Show Little Consumer Wants Chance to Pay for the N R RA A Various astute here and there have made the astounding discovery that the consumer L Is going to o have to pay all the bills for tor the theN theN theN N I IRA R A. A This Is being proclaimed as a shocking thing The implication implications Is s that 1 if this truth were widely understood un un- people would see right through the industrial recovery plan planas as a great grent big sham Consumers it appears are herds of bison which the fierce Indian tribe of ot producers hunt down and feed upon Consumers are a n subject people lIv Hv- b jfe in helpless misery beneath the heel icel of conquerors exacting tribute In n defense of this meek tribe look you the director of the consumers' consumers advisory board Just resigned his post with a public warning of the impendIng impend impend- ing ng raid upon the suffering long-suffering I victims victims victims-an an interpretation highly suiting insulting by the way to that distinguished scholar who is thus represented to be an economic ate Of course the consumer is going to pay the bill There could be no secret secret seret se- se cret ret about that Since every living person in the United States is a consumer con con- sumer umer that leaves nobody else to whom to send it But it iUs itis is often argued argued ar ar- ar gued that is not a fair representation of the state of affairs the fact tact is that while everyone is a consumer true enough there is a large class of perSons per per- sons ons whose overwhelming interest is isn in n the cost of ot the things they have to buy and who are not concerned in getting etting profitable prices for tor the things that hat are arc sold lold In other words word that our society is divided Into people who are primarily consumers and people who are primarily producers rs Well Vell that simply isn't the fact tact Itis It Itis Its is s an economic truism that the Income in in- come of every person without exception exception tion ion depends upon the price of com com- Of Often ten the chain of cause I and effect is long and hard to trace times it Is not immediately apparent that the pay of the postal I clerk depends upon the price of wheat copper oysters cigarettes the items in the bureau of labor statis tics ts' commodity price index But Buthe Buthe Buthe he knows it now When the wheat grower cant can't pay taxes the long arm of f prices wields a knife on postal budgets The overwhelming majority of workers are directly concerned with the ho production either of raw materials mater mater- Ial or of manufactured goods or I their distribution which is part of production in fn the economic sense The whole philosophy back of the national industrial recovery plan is iB that hat the consumer and the wage earner are the same man More jobs at better wages in order that people may buy is the whole idea In thelong the thelong long ong haul there isn't any money except ex cx- consumers' consumers money And little consumers at that Let Letus Letus Letus us quote again Business Weeks Week's Study of American Consumer Market Market Mar Mat ket In the peak of American prosperity t ty more than 75 per cent of the total value of consumers' consumers goods and services sere ser ser- vices absorbed by the American market market mar mar- ket including taxes paid and savings made by individual consumers was absorbed by those with incomes ol ot otless less than and more than 65 per percent percent percent cent by those with incomes below It It Is quite clear that the American consumer market is a small income market and is much more dependent upon wages and salaries than upon other sources of income The higher income brackets Include too few Individuals individuals in In- to contribute more than an insignificant amount to total consumer consumer con con- sumer demand Certainly the little consumer is going to foot the bill for tor recovery recovery- agricultural and industrial both He asks nothing better than to be made able to do it Editorial Editorial In the Business Busi Bust ness Week |