Document QXdb7zydow830bxYD980YeZv5

earlier periods. Indeed, in 1946 our total na tional wealth was actually less than it was In 1929. Only In the last six years have we been able to make any consistent additions. Even these gains are less Impressive when the growth in our population Is taken into ac count, as illustrated by the following chart This chart makes it clear that when the nation's wealth is divided by the population, we are slightly worse off per person today than we were In 1929. This is the case In spite of the large additions to our national wealth since 1946. Depression and war are the two principal reasons we have made no progress In increas ing our wealth per person since the 1920s. Tho depression brought mass, unemployment and greatly reduced production which ruled out any increase in wealth. During World War U and again during the post-Korean mobilization program, U. S, production has reached new peaks. But a considerable portion of this rec ord breaking output has been in the form of military equipment, which is not included in on accounting of national wealth. Consequent ly, we have been unable to regain the level of wealth per person which we had in 1929. A Brake of Prosperity What does this failure to raise our wealth per person mean? It means that we have fewer resources with which to create income for individual. It means that we have m progress in the crucial task of assuring increases in prosperity. As the second editorial In this series d strated, we have gone so far in equaliz dividual incomes that "the possibilities creasing the income of the rest of the by `soaking the rich' have largely d peared." From now on the only promising to increase our individual incomes Is to crease our national earning power. During the past four years it has about $3.60 of national wealth to yield $ Income after taxes. This is a low the wealth needed. Prior to World W there were long periods when it took at $S of national wealth to produce $1 of na income. The experts in this field are means certain that it will not ogaln rather than $3.60 of wealth to increase by $1. But let us assumo that $3.60 of wealth suffice to provide $1 of income in the ahead. If by 1960--seven years from h the income of the average American is increased from about $1490, where it at present, to $2000, we must add $310 b to the national wealth. This is nearly times as much as we have added to our since the end of World War II, seven yean Because we have made large additic our productive equipment In recent fears are frequently expressed that we soon be plagued by an excess of such ment But the facts about our national do not support this conclusion. They that we still have ahead of us a trero job of Increasing our resources if the can standard of living is again to resume steady climb which was interrupted by pression and war. M(GraW`fflll Publishing Company,