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Show THE AMERICAN WAY TWO PRESIDENTS j AND PROSPERITY f Ky George Peck - , . ' 1 1 i By Dr. Alfred P. Haake (Editor's Note: Alfred P. Haake, Ph. D., Mayor of Park Ridge, 111-inoise, 111-inoise, is a noted Economist, Business Busi-ness Consultant, Lecturer & Author.) Auth-or.) President Harry Truman of the United States of America can learn from President William Green of the American Federation of Labor. Mr. Truman flops back and forth between his economic fantasies fan-tasies and erroneous estimates. Trying to stop inflation by holding down prices and encouraging costs ; to go up. he is like the doctor who would try to cure impure blood by cutting oft fhe pimples. O.P A, far from preventing inflation, in-flation, has merely postponed and aggravated that inflation with its unsound policies and public-deceiving administration. Mr. Green, however, understands that inflation is a condition of too much money in relation to the volume of go6ds which can be bought with that money, and that rising prices are the result, not the cause of inflation. In the monthly labor survey which he sends to members of the American Federation of Labor, Mr. Green advises them that: "Wage earners can best stabilize their wage dollars by helping to increase volume of production which can wipe out scarcities and the danger of run-away inflation." In that same bulletin July, 1946) it is pointed out that, "increased "in-creased efficiency is !the way to higher wages, lower prices for the consumer, a better market for your product and a more secure job for you." If you have any doubts as to Mr. Green's undersatanding that the way to get prices down and real wages up, is to reduce costs and increase production and not, as Mr. Truman seems to believe, to let wage rates go up witnout increasing in-creasing output per hour, and then use government to force prices below be-low the total costs read the following fol-lowing quote from Mr. Green's bulletin: "Traditionally, America has paid for rising wages by increasing productivity, pro-ductivity, and this is the only way to raise living standards. The other alternative to pay for wage increases by raising prices is no gain at all for workers, because living costs cancel the wage gains. We must begin at once to increase productivity so the next wage increases in-creases can be paidwithout raising living costs." Mr. Green's formula, if followed toy labor, would lower costs, increase in-crease production, give us lower prices and make possible higher wages without destroying the profits which furnish the tools for production and without which there would be no jobs. That' is the answer American in dustrial leaders have long advocated. advo-cated. It is refreshing and encouraging en-couraging to hear Mr. Green talk the same language for a real effort to improve the well-being of the American people. Mr. Truman could profit by listening lis-tening to Mr. Green instead of taking orders from that political movement known as the C. I. O., whose leaders seem interested primarily pri-marily in setting up government control which they can then use to control the entire country. Mr. Truman's way leads to disaster dis-aster and dictatorship. Mr. Green's formula promises real prosperity. |