Page:David Atkins - The Economics of Freedom (1924).pdf/327

 avoid such a sudden rush of wealth and such a surprising reduction in the cost of living.

Have we any mathematical justification, in any calculation, for subtracting the dollar of one period from the dollar of another period? Have we, as a matter of elementary scientific honesty, any right to add, subtract, multiply or divide the dollars of two different days? We have not. We have no more right than an astronomer would have to multiply feet by metres indiscriminately and then identify his comet with the aid of astronomical finesse.

Let us make our calculations anew, then, in terms of the “1913” dollar, which was worth $196/100$ times the “1918” dollar. This gives us 228.79 billion “1913” dollars instead of 448.43 billion “1918” dollars, and on the basis of a ratio of $100/101$, gives us 185.88 billion “1913” dollars instead of 187.74 billion “1912” dollars.

Again taking the mean population of this 6 year period as 100 million we find that the visible accrued wealth per annum was 71.50 “1913” dollars per capita.

Now taking the final estimates (in terms of the “1913” dollar) as put forward by the National Bureau, we find that these are as follows: