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Show i Reader's Choice VIEWS AND COUNTERVIEWS Vjr DOOM OR BUST in 1953? Federal economists are split on the " outlook. The majority of federal prophets foresee continued good times, but the pessimists have more arguments and art in agreement with many private businessmen. rKO BOOM The federal spending prop will be sturdy In 1953. Defense outlays will be at a $60-billlon Instead of the $50-billion rate now. And plant and equipment expenditure will be equal to this year's level. New home construction will hit around 900.000. This is a slight dropln home construction con-struction from 1952, but this year has been an abnormally good one. Defense spending has about $10-billion $10-billion a year to climb before leveling lev-eling off. Congress, if It eases the excess profits tax as expected, will have to ease the personal Income tax, especially the 10 percent boost of 1951, and this will give consumers consum-ers a psychological impetus to spend more money. Under our present social security system, if wages and salaries fall a little more than $2-billion, unemployment unem-ployment Insurance will put $l-bll-llon back in earners' pockets, keeping keep-ing buying power safe. And If income in-come drops, the amount taken from it in income tax drops correspondingly, corre-spondingly, making up for some of the Income drop. , Farm price supports will keep agricultural America's income on a fairly even level and preserve rural buying power. ANTI BOOM When defense spending starts leveling off, it faUs to cover soft spots In the economy becomes a neutral factor, unable to take up slack in areas where no federal money is spent Housing expenditures admittedly will be some lower. Plant and equipment outlays may not live up to their promise of holding their own. These possibilities do not encourage en-courage a boom. When we catch up on war de-' mands, what will we do with the nation's expanded ability to produce? pro-duce? Steel output ability has increased in-creased 13 million tons yearly, and other products have made corresponding corre-sponding advances. An overabundance overabund-ance always means dropping prices. Peak rate for letting government contracts will bo reached early next year. Who is going to pay for the goods produced when the government gov-ernment stops picking up the tabs? And dealers may start llquldatfon of Inventories already listed at $70-billion. $70-billion. People sell oft what they have stored up, and they don't always al-ways place new orders. - Some economists see the current downturn in foreign exports, minus foreign aid shipments, continuing. |