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FOR RELEASE ON DELLVERY

Statement by
Henry C. Wallich
Member, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Before the
Committee to Investigate a Balanced Federal Budget
of the
Democratic Research Organization
Washington, D.C.
Friday, March 26, 1976

I welcome this opportunity to appear before the Committee
to Investigate a Balanced Federal Budget of the Democratic Research
Organization to present my personal views on the outlook for an
adequate supply of capital,
I believe that there is a serious danger of a capital shortage,
not today, but later, as the economy approaches full employment.
The role of the Federal budget will be crucial.

The Federal Government

today is a heavy borrower, i.e., a user of the nation's savings.

If

by the time we approach full employment the Federal Government has
shifted its position and has become a net saver and supplier of capital,
the probability of capital shortages will be much reduced.

If, however,

the budget then is still in heavy deficit, a shortage, in my opinion,
is very likely.
You have asked me to focus on a number of studies that seek
to evaluate the prospects of a capital shortage, and this will be the
main topic of this presentation.

To begin with, however, I would like

to comment briefly on what I mean by capital shortage.

For it is only

too easy, by appropriate use of the terminology and technique of
economics, to arrive at the conclusion that there can be no question
of a capital shortage.
In an economy in which prices, including interest rates, are
free to move, rising demand for anything will normally raise the price
until supply and demand are once more in balance.

By this definition,

there cannot long be a shortage of capital or of anything else.




But,

-2of course, that is a tautological solution.

If the demand for capital

could be met only at rates of interest that are excessively high —
after making allowance for the rate of inflation, which tends to raise
interest rates -- one would not regard that as a satisfactory solution.
Our national income accounting system, too, may lead us into
an erroneous belief that a capital shortage is being avoided when, in
a meaningful sense, that would not be the case.

Our national income

accounts are so set up that saving always turns out to be equal to
investment.

That is simply the consequence of a convention that

defines saving as the difference between consumption and income,
investment as the difference between consumption and production, while
simultaneously treating income and production as just opposite sides
of the same coin.

Any consistent set of estimates of future saving and

investment, therefore, necessarily arrives at the conclusion that the
two are equal in an ex post sense.
of investment is satisfactory.

This does not mean that the level

If investment has been held down by

inadequate savings to such a degree that reasonable economic objectives
cannot be met, we have, to my way of looking at the matter, a capital
shortage.
I would suggest three tests of what it means to meet reasonable
economic objectives.

One would be the maintenance of sufficient capacity

in critical industries to avoid bottlenecks that would lead to shortages
or sharp price increases, even before the economy as a whole began to
reach full operating potential.




We experienced severe bottlenecks in

-31973, though somewhat exaggerated by duplication of orders.

Invest­

ment since has been relatively low, and I doubt that many of these
bottlenecks have been removed.

In the major materials area, for

instance, the Federal Reserve index of capacity utilization in major
materials industries reached a minimum of 67.9 per cent in March of
1975.

It has since risen to about 80 per cent which still seems to

leave a good margin.

But breaking this down between durables and

nondurables, the index shows that capacity utilization for nondurables
is already up to around 83 per cent, while that for durables stands
at only about 69 per cent.

If investment is not sufficient to remove

bottlenecks before we approach full employment, I would consider the
result as a kind of capital shortage.
A second test of capital inadequacy would be an overall
insufficiency of our capital stock to employ fully and efficiently
our rising labor force, after allowance is made for its changing
composition.

I cannot provide data to demonstrate whether or not we

can count, at the time we approach full employment, on having enough
plant and equipment in place to absorb the entire labor force.
Considering, however, that the growth of the labor force, reflecting
the birth rates after World War II and increased participation rates
for women, has been high by historical standards, while investment has
been relatively low for the past two years by such standards and seems
likely to remain relatively low for most of this year, I think that there
is reason to fear that a disproportion between the capital stock and the
labor force is developing, to the disadvantage of labor.




