Sunday, January 10, 2010

I like President Hoover

I previously preferred Secretary of Commerce Hoover, but am warming up to his work as Pres.
News from the 30s says:


Editorial: Pres. Hoover, recently said that the livelihood of 10% of the population was directly or indirectly dependent on the auto industry. In fact, if one follows up all the products the industry uses this may turn out to be a minimum figure; for example, the auto industry uses 85% of all rubber produced, 67% of plate glass, 19% of iron and steel, 18% of lumber, 15% of copper, etc.; it's also a huge railway customer. This shows the large influence of the industry on general business conditions, for better or worse. It's therefore heartening to note that the industry appears to be improving.

My italics. A little clue about who knew what the automobile was all about. How much of the economy was building roads, gas stations, highways, parking garages, traffic lights and motels? Things don't all arrive at once, and national traffic jams really do cause depressions, as do oil supply adjustments. A fast way to cause a deflation is to raise transaction costs, mainly transportation. Supply chains want to handle more processing inside the firm, increase the lot sizes and reduce transaction rates.

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