| OCR Text |
Show Sharp Rise in Living Cost Noted by Foundation . , ttu- rise in liv-duviiiff liv-duviiiff tho past -tmontlis ms been the . in eighteen years, '--'not tJ' worst period ' ;.ti0n in the Present v . of living trends pro--; t,v Utah Foundation, ' --vate research organi- 1 it livi"g costs have m- 58 pcr CCnt b" ' ; September, 198, and ;;,llbeJ9;9. During World War I, livin5 costs shot up more Uian 17 percent per-cent in each of two consecutive consecu-tive years and also went up more than 15 rer cent in two othor years. In the pmod 1915 through 1920 the cost of living in the United states nearly douhiea. Other sharp increases in the cost of living occurred 'nS the rly years of World War II, in the period immediately following World War II, and in the early years of the Korean War The Foundation study noted that two periods of deflation defla-tion when living costs detuned de-tuned occurred in the 1920-1922 1920-1922 and in the 1929-1933 periods. per-iods. Most of the increase in Hiving costs during the present pres-ent 1960 decade has occurred occurr-ed during the past four years, according to the Foundation report. In the years 1960 through 1965 the. consumer price index tyxjp at a rate of only 1 per cent to 1.7 per cent per year. Since 1965, however, prices have ben climbing at an accelerating ac-celerating rate 2.9 per cent in 1966 ; 3.2 per cent in 1967 ; 3.9 per cent in 1968; land an estimated 5.5 per cent in 1969. The study points out that although prices have risen incomes have increased at an even faster rate. Per capita cap-ita incomes in Utah, however, how-ever, have not been rising quite as rapidly as those for the nation as a whole during recent years. As a result, it is expected' that the increase in-crease in Utah's per capita income for '69' may fall short in matching the price rise that will occur this year. Particularly adversely af-tfected af-tfected by rising trend of recent re-cent years are individuals with fixed dollar incomes. Foundation analysts note that efforts to control' the present inflation began approximately ap-proximately a year and a half ago when Congress and the Administration adopted restrictive fiscal policies to cufatil large federal deficits defi-cits and to slow the excessive exces-sive rate of economic growth. grow-th. This was followed several sever-al months later When the Federal Reserve Board began be-gan applying measures designed de-signed to limit the supply of money and credit. Thus far, the combination of these fiscal and monetary "brakes" has failed to bring inflation under control. While there are a number of signs indicating that a slowdown ro the nation's economy in imminent, the cost . of living is continuing to rise. Most economists maintain, however, that the present inflation will be brought under control after the economic medicine taken tak-en has had sufficient time to work. The Utah Foundation report re-port points out that one of the results of the present inflation has been a temporary tem-porary improvement in the short-range state revenue picture. Utah's tax system, . with its emphasis on the sales tax and the individual .. income tax, is particularly sensitive to price and .income .in-come changes. As a result, recent state revenue receipts re-ceipts have surpassed earli- er estimates and projections. projec-tions. The report warns, however, how-ever, that as general prices rise, the cost of goods and Jservices purchased by the State also must rise. Usually Usual-ly higher expenditures are postponed only until such time as new appropriation' requests are considered. These may well be more marked than the revenue rise. The present inflation, therefore, may be creating additional long - range financial fi-nancial problems for the State and local units in Utah. |