-4There is a third, and rather different, standard by which the
adequacy of the supply of capital can be assessed, which happens to be
frequently employed these days in business circles*

It relates to the

ability of American business to obtain the financing needed to effect
the desired amount of capital spending*

It could turn out that conditions

could arise in which households supplied enough savings, and government
made no excessive demands, but in which the state of corporate finances
made it inadvisable or impossible for business to incur heavy debts, while
a low level of profits, or of the stock market, made equity financing
difficult*

Such a situation could arise if corporations feel, as they

seem to feel currently, that they have too much debt relative to equity,
while an adverse climate, or inflation, or poor prospects, were depressing
the stock market.

Even if the savings were available, there might be no

way of transforming them into productive investment.
I would add that what would constitute an adequate supply of
capital by each of the three foregoing tests by no means promises the
American economy a high rate of growth.

Capital adequacy in all three

senses above might mean that we could continue to grow at about the same
rate as in the past, when we were relatively free of capital shortages,
or perhaps a little more slowly, given the higher cost of energy and
other new burdens imposed upon the economy.

In that event, we would be

growing at a rate inferior to that of many of the other major industrial
economies*

They would gradually catch up and eventually surpass us, if

we project their and our growth at post-World War II historic rates.
that prospect cannot be deemed a capital shortage.




But

-

5-

Studies of Capital Adequacy
A number of studies on the problem of capital adequacy
have been done in the past year and a half, and I would like to
review these for you this morning.

These studies unfortunately

do not always span the same years.

Also, there are important

differences in assumptions regarding tax laws, monetary and fiscal
policy, and other factors which complicate comparison.
to this text I have included a table

In an appendix

from the study by Gary Fromm,

which delineates some of the principal differences.

1/

The table

also summarizes the major findings of the studies.

1/




NYSE - The Capital Needs and Savings Potential of the U.S.
Economy: Projections Through 1985 (Tno Ne w York Stock
Exchange, September 1974).
BDC

- Barry Bosworth, James S. Duesenberry, and Andrew S. Carron,
Capital Needs in the Seventies (Brookings Institution,
1975).

BF

- Benjamin M. Friedman, "Financing the Next Five Years of
Fixed Investment," Sloan Management R e v i e w , Spring 1975.

DRI

- Allen Sinai and Roger E. Brinner, The Capital Shortage:
Near-Term Outlook and Long-Term Prospects, Economic
Studies Series #18 (Data Resources, Inc., 1975).

SSG

- Economic Policy Board Special Study Group. Unpublished
materials partially based on The Structure of the U.S.
Economy in 1980 and 1 9 8 5 , BLS Bulletin 1831 (U.S. Department
of Labor, 1975).

GE

- Economic Prospects: 1975-85 (General Electric, March 1975)
and supplementary materials.

[Footnote continued on page 6.]

-6In spite of the differences, there is sufficient agreement
in terms of basic methodology to make a comparative discussion w o r t h­
while.

For purposes of presentation, the dollar figures in the various

studies have been expressed as percentages of gross national product.
This permits us, at once, to avoid being misled by the very large sums
involved and to put the problem in perspective.

I shall consider first

the prospects for gross private domestic investment and then the outlook
for total savings.

1/




[Footnote continued from page 5.]
NPA

- Robert Dennis, Clambering Into the E ighties, Report
Number 74-N-l (National Planning Association, December 1974).

Chase - Michael K. Evans, Long-Term Forecast: The Next Ten Years,
Inflation, Recession, and Capital Shortage (Chase Econometric
Associates, Inc., August 1975).
BEA

- A Study of Fixed Capital Requirements of the U.S. Business
Economy (Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of
Commerce, December 1975).

CEA

- ,fWill Capital Requirements for the Remainder of This Decade
Be Met?" Economic Report of the President, 1976, pp. 39-47.

Fromm - Gary Fromm, Investment Requirements and Financing: 1975-1985
(National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper,
October 1975).

-

7-

The Demand for Capital
Most but not all of the studies provide projections, either
year by year or for an average of years, of each of the three sub­
categories of gross private domestic investment:

nonresidential fixed

business investment, inventory accumulation and residential construction.
These projections are shown in Table 1 as percentages of gross national
product.

