You And Your Money (1955)

this is a story about you we can't actually use your name in our story since all names and faces must remain fictional so let's give you a stage name how about Parker Joe Parker this is your house the one without a TV antenna Joe Parker's seniors home right now let's go in and see him but wait there's mama Parker sounds like she's badgering Joe for a television Santa seems like everybody else on the street has one except the Parker family and my goodness since Joe is by trade a TV cabinet maker who can blame momma for complaining well here's Joe you'll pardon him for not looking up he's really got a problem he's trying to push those figures around so his budget can afford a TV set the budget would be a pushover except here's the trouble it's bill green stuff you know him everybody does he's welcome in everyone's pocketbook and piggy bank trouble is he's usually too little too late or doesn't stay long enough he's a hard fellow to keep around well Joe comes through after all he mastered that budget it was simple all it took was leaving out food and clothing so here we are at the see more and better television company incorporated to buy a TV set for the Parker family bill green stuff came along too you can't see him he's hiding in Joe's pocket he has a sneaking suspicion he's gonna be traded off for that TV set and you know something he's right well a man and his money are soon parted there go mama and Joe with that crazy TV set leaving poor bill in the hands of mr. retailer bill is tired after that strenuous business transaction and he'd like to take it easy for a while but mr. retailer has other plans his stock of TV sets is low so he's sending bill along with an order for some new sets over to the wholesaler business is looking up for mr. wholesaler bill drops in with that order from mr. retailer and those dust catching TV sets begin to move right into the truck and across town to mr. retailer naturally those departing sets of left a vacant spot so our wholesaler calls up mr. manufacturer to see how chances are for getting a new shipment dee-lighted he says as bill needing no further cue warily picks up the order and moves on to mr. manufacturer who receives him quite graciously although bill is beginning to get a bit frayed around the edges from all his travels sensing this fatigue mr. manufacturer puts bill away for a short rest too darn short for bills thinking he had just gotten settled nicely when the roll call was sounded for payday and Bill's name was called hey and to whom do you suppose bill is doled out you guessed it Joe Parker Joe makes TV cabinets in mr. manufacturers plant catch that eager look on Joe's face you'd think he'd found a long-lost friend later on the way home from work bill gives Joe a blow-by-blow description of his travels there I was flat on my back when you left me with that real gone retailer and ever since then I've been chasing television sets around first you traded me to the retailer for television then the retailer traded me to a wholesaler for television and the wholesaler traded me to the manufacturer for television who traded me to you for your services in his television Factory boy after a trip on that television merry-go-round I'm dead I can't wait pilot with old wallet for a nice long what happened thought I was talking to Joe Parker Oh see that fiendish look in mama Parker's eye here we go again next day there goes mama with Bill in her handbag down to madame Fifi's hat shop for that little number in the window that she's been huiying so long it wasn't hard to clinch the deal all it took was la Madame looks so chic in the Hat and bill has changed hands again Oh Oh looks like he's not gonna get that nap at all he forgot that there's more than one turn on a merry-go-round from mrs. Joe Parker the consumer in this case bill is paid to a retailer Madame Fifi from there he will go to one of Madame's wholesale creditors from the wholesaler bill will be passed to the factory where the goods are manufactured and eventually when the factory pays its workers our green backed friend is again in the hands of consumers and we have completed another money cycle bill and others like him are always on the jump making up a continuing flow of spending from consumer to retailer to wholesaler to manufacturer and again to the millions of workers like Joe Parker and so go Bill and his pals whether it's for TV sets millinery or any of the products our nation produces as bill green stuff and his friends flow from hand to hand goods and services also move from hand to hand the retailer sells to the consumer in exchange for bill the wholesaler keeps the retailer stocked for Bill the manufacturer sells the finished product to the wholesaler for Bill and we exchange our labor and other resources to the manufacturer for Bill the flow of spendings and the flow of goods and services determine how high prices our price is the measure we use when we trade our money for goods and services if there is no change in either of these flows prices won't change but our flow of goods usually increases as our country grows and our capacity to produce increases and we want the flow of spendings to increase to match the flow of goods so our nation's output can be sold and we can have jobs but money's funny if the flow of spendings increases faster than the flow of goods and services we have inflation this can come about in two ways first faster spending of existing money will push prices up second we can spend more if our nation's money supply increases that brings up an important part of our story let's see where all these extra dollars come from when you borrow money from a bank you give the bank your note and it gives you a deposit credit against which you can write checks when you write checks on that newly created deposit account new money is being added to the spending stream on the other hand money is taken out of circulation when you pay your note at the bank when inflation drives prices higher and higher each dollar is worth less and less more and more things are priced out of the reach of people living on pensions on fixed incomes the salaried worker at least 1/2 the wage earners of this country Joe Parker hopes to save a little for his old age but inflation can completely destroy the value of his savings what can we do about inflation many things some are less desirable than others we could pass a law and Uncle Sam could say price increases are illegal but as long as the money and the desire to spend that money exists the pressure on prices is still there price controls or any other direct controls do not attack the cause of inflation but there are several ways to get at these spending pressures we can spend less and save more that gives bill a chance to rest and takes pressure off prices we can increase output by working longer hours that will add to the flow of goods and services but overtime pay means more spending as well as more goods that adds to the spending stream and we don't necessarily come out ahead on that deal one real secret is greater productivity more output for every man hour of work this greater productivity is generally made possible by business investment bigger plant better equipment better tools to work with Uncle Sam can help too he can cut down on the number of dollars he pours into that spending stream or he can increase taxes pulling some of the extra dollars out of the spending stream and something can be done about too much money created by excessive borrowing the Federal Reserve System was established by Congress to regulate the supply cost and availability of money the nation's central banking system with headquarters in Washington and regional reserve banks throughout the country can strongly influence the ability of banks to lend creating monetary conditions favorable to stable economic progress and helping to avoid both inflation and deflation so a great deal can be done to combat inflation and deflation by the Federal Reserve System by governmental taxing and spending by business and consumers but in the final analysis the decisions of the people as voters or as individuals tell the story you have the final say in the value of your money the best friend your money has is you [Music]