Category: Economy / Finance
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How Germany Will Pay
This 1921 article questioned how Germany would ever pay off its World War I debts. The answer: very, very slowly. They only finished paying those debts in 2010. Some day Germany will pay. How much and when are problems still to be decided. Cotinuance of divided councils among the Allies, more particularly within France, may…
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The Low Cost of Living
American cost of living peaked in June 1920, then declined for 12 consecutive months. It wouldn’t surpass its June 1920 peak for more than a quarter century, until November 1946 in the wake of the post-WWII economic boom. In December 1920, this deflation was leading to such anecdotes as this one, relayed in the New…
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Turning Tide in the Domestic Servant Market
In 1920, New York City “domestic servants” like cooks and houseworkers cost $65 or $75 a month, down from $80 or $90 a year prior. Why? Workforce supply was catching up with customer demand, due to immigration and women losing factory jobs they’d temporarily held during World War I. For the New York housekeepers, it would…
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How Inflation Touches Every Man’s Pocketbook
In 1920, inflation was rampant, with prices double what they’d been five years prior. That would quickly change: prices would peak that June, then decline, fluctuate, and not exceed their June 1920 levels again until November 1946. What was the primary cause of huge inflation from 1915 to 1920? According to Johns Hopkins political economy…
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Chauncey M. Depew on the Middle Class Union
Advocacy organizations exist for various interests: AARP for the elderly, NRA for gun rights supporters, unions for teachers and transportation workers. In 1920, many proposed a “middle class union” to advocate for the middle class on all issues. The transportation strike hit the doctor of philosophy who commuted to his classes at Columbia just as it…
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Motor Owners Paying High Gasoline Prices
In March 1920, gas prices hovered at 31 to 35 cents a gallon. Adjusted for inflation, that’s $4.07 to $4.59 — or double the current national average of $2.21. Two main factors caused the high 1920 gas prices: demand outstripping supply, and the end of World War I. Gasoline consumption has increased in much greater…
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Simplify the Income Tax? — Perhaps, But Not Soon
Federal corporate tax was created in 1909, income tax in 1913, and estate tax in 1916. By 1920, there were already calls for the tax code’s simplification. How quaint. Back then, federal tax law ran less than 500 pages. Now it’s more than 70,000. So why is the tax code so complex? One of the…
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ABC of Foreign Exchange
From 1870 to 1914, most Western countries adopted the gold standard, with the primary intent to keep inflation in check. It set a standard value for a country’s currency based on an equivalent value of gold. The U.S. began doing so in 1900. World War I changed all that. Most nations temporarily suspended their gold…
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