Inflation after WWII

Schmidt, Emerson P. INFLATION AND THE POST-WAR Washington: Chamber of Commerce of the United States 1944. Stapled pamphlet; 22pp. Post-war readjustments bulletin No. 10. Interesting cover illustration depicting the trajectory of the US economy with three divergent post-war paths: “Post War Boom”, “Hold our Own”, and “Collapse”. Some fading and light red-pencil on front cover; light creasing at “spine”, otherwise very good. Emerson P. Schmidt (1899-1976) was chief economist of the Commerce Department. He is also the grandfather of Eric Emerson Schmidt – the former CEO of Google. This curious pamphlet attempts to address how America will come to terms with the financial distortions of World War II: “The war has created an enormous number of distortions and maladjustments – excessive supply of money is only one of them.” pg. 22. Will we have inflation or deflation? Are price controls in our future? Provides insight on the US Government’s formal position on how to address monetary distortions caused by World War II. We are currently awaiting the Commerce Department’s 2022 pamphlet entitled “Post-COVID 19 readjustments bulletin”.