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Show It's YOUR Business . . . By CARL L. BIEMILLER Bouncing-Babo Prosperity When mass demand for merchandise merch-andise gets holding hands with mass purchasing power, that bouncing baby, prosperity, soon sits on the lap of a pleased public. pub-lic. Such a marriage is about to come off in the United States unless un-less some witless uncle picks up the bludgeon of deficit financing to prevent. Volume of purchasing power in the public's hands has been increasing in-creasing rapidly since the outbreak of war. Expansion has been vivid in both amount of money in circulation cir-culation and volume of bank deposits. de-posits. Money in circulation amounted to some $7.5 billion in 1939. By the end of 1944 total volume had increased to $25.3- billion, bil-lion, an increase of 127 per cent since 1941, the year of the Japs' fatal error at Pearl Harbor. Deposits and Bonds Despite this increase in circulating circulat-ing money, it is small compared to what happened to bank deposits. depos-its. From the end of 1939 to De- ' cember, 1941, these deposits rose from $58.3 billion to $70.8 billion and this did not include deposits which banks themselves place in other banks. In December, 1944, thev had rpanhprt S19Q v,iiu T-Jt, uuuuu. While money in circulation and bank deposits . were rising, our people reached into patriotic pockets for war bonds. There was a volume of $40.4 billion of these bonds outstanding for redemption at the end of 1944. Demand for goods is a story by itself. In an all-encompassing nutshell nut-shell it can be phrased: "We want!" Start with $15 billion worth of housing a year. Check the new cars, refrigerators, radios, gadgets, clothes. This nation "wants," and in Boxcar figures. Purchasing power and demand make a lovely couple. And they make prosperity unless uncle is so resigned to perpetual depression depres-sion he can't turn a free and powerful pow-erful economy out into the springtime spring-time of peace to build an enduring endur-ing home. |