Several important points emerge from the comparison.
First, the authors of these studies almost unanimously envision

prospective fixed business investment to be greater than the ten-year
historical average.

Even those studies which place this figure at the low

side expect this part of investment to be greater than it has been over
the past decade.

The reason for this is the anticipation, in varying

degrees, of substantially larger increases in investment for environmental
protection, energy independence, electricity generation, and occupational
health and safety.
In evaluating the excess of the projections over the historical
average, the following facts need to be taken into account.

The historical

average contains years of unusually high business fixed investment as
well as some low years.

It reflects the average level of investment

over a period of years not all of which enjoyed full employment.

Most

of the projections also contain some years of relatively low investment,
since some of them include the recession year 1974 and almost all
include the year of incipient recovery 1975.

Thus, for years approaching

full employment, one must assume, for most of these studies, a projection
of business fixed investment implicitly or explicitly above the average.




-8TABLE 1.— Range of Investment Rates — ^

Nonresidential
Fixed Business

Inventory

Residential

Bureau of Economic
Analysis (1975-80)

12.0

n.a.

n.a.

Bosworth, Duesenberry,
Carrón (1973-80)

10.9

0.7

4.0

Benjamin M. Friedman
(1977-81)

11.5

0.8

3.5

Data Resources, Inc.
(1975-85)

10.6

0.7

4.0

Special Study Group
(1975-85)

11.2

0.9

3.3

General Electric
(1974-85)

10.7

0.5

3.7

National Planning Assn.
(1974-85)

12.3

0.7

3.5

Chase (1975-84)

10.6

0.7

3.1

3.1—7

4.0

NYSE (1974-85)

9 A 21

Average (except NYSE)

11.0

0.7

3.6

History (1965-74)

10.4

1.0

3.7




JL/ Quoted with modifications from Gary Fromm, Investment
Requirements and Financing: 1975-1985.
2/

Plant and equipment only.

3/

Inventory and other nonresidential fixed business investment.

-9It is these periods of high employment, however, during which the
maximum pressure of investment on savings is likely to be felt, and
when the issue of capital shortage will be most seriously posed.
Thus, most of the projections tend to understate the probability
of shortage during the crucial years.
I would like to draw particular attention to the study done
by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the Department of Commerce,
which examines nonresidential fixed investment by a different methodology
and with much greater detail than the others.

The BEA study concludes

that because of the anticipated cyclical and secular changes in industry
mix, future capital spending for fixed business investment of the
historical kind could represent a smaller fraction of GNP than in
the past.

But the needs imposed upon us by the new investment demands

noted above brings the BEA projections of business fixed investment
for 1975-80 to 12 per cent, compared to an average for the bulk of
the studies of 11.0 per cent and an historical 10.4 per cent for the
years 1965-74.
It should be noted that one major area of uncertainty
involves the future of investment in the electric utilities industry
especially since the future role of highly capital intensive nuclear
power remains unknown.

It seems fair to say nevertheless that there

is a considerable degree of agreement among the projections of
business fixed investment, given the difficulties of the exercise,
but that their average probably is somewhat on the low side, for years
approaching full employment.




-

10-

Inventory investment, to the extent that it appears
separately in the projections, is universally expected to drop
slightly below its historical average, from 1 per cent of GNP to
an average for the studies of 0.7 per cent.

This provides a partial

but insufficient offset to the projected increase in business fixed
investment.
Residential construction is particularly difficult to
estimate.

In contrast to the two other areas, there is little agree­

ment about the future course of housing investment.

Over the past

decade, this type of investment has accounted for 3.7 per cent of
gross national product.

The mean of the studies puts this at 3.6 per

cent of gross national product, with some of the studies coming in
well above this figure, and some well below.
The Supply of Savings
Personal saving, corporate retention of profits, and business
depreciation allowances are the principal sources of supply of capital
within the private sector, if we abstract from the possibility of net
capital imports.

