Big Numbers

It was a big week for dollars. For the dollar itself, the future was cloudy but not necessarily black.

All week long, in an even, managerial voice, the White House was issuing stupendous totals, equations and projections of dollars:

sbIn his budget message, John Kennedy made it official that he wants to spend 92.5 billion of them during the fiscal year beginning July 1--more than any other President before him in peacetime. He also expected that the U.S. Government would collect more of them--93 billion--than ever before. Congressmen and commentators agreed that the budget balance was "precarious''--which was not only a prudent acknowledgment that federal spending tends to exceed plans, but a succinct observation on the insignificance of nearly $500 million.

sbThe President's revenue hopes were based on the estimates in his annual economic message, which followed the budget to Capitol Hill. The message, mainly the work of his Council of Economic Advisers, noted that the gross national product had risen from an annual rate of $501 billion in 1961's first quarter to a record $542 billion in the fourth, predicted that it would hit $570 billion for 1962 as a whole. "The gains already achieved have set the stage for further new records in output, employment, personal income and profits." That the dollar might retain its buying power, the President urged restraint on management in its pricing policies, and appealed to labor to take it easy in wage demands. Said he: "We must seek full recovery without endangering the price stability of the last four years. The experience of the past four years has shown that expansion without inflation is possible . . . with cooperation from labor and management." (Almost as if in mocking answer, New York's master construction electricians won a five-hour work day at almost the same salary they made for working a six-hour day.) Kennedy made it clear that he intends his Administration to keep a close watch on the economy--and to act when necessary. "If private demand shows unexpected strength," he said, "public policy must and will act to avert the dangers of rising prices. If demand falls short of current expectations, more expansionary policies must be pursued. In 1962, vigilance and flexibility must be the guardians of economic optimism."

sbBillions of dollars--and francs and marks and pounds--were also at stake in all the news of prospective tariff-cutting agreements between the U.S. and Europe's rapidly solidifying Common Market (see THE WORLD). Also from Washington came the substantive outline of a brand-new foreign trade program that, even more than this year's budget, could have a profound influence on U.S. economic life.

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