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Show HTfti -e""-- ideot from other editors j From The Independent, Fuquay Springs, N. C: One notion in the field of political economy seemingly seeming-ly cherished above all others is that of "full employment." The idea has dominated legislative thinking in Washington and London Lon-don for the past two decades. The attraction of this concept can be easily understood if one recalls the widespread unemployment of the 1930s. Now a new element has come to the fore. This is the idea of "continuing "con-tinuing inflation." Inflation is not a recent phenomenon; the notion that we must have it every year Is the novelty, and it could have far-reaching effects on our economy. econ-omy. Some economists have cast doubts on the wisdom of an annual an-nual wage increase to labor without with-out a corresponding rise in productivity. pro-ductivity. It is noted that if incomes in-comes rise at the rate of five per cent a year and productivity at the rate of two per cent, the result re-sult is a three per cent inflation annually. That is about what has been happening for the past few years. Sumner Slichter and others have said that the U. S. economy can stand this inflationary rate indefinitely; in-definitely; other economists doubt it. Bernard Baruch, l''n. respected as a financier and adviser of pres idents, asserts that inflation is the greatest evil this country faces. From The Okaloosa News-Journal, Crestview, Florida: The great American tragedy lies in our failure fail-ure to see the signs of moral decay de-cay that surround us. Thus writes Dr. Louis Finkel-stein, Finkel-stein, distinguished scholar and theologian. These signs, he adds, "are apparent ap-parent in the vulgar ostentation all around us, in the sexual laxity revealed by the Kinsey studies, in the demoralization of American captives in the Korean war, In the widespread defiance of the law. Finkelstein believes it is the primary responsibility of the businessman busi-nessman to "put ethics on the agenda." The businessman, he says, Is necessarily the leading citizen in an industrial society. His morals and attitudes pervade our life. He must have values in life "above profit or economic security." se-curity." Can the spread of moral dry-rot be stopped and the sorry trend reversed? re-versed? Businessmen alone cannot provide pro-vide the whole answer. The disease is found in labor, government, everywhere. And it is deadly. |
