Masonry Magazine April 1967 Page. 32
Washington Wire
(Continued from page 27) ing, the restored 7% tax credit, and the coming hikes in Social Security benefits.
CREDIT IS GOING TO STAY EASY FOR A LOT LONGER than may seem likely, given all the forecasts of a business pick-up later on in the year. This reassuring appraisal comes from officials who are willing to concede that, say, production will have recovered its first-half loss by the end of the year. But note that business spending programs will have added 6% or 7% to capacity. So, instead of 90%, industry will then be operating at only 83%. With so much slack, the credit-controllers at the Federal Reserve won't rush to tighten, even in a quickening climate.
U.S. TROOP STRENGTH IN VIET NAM IS GOING TO BE RAISED, slowly but steadily, to force the North into negotiations before our 1968 elections. Present strength is 425,000 men. The President hoped to see it level off at 470,000 later this year. Now, it looks as though the figure will cross 500,000-and perhaps approach 600,000-if the fighting goes on much longer. As a result, defense outlays could exceed present estimates by several billions. Instead of leveling off in the near future, they could keep rising well into 1968, reinforcing the increases in nondefense spending built into the Budget. This would help assure a faster business clip this year. Peace parleys are still regarded as a possibility by many officials. They note that, despite the shrill propaganda, the Reds have softened their demands, slightly but perhaps significantly. But optimism is not as high as it was just a month or two ago. Many more months of war are expected.
THE HOPED-FOR RISE IN U.S. EXPORTS COULD PROVE WEAKER than expected this year, as a result of the business slowdown that is taking place abroad. The government had hoped that the softening here would release many items from home use for sale elsewhere. But recessions have cut Europe's buying. What's more, the lags have spurred it to new efforts to find markets at the expense of U.S. exporters thus hitting this country's exports indirectly. American shipments will still rise-but only slightly not signifi- cantly.
THE TREND IN MATERIALS PRICES AND OUTPUT IS MIXED but, over-all, it reflects the impact of the softening in the economy. Industry's efforts to reduce inventory have already led to cut-backs in
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MASONRY April, 1967