Projections here are more difficult to make, in my

view, than on the investment side.

The personal saving rate for the

studies shown in Table 2 averages 5.1 per cent of GNP, which comes
very close to the historical average from 1965 to 1974 of 5.0 per cent.
But the range of the individual estimates is wide, running from 4.0
to 6.2 per cent.




Household saving has increased of late, probably




-1 1 -

TABLE 2.--Range of Savings Rates

l/

Personal

Business

Government

Bosworth, Duesenberry,
Carrón (1973-80)

4.6

10.6

0.2

Benjamin M. Friedman
(1977-81)

4.9

10.8

- 0 .1

Data Resources, Inc.
(1975-85)

5.4

11.0

- 0.8

Special Study Group
(1975-85)

4.7

11.2

-0.4

General Electric
(1974-85)

5.8

10.9

-1.4

National Planning Assn.
(1974-85)

4.8

11.2

0 .1

Chase (1975-84)

6.2

10.2

- 2.0

NYSE (1974-85)

4.0

10.6

0.3

Average

5.1

10.8

-0.5

History (1965-74)

5.0

10.8

-0.5

1/

Quoted with modifications from Gary Fromm, Investment
Requirements and Financing: 1975-1985.

-

12-

reflecting job insecurity and other risks created by inflation as
well as, more enduringly perhaps, a desire to restore wealth holdings
eroded by inflation to a more acceptable relationship to income.
As wealth/income ratios once more approach satisfactory levels, house­
hold savings may well decline.

The increasing degree of protection

by Social Security, as well as Medicare, may also push personal saving
rates downward.

This conclusion is indicated by at least one careful
1/
piece of research.
It should be noted, furthermore, that since Social
Security is on a pay-as-you-go basis

at best, it does not lead to an

accumulation of capital as does private saving.

Thus, its net effect

is to reduce the total supply of saving and to increase the threat of
capital shortage.
Corporate savings, including depreciation allowances, have
been severely distorted by inflation.
to investible funds.

Inventory profits do not add

Neither do profits resulting from low depreciation

based on original cost when inflation raises replacement costs.

These

unproductive profits, while they improve the appearance of
balance sheets and income statements, deprive corporations of liquidity
because they raise tax liabilities.

A widespread view holds that

capitalfs share of GNP has been trending down for a number of years.
Certainly the share of corporate investment financed from internal
cash flow has been declining for many years until very recently.

1/




Martin Feldstein, "Social Security, Induced Retirement, and
Aggregate Capital Accumulation , 11 Journal of Political E c o n o m y ,
September/October 1974.

-13Since Congress has made an effort to improve corporate
finances by providing for accelerated depreciation and an investment
tax credit, it is important to note that these measures have sufficed
only to slow down adverse trends in corporate balance sheet structure
and financial flows.

For instance, external financing has increased

relative to internal.

Within external financing, the share of debt

has risen relative to the share of equity financing, and within the
total of debt financing, short-term debt has risen relative to long­
term debt.

Some improvement has occurred in these relationships during

the recent recovery, owing partly to the low level of corporate capital
spending, and partly to better profits, a higher stock market, and some
long-term funding of short-term debt.

In the face of uncertainties

surrounding the appropriate calculation of, and the outlook for,
corporate profits and cash flows over a longer period, too much weight
should not be attached to the projections concerning the level of
business avings.

The projections average out at 10.8 per cent of GNP,

exactly equal to the historical record, but with a range of 10.2 to

11.2 per cent.
This leaves the Government sector in a key position as the
marginal supplier —

or user —

of savings.

ment, a large deficit can be accommodated.

At a time of low invest­
Under conditions of high

investment, such as would reflect an approach to full employment, the
prospective adequacy of private savings seems to me very much in doubt.
The studies do not directly reveal this because, as noted before, the
use of averages over low and high periods tends to understate the
volume of savings required near full employment.




The studies show a

- 14pro jec ted government sector deficit (Federal plus State and local
government) averaging 0.5 per cent of GNP, with a range from a
deficit of 2.0 per cent to a surplus of 0.3 per cent.

