N014  1524  23 Nov 74
 
RESTON (COLUMN)
EDITORS:
    PLEASE IDENTIFY THE FOLLOWING AS COMMENTARY.
 
               WASHINGTON:  THANKSGIVING--1974
                       BY JAMES RESTON
            (C)  1974 NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE
 
    WASHINGTON, NOV. 24--THE LATEST THANKSGIVING DAY BULLETIN FROM 
THE ECONOMIC FRONT IS THAT OVER 200,000 AUTO WORKERS WILL BE OUT OF 
JOBS NEXT MONTH AND THAT THE UNEMPLOYMENT TOTAL IN THE NATION WILL
BE OVER 6 MILLION OR 7 PER CENT OF THE WORKFORCE NEXT YEAR.
    THE CAPITAL (CAP C) IS BEING BATTERED BY STATISTICS.  MORE THAN 
A QUARTER OF THE AUTO INDUSTRY'S 700,000 WORKERS WILL BE ON 
TEMPORARY OR INDEFINITE LAYOFFS IN DECEMBER.  CHRYSLER CORPORATION 
WILL ALMOST BE SHUT DOWN UNTIL CHRISTMAS.  BIG STEEL (CAPS) IS 
BEGINNING TO ADD TO THE LAYOFFS, AND THE MAYOR (CAP M) OF NEW YORK
CUTS 1,510 EMPLOYES AND ANNOUNCES "THE TOUGHEST AUSTERITY PROGRAM"
SINCE THE ECONOMIC DEPRESSION OF THE 1930'S.
    WHAT TO DO?  "DO WITHOUT," SAYS PRESIDENT FORD.  "BUY CARS,"
SAYS LEONARD WOODCOCK, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED AUTO WORKERS, 
ANNOUNCING A NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN TO STIMULATE SALES.  "BE
CAREFUL," SAYS BUSINESS WEEK (CAP B,W) MAGAZINE, ADDING SOME MORE 
ALARMING STATISTICS.
    THE U.S. ECONOMY ALREADY STANDS ATOP "A MOUNTAIN OF DEBT--$2.5
TRILLION HIGH," THE MAGAZINE WARNS, $1 TRILLION IN CORPORATE DEBT;
$600 BILLION IN MORTGAGE DEBT; $500 BILLION IN U.S. GOVERNMENT DEBT;
$200 BILLION IN STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT DEBT; AND $200 BILLION
IN CONSUMER DEBT."
    THIS WOULD BE AN "AWESOME BURDEN OF DEBT," BUSINESS WEEK
ADDS, "EVEN IF THE WORLD ECONOMIC CLIMATE WERE PERFECT," BUT THE
WORLD IS "RAVAGED BY INFLATION, THREATENED WITH ECONOMIC 
DEPRESSION, TORN APART BY THE MASSIVE REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH THAT
HAS ACCOMPANIED THE SOARING PRICE OF OIL . . . AND THERE ARE SIGNS
OF TENSION EVERYWHERE:  CORPORATE DEBT-EQUITY RATIOS AND BANK LOANS-
DEPOSIT RATIOS WAY OUT OF LINE; CONSUMER INSTALLMENT-DEBT REPAYMENT
TAKING A RECORD SHARE OF DISPOSABLE INCOME; THE HUGE REAL ESTATE
MARKET IN DESPERATE TROUBLE . . . NEVER HAS THE DEBT ECONOMY 
(CAPS D,E) SEEMED MORE VULNERABLE . . ."
(MORE)
 
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