Economist Sees' Long Inflation Period for U.S.
Merryle Stanley Rukeyser, na
tionally known economist, said yes
terday afternoon in a radio inter
view that it is unlikely that the
nation will return to a prewar econ
omy for quite some time.
The tape recording on W'hich
Rukeyser was interviewed by Paul
Hyman when the economist spoke
here last Monday was part of the
“University Hour” presentation of
fche University radio studios yes
terday.
“We may level off at the peaks,”
Rukeyser commented regarding
the present inflationary period,
“but it is unlikely that we will go
down to the prewar levels—and if
we did we would have trouble,
anyway, because we would be out
of balance with this supercollosal
national debt.”
Food Demand High
Discussing the high cost of food
products, Kukeyser declared that
it was mainly due to the great de
mand for those products. The
housewive’s buyer strike which oc
curred in parts of the nation re
cently had little effect because it
was not organized sufficiently, he
said.
“If you had a spontaneous and
nation-wide refusal to buy at high
prices it would really amount to
something.- In this competitive in
dustry the customer is always the
boss.”
Rukeyser presented two defini
tions of inflation. He said it is a
swelling up of money and credit
supply. “It usually applies to the
point when the supply of money
and money substitutes, which is
credit, has increased more rapidly
than the goods and services which
money can buy.” For those not
economically inclined perhaps the
following explanation is more
clear:
“I remember as a youngster back
in World War I,” he said, “I defined
inflation as that which makes a
five-cent loaf of bread ten cents.
Of course we’d have to revise the
figures upward to be correct in the
present situation.”
Presidential aspirants Harry
Truman and Henry Wallace are
regarded by Kukeyser as tremend
ous inflators due to their heavy
spending policy. He considers
Thomas Dewey as the “least un
desirable of the three from the
standpoint of inflationary spend
ing. Unfortunately, Dewey, in or
der to compete effectively, has had
to revise his spending program up
ward.”
A less tense international situa
tion in Berlin in the future is pre
dicted by Rukeyser. The fast rate
at which the American military
machine was disarmed was one
factor which unbalanced the world
military power and made the Rus
sians so aggressive in Germany, he
said.
“Now, however, we are arming
again and the international situa
tion will become a little less tense
than it is today.”
He said he favored a tariff pro
tecting the American farmer.
We invite
and will appreciate
your banking business.
EUGENE BRANCH
U.S. National Bank
of Portland, Ore.
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STARRING IN
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