On average,

therefore, these projections seem to imply that a small deficit in
the public sector would be consistent with a balance of supply and
demand for saving.

In my view, however, this would be a misleading

interpretation.
In the first place, as shown in Table 3, there is present
in the projections a clear correlation between the findings of the
respective authors about capital investment needs and their conclusions
about the public sector deficit or surplus.

Studies which have high

estimates of investment needs tend to assume a surplus or a small
deficit.

Studies showing low investment rates tend to project a

larger deficit.

One way of interpreting this coincidence of high

investment with low deficits (or surpluses) and that of low investment
with higher deficits is that investment determines income and therefore
the size of the deficit.

But another way is to consider that a high

deficit may discourage and depress investment and thereby create a
fictitious justification for itself.

If the deficit were smaller,

investment would be larger in this interpretation.
Secondly, the projection of a small deficit over a period
containing some years of very large deficits implies that for some
other years balance or even a substantial surplus will be attained.




-15TABLE 3.— A Comparison of Investment and
Government Savings Rates \f

Investment
Rate

Government
Savings Rate

Bosworth, Duesenberry,
Carrón (1973-80)

15.6

0.2

Benjamin M. Friedman
(1977-81)

15.8

- 0 .1

Data Resources, Inc.
(1975-85)

15.3

-0.8

Special Study Group
(1975-85)

15.4

-0.4

General Electric
(1974-85)

14.9

-1.4

National Planning Assn.
(1974-85)

16.4

0.1

Chase (1975-84)

14.5

- 2.0

NYSE (1974-85)

16.4

0.3

Average

15.5

-0.5




—f

Quoted with modifications from Gary Fromm, Investment
Requirements and Financing: 1975-1985.

-16This, in my view, is the crucial point.

The adequacy of the supply

of capital implied in most of these studies is plausible only if one
assumes that as we approach full employment, the public sector will
come into surplus.

This conclusion is most clearly borne out by the

Bosworth-Duesenberry-Carron study which, for its terminal year 1980,
requires a Federal surplus of $13,2 billion on the assumption of 4 per
cent unemployment and of $18,7 billion on the assumption of 5 per cent
unemp loyment,
A small element of comfort can be derived from the circum­
stance, perhaps worth noting because it is not always recognized, that
inflation causes the government to overstate the size of its deficit.
Of the $23 billion paid as interest on the publicly held government debt
instruments in FY1975, some fraction possibly exceeding one-half must
properly be regarded as an inflation premium.

This premium, the purpose

of which is to preserve intact the purchasing power of the investor, is
not added to the principal of a government bond, but rather, is paid to
the investor currently.

As a result, while the nominal value of the

bond represents lower purchasing power at maturity, the investor has
received back an amount corresponding to the shrinkage in the value of
his principal.

The inflation premium, or that excess of interest paid

over what would be an inflation-free rate, is, in an economic sense,
not interest but a repayment of principal.

One may surmise, also under

such conditions, that the typical holder of government debt does not
treat the entire interest as spendable income, but accumulates part of




-17it to protect the value of his savings.

Adjusted for this inflation

premium factor, the government deficit is somewhat smaller than appears.
Of course, there are other factors, such as off-budget financing, that
should be included in the deficit and that would make it correspondingly
larger.




#

APPENDIX:

Page 1 of 5

Table 2

Summary of Assumptions and Results
in Studies of Capital Adequacy
Study

Federal Government
Expenditures

Tax pQ

Federal Budget
Position

Monetary
Policy

Results

Bosworth, Duesenberry, Carron
(1973-80)

1. No net new
Federal programs
2. Expenditures
grow 8.7% per year
3. Grants-in-aid
grow 6 .2% per year
for continuation
of existing pr o ­
grams .
4. Transfer pay­
ments increase
10.9% per year
for funding
existing laws.

No change;
revenues rise
11 . 1% per year
(higher inflation
rate would increase
revenue growth;
tax elasticity =
1 . 2 ).

