State of Economy DoesnÛªt Justify Emergency Moves Now, CED Says
The idea of making March the trigger month for Government emergency action to halt a rise in unemployment has been sharply challenged by the head of a leading business research organization, the Committee for Economic Development.</br></br>Meyer Kestnbaum, chairman of the CED board of trustees and president of Hart Schaff-ner and Marx, believes the period to watch will be not the current month alone, but the entire period from now into early autumn. He does not feel the present situation is so alarming as to call for drastic emergency action.</br></br>Kestnbaum outlined his views in a press conference at which the CED issued a new study of proposed Government and business policy for greater economic stability, entitled ÛÏDefense Against Recession.Û the present business situation. In its major emphasis, the CED view closely parallels President EisenhowerÛªs economic report to Congress in January. The PresidentÛªs report charted a ÛÏflexibleÛ Government policy for dealing with the business decline, plus, ÛÏboldÛ long-range moves to strengthen the economy, but said the situation clearly did not require ÛÏemergencyÛ measures.</br></br>In mid-February, Mr. Eisenhower, in talking to his news conference about increasing unemployment, said his Administration was watching the( situation from day to day trying to make sure no Government move was neglected to keep the country out of a real recession. While pledging anew full use of Government powers to avert a major drop, the President also declared it would be dangerous to project the Government wildly into all sorts of emergency action.</br></br>month when employment normally begins to pick up. He suggested that if the upturn did not appear it would provide a definite warning that would call for a number of Government measures, perhaps a further tax reduction.