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11**"
BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SJTSTB!
MATERIAL PROPOSED FOR INCLUSION IN
STATE OF UNION MESSAGE OR PRESIDENT'S ECONOMIC REPORT
Since the end of hostilities, great progress has been made in
repairing the most acute damage of the war; in revival of agriculture
throughout the world, in restoration of production and of transport in
western Europe, and in reconversion and expansion of plant capacity in
this country. Much remains to be done. The world outside our borders is
not yet restored to the point where exceptional measures of foreign aid
are no longer required. Within this countxy, despite the phenomenal
record of postwar production, serious deficiencies inherited from the war
still exist. To these have been added new distortions that have developed
during the postwar period, largely as a ty-product of postwar inflation.
We have ty no means arrived at a situation where we can regard
the future with complacency, even when current inflationary pressures are
under control. During the past three and one-half years, in the effort to
alleviate a tragic shortage in housing facilities, more money has been
made available to finance the purchase of houses than there were houses to
buy. As a result, the prices of houses and the costs of building have
increased much more rapidly than the money wages of most of the population.
Many low-income families, in order to satisfy their need for homes, have
incurred mortgage debt that places an excessive burden on their future
income.
Although the total increase in money income since the war has
kept pape with the rising cost of living, increased income? have been




-2uneven3y distributed. Some groups in the population liave been in a position to increase their incomes, in maiy cases more rapidly than living
costs. These increases, to the extent they were not accompanied toy higher
productivity, have raised costs and prices and thus accelerated the upward
spiral of inflation. Other groups, large in the aggregate, have had
little or no increase. The aged and others living on savings and fixed
incomes have suffered drastic reductions in purchasing power. Distortions
such as these greatly aggravate the problem of long-run stability. Housing and other durable goods, though they may be purchased with the aid of
credit, mast ultimately be paid for out of income. A long continuance
of high levels of production, particularly of durable goods and buildiag,
requires that costs remain in line with the incomes of the great mass of
the people and not simply those segments of the population whose incomes
have had a more than average incree.se.
For a sustained prosperity, it is essential that credit conditions remain sound and that overindebtedness be avoided. It is also
essential that we do not, in this period of extraordinary activity, so
far anticipate our future capital needs, private as well as public, as
to leave no backlogs to draw upon when the current phase of reconversion
is over.
It would be possible to achieve a form of temporaxy stability
at the present general level of prices that would conceal serious undercurrents of weakness. If ve should undertake to achieve stability fcy
the prop of credit expansion, whether bank or otherwise, then we




would be storing up trouble. We would be jeopardizing the future if we
were to rely upon expenditures in excess of current savings to finance
heavy new borrowing by businesses, substantial buying on credit ty consumers, large mortgage expansion at present high construction costs, and
large State and local expenditures for public works. We should refrain,
in a time of inflationaxy pressures, from resort to stimulants appropriate for counteracting deflationaiy forces.
It is of paramount importance to avoid Federal deficits when,
as now, production, employment, and incomes are at higher levels than ever
before• The most effective way to deal with the basic cause of inflation
is by means of a substantial budgetary surplus which can be used to reduce
public debt.
During the early part of 194B, the major restraining influence
was due to the large excess of Federal Government cash receipts over expenditures, amounting to nearly 9 billion dollars. This made possible
retirement of public debt held by Federal Reserve Banks and therety reduced the excessive money supply. During the past year, increased military and foreign aid expenditures were authorized. At the same time
Congress reduced taxes. As a result, the budgetaiy surplus, which had
been a most important anti-inflationaiy factor, disappeared.

It is

essential that it be restored and that ary material increase in Federal
expenditures in the next fiscal year be at least offset ty increased taxation.
A vigorous fiscal policy should be supplemented by corresponding
monetary measures. Adequate means should be provided so that monetary




authorities may at all times be in a position to cariy out their traditional function of exerting effective restraint upon excessive credit expansion in an inflationary period and, conversely, of easing credit conditions in a time of deflationaiy pressures,
FURTHER MEASURES OF RESTRAINT
The problem of restraining inflation and of promoting sound
credit conditions can be dealt with through many channels of Governmental
policy. In addition to restricting the availability of credit and increasing taxes in order to curtail buying power, rigid economy and postponement
of all nonessential expenditures are necessary. Allocations may be used
to distribute scarce materials and direct price and wage controls can be
invoked to hold down the upward spiral of costs, but such measures do not
remove the basic causes of inflation.
Expenditures not only ty the Federal Government but also ty
State and local governments should be confined to absolute essentials.
Eveiy possible outlay should be postponed until demand for labor and materials slackens. At §uch a time, these expenditures would have a sustaining
instead of an inflationary influence.
During the past year the American Bankers Association has undertaken an organized campaign to discourage banks from extending credits of
a recognizable .inflationary character. These efforts have had a desirable
influence in slackening the rate of bank credit expansion. A similar cooperative effort among all groups of lenders, including those outside the
banking field, might also be helpful in the longer-term capital market.




