“The Consumer Price Index now stands at 251.9 which means goods and services that cost $100 in 1967 now cost $251.90.
Stated another way, the
1967 dollar is now worth
39.7 cents.”
That paragraph from a
weekend UPI news dis-
patch on the government’s
latest economic report
spotlights sad effects of the
inflation which wracks the
United States economy.
The government report
showed inflation running at
an annual rate of 12.7 per-
– cent for September.
“On a compounded
basis,” it said, “that is an
annual inflation rate of 12.7
percent, well under the 18
percent posted in the first
quarter of the year.”
The Labor Department
reported a hefty rise of 1.6
percent in food costs,
which followed a 1.7 per- ‘
cent boost in August –
largest increase in five
N years. The food price up-
turn resulted from the
drought earlier this year, a
department economist
said.
The current devastating
inflation apparently is the
worst in at least the past
quarter century. A June
report by the privately –
organized “Committee to
Fight Inflation” led by
former Federal Reserve
Chairman Arthur F. Bums,
said:
“From an annual
average rate of rise in
prices of 1.9 percent over
the 11 years ending in 1967,
inflation accelerated to a
rate of 6.3 percent over the
next 11 years ending in
1978; and then to a rate of
13 percent in 1979 and to
still a higher rate in early
1980.”
At that time the commit-
tee offered a series of anti-
inflation recommendations
and the very first one was a
balanced budget. Yet, after
$60 billion in red ink
spending during fiscal 1980,
another huge deficit is pro-
jected for the current
fiscal year 1981. How big?
. That will be decreed at the
post-election (lameduck)
congressional session sl-
ated to start Nov. 12.
Figures of the office of
management and budget
L for the period since 1958
‘ show red ink spending in
all but two years -‘ 1960
and 1969.
Balancing the federal
budget may not, by itself,
control inflation. But it
should have become pain-
fully obvious to any
reasonable person that
consistent deficit spending
is not the economic cure-
all its legion of proponents
have touted it to be.
It is equally clear that a
V balanced budget is only the
first step toward restora-
tion of economic sanity.
The spendthrifts of both
parties in Congress must
learn to say “no” to the in-
cessantly demanding con-
stituencies whose “free
lunches” have unleashed a
runaway inflation monster,