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COPY has March 25, 1958 goods Dear Mr. Hoffacker: Hoffacker, Theodore I wish to thank you for your letter of March 6 suggesting that cooperative type apartment projects be used as a means for rebuilding our cities and promoting economic expansion. I am not familiar enough with the cost problems involved to know whether or not such apartments could be built and equipped for a cost of between $7,000 and $9,000 each. If two or three bedroom apartments could be made available at such costs, I am sure that this would be an enormous stimulus to the building industry. May I also comment upon your suggestion that the apart- ment community be fully integrated economically, with most stores and community services contained within its confines. Such a proposal not only offers conveniences to the apartment owners, but it also allows planned and unitary development of properties. It was thoughtful of you to send me your ideas. I shall keep them available for reference when discussing possible methods of stimulating the national economy. With every good wish, Sincerely, Richard Nixon JFC draft:rd Mr. Theodore Hoffacker 1849 Page Street, Suite 5 San Francisco 27, California Reproduced at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum JFC THEODORE HOFFACKER FUNDAMENTAL ECONOMIC RESEARCH 1849 Page Street, Suite 5, Tel.: SK 2-2508 SANK FRANC Honorable Mr. Richard Nixon March 6th 1958. Senate Building Washington MAR 8 1958 Dear Mr. Vice-President: An acknowledgement of the receipt of my letter of February 10th by your Executive Assistant, Mr. R. E. Cushman, Jr., is in my hands. Un- fortunately I had been confined to the hospital during your recent stay in California, otherwise I would have made an effort to visit with you since the subject which I would like to discuss with you is of really vi- tal importance to the national interest as well as to the future of the private capitalistic economy of our free world partners. Being scheduled to return to the hospital for a major operation, I feel I should not ne- glect to elaborate further on the subject matter of my letter of February 10th. With reference to the manner, in which a new dynamic initiative can be imparted to our economy, I wish to state as follows: Historically the American economy has been developing on a basis of a horizontal expansion: 1.) the expansion of the frontiers, and 2.) within the last fifty years the expansion of cities into suburban areas. This latter expansion has now attained a state, where the suburban areas are developing at the expense of the cities' centers. The new urban shop- ping districts are not anymore producing economic plus values to their cen- ters but, in effect, are causing an economic decline to the valuable down- town real estate. The time, therefore, has arrived when the horizontal ex- pansion should be replaced by a vertical one which is to say that the old city should be demolished and replaced by apartment structures, covering entire city blocks. It appears to me possible that such apartment house structures could be developed on a community ownership principle and that apartment units could be made available for sale, allowing a fair commer- cial profit at from $ 7-9,000.- per apartment, equipped with appliances and payable like rent over a period of fifteen to twenty years. Such a develop- ment would have far reaching social and economic benefits. Each apartment house block should have in the basement a supermarket, cafeteria, social hall, auditorium etc. The service problem could be organized on a commercial basis, making it possible for tenants to be productively employed without being bur- dened with the drudgery of household chores. A development of this nature may be expected to have a far reaching beneficial social effect. People might think of owning an apartment in the city and, if their prosperity permits, a Reproduced at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum - 2 - home in the country which would be economically sounder than the need for maintaining the expense of two cars. I was very pleased to read in the newspaper the other day about the new government financing plan for slum clearing assistance to our ci- ties. This is a step in the right direction, however, inasmuch as it is to-day one of our greatest uncertainties to have the Republican Administra- tion gain control of Congress, I feel that a much more thorough organiza- tional effort should be made to assure the benefits accruing to the Repu- blican party, and especially to the candidates who will seek election this fall and in 1960. Just passing out the money in the same old manner will not accrue to the benefit of the Administration. However, I feel if the candida- tes seeking election are being selected to sparehead such a new dynamic de- velopment, and if the organization development work is being effectively car- ried out by a central Republican authority, we may look forward to several more Republican administrations. There are SO many constructive angles from a national interest point of view in such a development that it would be really unpardonable if such an opportunity would not be utilized to the utmost. This brief and general outline shows why my statement, indicating the necessity of competent engineers for working out the technical and organiza- tional parts of such a dynamic development, has been made. From the economic point of view I can say that the full development should result in the em- ployment of pretty close to fifteen million production workers by 1960 and should permit the reduction of corporate taxes successively to the 35% level and individual income taxes to the 14% base level. Of course, I would be pleased if I would be considered in the pre- paration of the organizational work for the activization of such a program since I am certain that my thoughts developed over many years could make a valuable contribution to the cause. Believe me, Your Excellency, very truly yours, Therem Itaffacker, Reproduced at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum COPY February 19, 1958 Mr. Theodore Hoffacker Fundamental Economic Research 1849 Page Street, Suite 5 San Francisco 17, California Hoffacker, Mr. Theodore Dear Mr. Hoffacker: In the temporary absence of the Vice Presi- dent from Washington I wish to acknowledge your letter of February 10 in which you enclosed a copy of a letter to Mr. William McC. Martin. You may be sure the Vice President appre- ciates having the benefit of