$82 billion initial
surplus 1980; used
to offset state
and local financing
gap of $25 billion
and increase
federal purchases
$44 billion. Net
surplus = $13 bi l ­
lion (Note: offsets
not included in
first column).

Because of fiscal
restraint (sur­
plus) easier
monetary policy,
lower interest
rates than 1974.

Financing capital
needs not "unman­
ageable. n Further
shifts to debt
financing.

Benjamin M.
Friedman
(1977-81)

1. Only modest new
spending initia­
tives.
2. Constant expen­
diture share of
GNP (excluding
transfers).
3. Transfers grow
faster than GNP.
4. Expansion in
real terms con­
sistent with real
GNP growth.

Tax reductions to
offset inflation
impact on revenues
so that budget
is balanced.

Balance by 1977
and thereafter.

Relatively tight;
less rapid crea­
tion of bank
reserves than in
last ten years.

Adequate funds for
nonfinancial cor­
porate sector,
greater use of
external funds and
rising debt/equity
ratios. Residential
share of output
declines.




APPENDIX:

Table 2

Page 2 of 5

Summary of Assumptions and Results
in Studies of Capital Adequacy

Study

Federal Government
Expenditures

Tax Policy

Federal Budget
Position

Monetary
Policy

Results

Data Resources,
Inc. (1975-85)

1. Expenditures
grow at 7.0% per
year and fall in
relation to GNP in
real and nominal
terms •
2. Transfers
increase according
to law.

1. 1975 personal
tax cut continued
to maintain real
tax effect ($12
billion, 1975).
2. Personal tax
reduction - $20
billion in 1979,
$10 billion in
1984.
3. Investment tax
credit made
permanent.

Declining deficits
falling, as a per
cent of GNP, from
3.6 in 1976 to 2.3
in 1977, to 0.4 in
1984-85; levels are
$30-40 billion
1977-79 and $10-15
billion in 1980fs.

1. Stable, largely
accommodating.
2. Annual growth
rates of nonbor­
rowed reserves
range between
7 and 10%; M^
grows at 5-8.5%
per year.
3. Mild credit
squeezes in selec­
ted years not
counteracted.

1. Shortages of
physical capacity
not likely.
2. Financing of
capital outlays is
relatively easy
until 1980 with
slight tightness
in 1976-77.
3. F inane ing bee ome s
more difficult after
1980, especially
1981 and 1984.
4. Ratios of short­
term to long-term
liabilities and debtequity rise, causing
some cutbacks in
investment.

Special Study
Group (1975-85)

1. No new programs.
2. Growth in trans­
fer payments to
reflect real income
maintenance.
3 0 Grants-in-aid
increase less
rapidly than
recent past (3.5%
real growth).

1. 1975 personal
tax cut ($8 bil­
lion) made per­
manent .
2 . $6 billion
personal tax cut
in 1976.
3. $6 billion/yr
in personal tax
cuts 1977-82 to
maintain real tax
effect.

Declining
deficit to
$8.9 billion,
1985.

Accommodating,
stable.

Adequate funds for
investment; 4-57o
unemployment.
Further shift in
balance sheet
structure as between
debt and equity
toward higher debt
proportions.




APPENDIX:

Table 2

Page 3 of 5

Summary of Assumptions and Results
in Studies of Capital Adequacy

Study

Federal Government
Expenditures

Federal Budget
Position

Mone tary
Policy

Results

4. Permanent 10-11%
Investment Tax Credit,
5. Corporate profit
tax rate lowered to
45%.
6 * Depreciation
allowances increased
by 5%.
7. Gas tax increase
to 7c/gallon from 4c.

Special Study
Group (1975-85)
(Cont!d)

General Electric
(1974-85)

Tax Policy

1. Expenditures
increase at 10 .2%
rate 1976-85.
2. Defense outlays
gain slightly
through 1985.
3. Transfers rise
to 63% of outlays
1977-80 and to 66%
by 1985. a/

Deficits - 1976
1. Reduction in
corporate income
$65 billion, 1977
tax rates from 48% $39 billion, 1978
$27 billion,
to 43%, 1977.
2. Permanent 12%
1979-85 $17-22
investment tax
billion.
credit, 1977.
3. Special tax
treatment for
ailing industries
(e.g., railroads
and public utilities).

