Shock And Awe Economics

The presidential election is over. Now is the time for our country to get a grip and face reality. Our economy is in trouble, unemployment is at record high levels and the national debt is out of sight.



It seems like our society is on a wild spending spree that never ends. I found an ad in a magazine that was published in the 1940s...during World War II. The ad encouraged the American people to;


Use it up...That's the thing to do in wartime. Eat every bite of food, save every scrap of soap, make a patriotic habit of stretching all the supplies in the house so they go further, last longer.

Wear it out...This year old coats, old shoes, are a badge of honor. They show you're sensible enough to know that one way to help win the war, to keep prices down, is to wear your old things out!

Make it do...Before you spend a penny in wartime, ask yourself, "Do I really need this? Or do I have something now that will do?" As you patch and darn and turn, you're keeping prices down.

Or do without!...When you put your money in War Bonds, savings, taxes, insurance....you're putting your money to work fighting the war and building a sound, stable nation for the peace to come.

This ad is encouraging frugal spending habits to prevent war-time inflation. "It is buying too much when there's too little to buy that sends prices up. And when prices go up...and keep going up...your savings, your future, are in danger." Remember, it's the things you don't buy that keep prices down!

An individual citizen can't solve the national debt problem but individuals CAN deal with their own personal debt. This magazine ad from "The Greatest Generation" should remind us that SAVE is not a four-letter word.

 

See that prices go no higher
Be a saver...not a buyer.

 

This post was taken from a United States war message prepared by the War Advertising Council and approved by the Office of War Information ~ 1940s.

 

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