means that salaries are mortgaged for a year or two in advance. If payments are not forthcoming, the article is taken back and the purchaser is out only the money he put into it, which would have been spent on something or other in any case, it is reasoned that only in the event of circumstances forcing a general stoppage of partial payments will industry become choked with its own output and prosperity, as represented by steady employment and capacity production, come to an abrupt and disastrous end. America may be rolling in wealth, but the high cost and standard of living have greatly harrowed the margin of saving, and the struggle of the majority to keep up with the procession and remain solvent is probably as difficult there as elsewhere.