1. Emphasis on
containing infla­
tion with "real"
growth of M-^
comparable to
late 1950's to
early 1960's;
1973-80, 0.7%;
1980-85, 1.3%.
2. Nominal growth
around 9% per
year.

1. Heavy investment
needs intensify
pressure on corporate
cash flow.
2. More equity capi­
tal needed or could
be long-term bottle­
neck on investment.
3. Sufficient funds
for investment but
only because of high
interest rates and
emphasis on equity
finance.
4. Tight money or
"stop-go" monetary
policy causes incom­
plete recovery.

a/ All Federal outlays other than purchases of goods and services (includes transfers to persons, interest payments,
~ grants to state and local governments, and subsidies to government enterprises).



APPENDIX:

Page 4 of 5

Table 2

Summary of Assumptions and Results
in Studies of Capital Adequacy

Study

Federal Government
Expenditures

Tax Policy

National Planning
Association
(1 9 7 4 -8 5 )

1. Slight real cut 1, Reduction in
in defense expendi- yield of personal
income tax by 5%,
t u r e s ; nominal
before 1979.
outlays rise 87,
2. Increased d e ­
per year,
preciation allow­
2. Nondefense
ances by 87> or $20
purchases rise
billion before
at 4 .2%, real and
127o nominal rates, 1979.
1974 -8 4.
3. Transfers in­
crease at 9.27o rate
and grants-in-aid
at 11.17o rate 1974-84.

Chase (1 9 7 5 -8 4 )

1. Social security
cost-of-living
adjustment cut by
$5 billion, 1977.
2. No real increase
in defense outlays,
nominal growth
rate 8%; nondefense
growth 2.67o real,
10.67, nominal,
1 9 75-84.




Federal Budget
Position
Surplus of $5 bi l­
lion in 1979,
$ 1.2 billion in
1984.

1. Social security Deficits 1976 $63
tax base and rate
billion, 1977 $33
from $15,200 to
billion, 1978 $47
billion, 1979-80
$19,500 and from
$70 billion, 19815.857o to 6.857o,
1977 adds $20 b i l ­ 85 declining from
lion revenue.
$55 billion to $34
2. Personal income billion.
tax rates cut 107o
after 1978 reces­
sion (1975 Act not
renewed beyond 19 7 6 ).
3. Investment credit
raised to average
effective rate = 10%,
1979.

Monetary
Policy

Results

Restrictive to
accommodating
monetary
policies.

1. Funds sufficient
to meet investment
needs without
serious strain.

1. Unprecedented
tight monetary
policy, especially
in 1978.
2. Monetary base
growth rate = 7.57,
19 75-84.

1. Recession in
1978 attributed to
monetary policy.
2. Investment cur­
tailed by lack of
internal funds,
high borrowing
costs.

APPENDIX:

Table 2

Page 5 of 5

Summary of Assumptions and Results
in Studies of Capital Adequacy

Study

Federal Government
Expenditures

NYSE (1974-85)

Projects deficit
only.

Bureau of
Economic Analysis
(1975-80)
(CEA inter­
pretation)

Slower rate of
Encourage investgrowth of Federal
ment,
expenditures during
recovery.

Sources:

Federal Budget
Position

Tax pol

Assumes no change,

Results

$3.5 billion
annual deficit
(based on average
deficit 1954-63).

No mention.

Savings level
inadequate to
meet investment
demand by $520
billion 1974-85.

Reduce Federal
deficit to avoid
preempting private
investment.

Expansionary if
Federal deficit
is small.

No shortage of
physical capacity,,

Gary Fromm, Investment Requirements and Financing:
Economic Report of the President, January 1976.




Monetary
Policy

1975-1985,