Rationing and Postwar Consumption
Rationing Overview
Prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States had no intention or plan for rationing, yet within sixteen months after the historic event, the government installed thirteen major rationing programs. The programs, in order of their installation, are tires, automobiles, typewriters, sugar, bikes, gas, protective rubber footwear, fuel oil, coffee, shoes, stoves, processed foods and meats, fats, oils and cheese. All of the programs except for the last two were implemented during 1942. At first the government tried price controlling, but the price levels were at a point where demand exceeded supply, which created the need for rationing. Supplies were low because the government needed to supply the troops, our allies and newly liberated places.
During the United State’s involvement in the war, industrial factories stopped making consumer items and began to produce war materials. Ration coupons took over as currency. People could clearly see the effect that the war was having on their own soil. Yet, in 1943 two thirds of people surveyed said that their meals were not different since rationing started and three quarters said that they size of their meals had not changed. Then in 1944, ninety percent of women surveyed said they had enough meat and seventy five percent said they had enough sugar. More than a third claimed they could not use all there canned goods before they expired. Even the quality and quantity of the wartime diet increased, especially in low income households. The American rationing system was so effective because of the “native good sense of the American people and because, on the whole, the amateurs who organized and administered it rose to the situation and discharged their responsibilities with vigor, imagination, and courage.”
"Plant to Conserve- Can to Preserve"
The government launched big campaigns to urge American citizens to conserve on everything. Shown to the right are some of the images they used. The government encouraged people to make “victory gardens,” which were gardens an individual household could use to get vegetables. They also encouraged home canning, to help preserve food longer. There were community canning centers set up to help people. The government put so much emphasis on food production that they referred to it as America’s “first line of defense.” In 1943, twenty million households (three fifths of the population) produced more than forty percent of he vegetables that Americans consumed. The government marketed conservation as highly patriotic, as seen on the rightand left. It was the way American citizens not in Europe can help fight the war and defeat the Axis. A pamphlet for the Office of Price Administration in 1943 stated:
“American meat is a fighting food. It’s an important part of a military man’s diet, giving him the energy to outfight the enemy. It helped the Americans drive the Japs from Guadalcanal. It’s feeding our troops on world battlefronts. It helped sustain the heroic British 8th Army in its blistering drive from Egypt to Tunisia. It aided the Red Army in breaking the German lines at Stalingrad and Leningrad. It’s helping soviet troopers roll the Axis forces back. Meat from our farms and packing houses is playing a part almost on par with tanks, planes, and bullets.”
Postwar Consumption
There are many theoretical reasons why economies prosper after a war. First, greater government control over the economy is a good thing, which lingers even after the war has stopped. The government can ration and control prices, keeping them fair. Another argument is that there is a technology race between the two states at war, thus speeding up innovation. Also, because foreign resources that were once available are not anymore, there becomes a nee to produce within the country, boosting the job market.
Because of the extremely low unemployment rate, many Americans found themselves with more money in their pockets than before the war. So, in theory, Americans consumption rate should go up because of the equation C=A + MPC*Yd. Yet, this did not happen though because of the government imposed price controls and rationing. Therefore people ended up saving more than usual, making the MPC lower during the war. The graph to the right shows the unusual ratio of spending to income during the time of the war.
After the war ended, Americans had a lot of pent up consumption. Rationing was like a dam for consumption, so after the war when the dam broke, peoples’ spending rushed out. The government had propaganda for mass consumerism, as they saw it as the way to have a successful postwar economy. In their advertising, they said that consumption was not selfish but doing your duty to keep America in prosperity. A bridal magazine stated, “the dozens of things you never bought or even thought of before … you are helping to build greater security for industries of this country … What you buy and how you buy it is very vital in your new life- and to our whole American way of living.” The housing market was huge after the war. In 1960, a quarter of the homes in America were built in the fifties. In 1940 forty four percent of the citizens in America owned a home, but in 1960 that number had increased to sixty two percent. Going back the equation of consumption, Americans disposable income was very high and they finally had a chance to use it. Therefore, the MPC leveled back to normal, raising consumption immensely.