Voluntary efforts of this nature should be encouraged as a supplement to, but not as a substitute for, necessary Governmental measures
of restraint.
Public debt management.— It is of priiaaiy importance to have a
budgetaiy surplus sufficient to permit retirement of a substantial part
of the public debt. There have been heavy drafts on wartime savings, invested in public-debt securities, to finance current expenditures. The
inflationary effects of these withdrawals should be counterbalanced ty
public-debt retirement.
The Treasury has a problem of refunding large amounts of maturing obligations and of maintaining a balanced debt structure. Maturities
amount to over 50 billion dollars each year and the average maturity of
the outstanding debt is steadily shortening. . It is necessary that the
debt be managed in a manner that will not only encourage nonbank investors
to buy and hold Government securities as long-term investments but will
also reduce the amount of Government securities held lay the banking system.
In order to encourage the holding of Government bonds by investors, confidence in the stability of bond prices must be maintained. Policies regarding the management of the public debt should be guided by these considerations.
Federal Reserve support of Government bond prices*— Stability
of bond prices has been maintained. In supix>rting this market the Federal
Reserve Banks increased their holdings of Treasury bonds by more than 10
billion dollars during the twelve months ending in November.




Whereas in the earlier postwar years Federal Reserve purchases

-6were largely from banks wishing funds to expand other types of credit,
during the past year the bulk of purchases has been of long-rterm bonds
held by insurance companies and othsr nonbank investors. The magnitude
of sales by these investors reflects the hea^vy demand for investment
funds* These withdrawals from past accumulations of funds for current expenditures add heavily to inflationary pressures.
The poliqy of purchasing Treasury bonds in order to maintain
stability in the bond market has confronted the Federal Reserve System
with a serious dilemma. These purchases not only increase the supply of
money currently available but also supply the banking system with additional reserves on which bank credit can be pyramided. The Reserve System
has endeavored to prevent the reserves thus created, as well ap additional
reserves arising from gold inflow, from becoming the basis for a further
multiple expansion of bank credit. Uith this purpose in view, two sets
of measures have been adopted, one dealing with short-term interest rates,
the other with reserve requirements. Although these measures alone can
not arrest inflation, they exert a desirable restraint.
Increase in short-term interest rates*— Interest rates on shortterm Government securities have been permitted to rise somewhat from the
very low levels maintained during the war and early postwar years. Banks
and other holders of liquid funds were therety encouraged to purchase and
hold short-term securities. As a result, Federal Reserve Banks reduced
their holdings of short-term securities fcy almost the same amount as their
purchases of bonds, thus preventing a corresponding expansion in bank
reserves.




-7The effectiveness of this measure depends upon the willingness
of banks and others to hold short-term securities rather than to put their
available funds to other uses. The situation calls for flexibility in the
short-term money market.
Higher reserve requirements.— In order to immobilize newlycreated reserves, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Eastern
raised the reserve requirements of member banks* Increases for banks in
New YQrk and Chicago (Central Reserve Cities) were made during the first
h&lf of 1948 under unused authority in the Federal Reserve Act, and in
September requirements were increased for all member banks under authority
of legislation passed ty the Congress in August. The combined actions
immobilized about 3 billion dollars of additional bank reserves. This
authority expires June 30, 1949. Increases made under it would be cancelled automatically at that time. The Congress should reconsider the
whole problem of bank reserves and provide authority covering the entire
banking system adequate to meet the changing needs of the economy.
Regulation of consumer instalment credit.— Consumer instalment
credit, which is an important source of expansion in buying power, was
also brought back under regulation through power granted by the Congress in
August• This power likewise expires on June 30, 1949• It should be continued in order to exert a stabilizing influence on this highly fluctuating
type of credit.