Ike Believes Economy Is Taking a Breather: Ike Believes Economy Is Taking a Breather
President Eisenhower yes-, would like to beg off answer-terday rejected the idea that! ing that one, but he did say a depression, is imminent. He this:</br></br>President Eisenhower yes-, would like to beg off answer-terday rejected the idea that! ing that one, but he did say a depression, is imminent. He this: said that the American econo- ÛÏ1 just believe that in a my is ÛÏ.taking a breatherÛ'period of rising prices . . . after a spectacular upsurge ini people should attempt to-pur-productivity and prosperity. I chase less than when prices Talking to reporters, the!are going down. Then you pur-Chief Executive said it was chase more . . . when (you) ÛÏmiraculousÛ that the cost of; can get them cheaper . . . That living has not gone higher. I is what a competitive enter-lle was asked by a reporter! prise is.Û what 'advice he would give' Another reporter noted that housewives who "have seen the factory employment has decost of living go up for 13 . clined, arid said that this, months in a row.	j	together	with other factors, ÛÏseems to make for a signifi-led, ÛÏthat any shocking break cant depression in our econo-) always destroys or damages my."	(confidence in America. They</br></br>know whether the President thought it would be worth-! while to have a meeting of labor and business leaders at the White House to tackle the problem.	Û¢	, ÛÏWell,Û the President re-; plied, ÛÏyou make an assump-! tiot. in your question that| there is a depression in the1 offing. There (are) all sorts of! mixed indications in our econ-1 omy, and there is no question tha:t the economy is. in effect, taking a breather after a long surge of rising effort of all kinds that have produced almost a miraculous upsurge in productivity and presperity in; America.Û Û¢	i</br></br>of confidence, in an economy such as ours. The feeling of peopleÛÓis this the time to buy or is this the time to do nothing?ÛÓis very important So they . . . watch the stock market more as an index of the confidence of people than they do as in its direct effect upon our economy.Û In talking about the cost of living, the President said that the total rise since he has been in the White House has been around 5Vz to 6 per cent. He thought that represented a ÛÏflattening of the curve,Û and showed the effects of the many measures taken to stabilize the economy.</br></br>He said there was some disappointment in fall buying. He acknowledged, too, that there has been an increase in unemployment. ÛÏOn the other hand,Û he continued, ÛÏthe demand for money is just as great as ever, and every day I have complaints brought to my office (as to) why donÛªt 1 print some money or do anything else and get it to the public.Û