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Show Look At Republican Recession We are presently in the midst of the worst recession since World War II. During the 1949 recession when Democrats were in power Republican "experts" were full of gloom and doom. Now during the recession brought on through faulty Republican policies these same "experts" are full of optimism. In the midst of the comparatively mild 1949 recession here are some of the remarks being heard from Republicans: "Few soup lines have yet shown up but it is now apparent that there will be plenty of them in the next six months." Rep. Usher Burdick. "... we are facing a period of serious unemployment in this nation. This is not scare talk but a realistic appraisal of economic conditions." GOP Rep. James Patterson. "... the Truman depression is with us . . . the Truman depression is growing in depth and scope." GOP Rep. Noah (Continued on Page Four) Look At Republican Recession (Continued from Page One) Mason. "... even a very slight depression or recession, may be sufficient suf-ficient to pulMhe props from under the whole jerry-built structure struc-ture in which we are living today." GOP National Chairman Hugh Scott. "I regret that we are now in a state of depression. It is not a thing of the future. It is right now." GOP Sen. Ralph Owen. "... several significant straws in the wind are now pointing to a camel's back that has reached the breaking point. The camel's back is our employment, national security and economic structure, which will surely collapse . . . " GOP Sen. George Malone. The two Eisenhower-Nixon recessions 1953-54 and 1957-58 1957-58 differ from that of 1949 notably in the price field. Prices declined in 1949. Consumer prices dropped an average of one per cent and wholesale prices dropped five per cent. Inflation ... has continued during the present recession. Not only were business failures and bankruptcies fewer during the 1949 recession than in the later Republican recessions, but the rate of failure was much lower as well. The situation has been getting progressively worse under the Republicans. Failures were almost as high, for instance, in a "prosperous Eisenhower year" 1953 as in the "Truman Recession" of 1949. During the second Eisenhower-Nixon recession personal incomes dropped far more than during the two previous recessions. reces-sions. The current income lag is about 10 times the lag in either 1949 or 1954. A striking contrast between the first two post war recessions and the 1958 recession is revealed in consumer debt and savings figures. In 1949 and 1954 consumer spending for durable goods held up, for the most part; these two recessions were largely inventory reduction recessions. The current recession, however, ... i i i .it. r is a capital goods recession, wnicn means cut DacKs in manurac-turing manurac-turing and consumer resistance to buying. New housing construction starts continued high during both the 1949 and 1954 recessions. In both years the weekly average number of new starts was 10 per cent above the previous year. By 1957, the weekly average was already lagging by 7 per cent below the number in 1956. Housing starts began to pick up in May, 1958 after passage of the Democratic sponsored Emergency Housing Bill. President Eisenhower signed this anti-recession measure with "reservations" and considerable reluctance. U. S. output declined 2.9 per cent in the first quarter of 1958 below the 1957 average, and was 4.1 per cent below the high point reached during the third quarter of 1957. The total output decline amounts to $18 billion in six months. This figure compares with amere $3 million, or 1.0 per cent, decline in 1949 below 1948. In 1954 the drop in GNP was $7.3 billion, or 1.8 per cent below the 1953 average. The federal government has lost the greatest amount intax revenues during the 1957-58 recession than during any previous post war recession. In view of these facts it is difficult to see how Republicans can remain optimistic when they were so easily frightened by the mild 1949 economic decline. |