Unemployment in the United States

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Identifikator:: 1828236179

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-226169

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Unemployment in the United States

Place of publication:: Washington

Publisher:: United States, Government Printing Office

Year of publication:: 1930

Scope:: II, 193 Seiten

Digitisation:: 2022

Collection:: Economics Books

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Chapter

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Statement of Mr. William Green, president of American Federation of Labor

Collection:: Economics Books

UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE UNITED STATES 43 oi » I OW ing on st of ito ng he irk er- at to is r’s at VAT Tee da nf :h a? 1t Oy mn al a 4 mn 2 n Nn and are off of their jobs. Now we do not consider those who have jobs as idle and I presume in the 9 per cent would be included thg number that are floating in that sort of mystical situation. The CrairmMaN. Mr. Green, I thought I understood Mr. Michener clearly, What he meant to inquire was what was the state of unem- ployment during ordinary times. Mr. Green. I have made that as clear as I can. . The Cuairman. About 9 per cent of all that are employed in good times. Mr. Green. You will understand, Mr. Chairman, included in that 9 per cent are a large number of workers who have been disolaced. The CuairmaN. I understand that. } Mr. Green. Through the introduction of mechanical devices. } . The CuairMAN. The question only involved a picture of the condi- tion in prosperous times. Mr. GreeN. Yes. Now I want to make this observation: Indus- tries are beginning to realize that sales policies condition profits equally with production economics. Salesmanship and markets are essential to satisfactory disposal of articles on the market. Wage earners have been stating in emphatic terms that they would like to live better and if they had the money there would be no surplus of bath- tubs, shoes, dentists’ services, books, automobiles, good clothing. Higher wage rates and more stable employment would increase wage earners’ incomes so that they might buy those things they want and need. There is at our very doors a huge potential market for Ameri- can products which should be used to turn the tide of business up- ward toward prosperty. Over 7,000,000 families in the United States have no automobile; about 20,000,000 have no adequate radio set. In our cities alone, without counting farm population, there were in 1928 over 4,000,000 families who had no bathtubs in their homes, and over 3,000,000 who had not even a kitchen sink with running water, and probably no plumbing of any kind in their houses. Over 13,000,- 000 families in our cities have no telephones; over 4,000,000 live in homes not wired with electricity. About 5,000,000 families in Amer- ica to-day are living below the minimum of health and efficiency level; they need furniture, clothing, food, better housing. And the four and one-half million who have barely enough to support themselves at a minimum of health level are only too eager to raise their standard of living by buying industrial products. All these are eager to be cus- tomers of our industries. Take the hosiery industry, for instance, which is now suffering from overproduction. It would not have the least difficulty in selling its product if the thousands of women who want silk stock- ings could buy enough to satisfy their needs. the cotton industry would not be calling for drastic curtailment if wage earners could buy all the cotton goods they need for clothes and household sup- plies. Automobile manufacturers could keep on expanding produec- tion instead of reducing if the 7,000,000 families who have no cars were able to buy. And so with other industries. Here is an immense potential market for our goods. Developing this market will mean higher living standards for thousands who have not yet shared in American prosperity. It will mean human progress along with industrial progress; the creation of better homes, happier families, a higher quality of citizenship, greater opportunity to develop the

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