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From: wetcw@pyuxa.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: More Spread the Wealth
Message-ID: <419@pyuxa.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 7-Dec-83 11:53:30 EST
Article-I.D.: pyuxa.419
Posted: Wed Dec  7 11:53:30 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 9-Dec-83 07:29:51 EST
Organization: Bell Labs, Piscataway
Lines: 65

Perhaps I will have to make my arguments a little more simple.  

In the first place, in this day and age, there is no organization
or company large enough, or with enough capitol, to undertake the
types of projects I am talking about.  The government is the only
source for the huge amounts of cash needed to finance huge projects.

Second, let us take one pipefitter, age 36, married, three children,
wages $26,300 per year (an example only).  This pipefitter works on
the aforementioned battleship project.  He belongs to the Union.  He
was previously unemployed for 3 and 1/2 months.  

The pipefitter is now working on the project for 4 months and he
decides to buy a new car.  He buys the new car and the salesman
receives a commission on the deal of say $300.00.  The salesman 
sells two cars that week and takes his wife to Florida for a week.

While in Florida, the salesman tips (only tips now, not even
wages) the waitress in the resturant a total of $27.50 for the
service during the week.  The waitress then sees a new toaster
in a store for $25.00 and buys it.  The store manager then reorders
his stock of toasters from the manufacturer.  The manufacturer,
seeing more orders for toasters coming in decides to hire one more
person for the assembly line.  The new person on the line, feeling
good about the new job, takes ten bucks out of the first paycheck
and drops by the local bar to celebrate.  The person spends the
ten bucks on beer and pretzels.  The bar owner now must order
more beer and pretzels.  

This could go on and on.  What makes it possible is governments
ability to spend huge amounts of money.  That is not to imply
that it is at all all wisely spent, just that this is the flow
pattern from huge projects.  Filling potholes or flushing
toilets could not possibly create an economic cash flow to
equal huge projects.  Further, even a cross-eyed look at the
original NASA projects reveals this cash flow pattern all
over the country.  Keansian economics, as taught in the
schools today, doesn't address these points.  The original
thesis did, but subsequent fiddleing with the models has
blown it out of whack.

If we could get our huge corporations to see this same idea, as
they once did, the same economic conclusions could be made.
But, huge corporations are both no longer willing to take risks,
nor are they capable of economically supporting huge proects.

Thus, we are left to depend upon the government to finance projects.
Just giving the money away is non-productive.  There has to be a
conclusive result of the spending, economic stimulation, jobs "created",
wealth circulating, more taxes collected, more projects targeted.
Once the corporations realize that it is to their benefit to
get in on the act, then they might be induced to jump into the
cycle in a more positive way.  

Creating goods is only half of the cycle.  The other half is
creating jobs so that the goods can be circulated.  No matter
how you slice it, the government is the key pin in the economic
cycle in our day and time.  We might as well face it and put
our energies into making certain that the types of projects
undertaken by the government are the ones that assure a continued
economic growth.  The whole idea is akin to a "war economy" without
the war and with recycle thrown in to preserve resources.  


		T. (Spread the Wealth) Wheeler