Regional President Speech

ADDRESS BEFORE ANNUAL MEETING OF MORRISTOWN CHAMBER QP COMMERCE February 4, 19*47 6*30 p.m., City Hall, Norristown Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis *At f'* 5 « , , , i y>\ \S I Or&v? urcAX** X & , ^ - i - ^ - | •;* uX.: i 11 v^\_> 4«*A.. u.*-s~.4 1 Introduction * ,^- — ------------------- ' «***-* ^ Allen Glenn's request for 25-40 minute t&uL Hard for economist - "a textbook wired for sound.N Unlike radio, where standard unit is 15 minutes, standard unit is one hour* Harvard man or equivalent. Squeeze the universe - past, present, future - into a half hour. What to include and what to leave out* Making decisions wears me out (post holes, plowing, apple sorting). Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - 2 - 1« How well off are we? A. Labor market 1. Strikes and threats of strikes 2« Yet employment at 58 million 3. Montgomery County a* Manufacturing employment: 1939 -r a,100 Dec. 19^6 - 59,000 - Just under 1943 peak of 59,100 b. Well diversified: Metals and textiles In Norristown also food products B. Income and outgo 1. We know of shortages: housing, auto­ mobiles, durable goods; yet - 2. National income at $164 billion vs. $71 billion in 1939 3* Montgomery County manufacturing pay rolls 1939 - $50 million Dec« 1946 - $147 million (annual rate) C. Trade 1* Prices have gone up but retail sales have doubled 2« Debits in Norristown 1939 - $116 million 1946 - $271 million Hm Conclusion t Bum well off are we? Bettor than « w before but not as snob as some of the made »ill indioat«. Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - 3 - XI* Where do we go from here? A. The prophets of doom X. Predicted post V-J slump - wrong lln _ ** 2* Now excited about inventories - analysis |pi 3o~ 3* Inadequate wages - profits spent B Meaning of present confusion X* Reassertion of rights 2* Democracy has indeed won the victory C* Our future lies in our own hands Rights - responsibilities Income and liquid assets Pressure still upward More apt to blow off the ceiling than to break through the floor D. Montgomery County - elements of strength X* Unimportance of agriculture 2* Importance of services 3* Diversity of manufacturing Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis LIQUID ASSETS (Estimated) (Billions of dollars) Dec. 1939 June 1946 Increase Personal (including corporate trustees) Currency............................ 4.2 20.8 ♦ 16.6 Demand deposits..............••••••••• 8.3 28.2 ♦ 19.9 Time depos its............... ........ 24.3 47.7 + 23.4 U. S. Government securities........... 8.9 55.3 ^ 46.4 Total.................... 45.7 152.0 4 106.3 Business (corporate and unincorporated) Currency. •••••••••......... ....... 1.6 4*8 ♦ 3.2 Demand deposits......••••••.... •••••• 12.6 34.7 4 22.1 Time deposits 2.0 3.2 4 1.2 3.2^ 27.8 4 24.6 Total.................... 19.4 70.5 4 51.1 Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis INFLATION POTENTIALS ssasaaoBH (l939 average « 100) P e 8 k Latest Physical magnitudes Construction ............. Julv 19/2 - 286 207 Employment (nonagricultural)•••••••• Mar« 1943 - 132 132 Oct. 1943 - 227 167 Prices noppiimers (coat of 11v1,ng) May 1943 - 126 153 Wholesale prices................ May 1943 - 135 181 Monetary magnitude Deposits and currency outside banks* June 1943 • 179 275 Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Karl R. Bopp (1947, February 3). Regional President Speech. Speeches, Federal Reserve. https://whenthefedspeaks.com/doc/regional_speeche_19470204_karl_r_bopp

@misc{wtfs_regional_speeche_19470204_karl_r_bopp,
  author = {Karl R. Bopp},
  title = {Regional President Speech},
  year = {1947},
  month = {Feb},
  howpublished = {Speeches, Federal Reserve},
  url = {https://whenthefedspeaks.com/doc/regional_speeche_19470204_karl_r_bopp},
  note = {Retrieved via When the Fed Speaks corpus}
}