your views and I shall be glad to bring your letter to his attention. I know that he would want me to extend his 2/19/58 best wishes. Sincerely, R. E. Cushman, Jr. A W:djc A Executive Assistant to the Vice President Reproduced at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum Routine we har 1m oct, w FEB 1 0 1958 THEODORE HOFFACKER FUNDAMENTAL ECONOMIC RESEARCH 1849 Page Street, Suite 5, Tel. SK 2-2508 250 WAWONA STREET Honorable Mr. Richard Nixon Senate Building Washington 25, D.C. My dear Mr. Vice-President:- Moved by the various pump priming measures undertaken in recent weeks to arrest the contraction of our economy, and the optimistic pro- nouncements emanating from Washington, I have written to Mr. Martin Jr. as per copy enclosed. May I state that the economic forces, determining the depth and extent of our domestic contraction, are not so much native to excesses in our domestic economy but rather to the saturation point of domestic demand having been attained. Therefore, the revitalization of the do- mestic economy will respond only to the introduction of a new economic principle that will open up civilian consumer end demand on a broad scale. The other factor forcing a contraction in our domestic economy must be seen in the world market, the price structure of which is governed by the $ 35.- p. OZ. gold price, patently unrealistic and inadequate as credit base for to-day's expanding world population. In fact, some of the major basic rawmaterial commodities in the world market are already ap- proaching in price their power equivalence with gold at $ 35.- p. OZ. The great danger ahead is that if disillusionment at home overtakes the businessman's mind at any time during 1958, we may become involved in a world market collapse comparable to that of 1929/32. My letter to Mr. Martin points out an avenue for preventing this. Of course, Mr Vice-President, neither my facilities nor my resources permit me to engage single handed in the planning necessary for opening up this avenue. Nevertheless, believe me, Mr. Vice-President, I would gladly assist in the solution of these problems, a task towards which I feel I could make valuable contributions by virtue of my long experience in fundamental economic research. Believe me, Your Excellency, very truly yours, Therdon Stoffacker Encl. Reproduced at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum 1849 Page Street, Suite 5, Tel.: SK 2-2508 xxxxxxxxxxxxxX xxxxxxxxxxxxxx San Francisco 17, February 5th 1958. Mr William McC. Martin, Jr., Chairman Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington 25, D.C. Dear Mr. Martin:- When on October 9th I called your attention to the indications inherent in the stockmarket decline, I was guided only by the first evidences of con- tracting developments in the making. Since then the economic changes became more disconcerting, and 8. world market price collapse is still in the cards. The reason for my writing you to-day is the function that the Federal Reserve Board has in guarding the national interest in the perspective of the private capitalistic economy. Surely, I fully realize that your economic staff as well as those of the major industries have definite ideas as to the pro- blems facing us and the methods with which to meet them. Nevertheless, the pu- blicity emanating from Washington is, in the light of my knowledge of the fun- damental economic forces that will bring about a dynamic revival of the econo- my, mere wishful thinking. I am very apprehensive about the general effect a disappointment in the realization of the forecast may have upon the world eco- nomy in general and the domestic economy in particular. The fact remains that the security market price level to-day reflects the economic gold value of the production workers' wage fund and not the actual wages paid. An economic situa- tion in the present delicate balance will reflect marketwise quickly any major financial operation that affects prices constructively or contractively. The Treasury refinancing in the amount of $ 16,750,000,000.- of thirtytwo year ma- turities is marketwise contractive since it reduces the economic gold value of the production workers' wage fund. Diagnosing the economic and financial fact- ors needing the most searching examination as to their impacts upon the econo- mic climate, I state as follows: a) gold as a measure of value: - The markets bear witness to the fact that the present gold price of # 35.- per 02. is unrealistic in terms of the national price level as governed by the production workers' wages paid. The markets clearly say that the economy cannot digest the production workers' wage rate of in excess of 82.- per week and permit industry a price structure needed by such a base cost. The dilemma is: a choice must be made between 1.) bringing the gold price in line with its economic value, or 2.) permitting production workers' wages to decline to a point, where the economy's absorption capacity of industrial product- ion permits a balanced relationship of basic costs and a price structure allowing a normal profit margin to the owners of the production means. Even Senator Refauver must realize that if steel wages go up at the rate of about $ 3.- per ton of steel, steel prices must increase proportionately in order to give the owners of the production means an inducement to supply the wor- Reproduced at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum - 2 - king tools,making the payment of the steel workers' wages possible. of course, the downward revision of the wage structure would be politically, socially and economically disastrous. The dilemma, therefore, can be only resolved by changing the gold price in accor- dance with the economic necessities. b) Credit policy: - With reference to credit policy my letter to you of September 24th is pertinent. According to your testimony before the Senate Committee on Money and Credit Policy the Federal Reserve Board visualizes the credit function as a river that, if oversupplied, flows over its banks, thereby causing inflationary pressures damaging to the economy rather than bringing benefit. This concept is, permit me to say, fundamentally erroneous. As I postulated in my letter of September 24th, the economy is & life organism and the money and credit function a cir- culatory process like the bloodstream in the human body. Placing these two economic concepts into juxta position, it follows that money and credit control, in fact, involves two separate and distinct considera- tions: 1.) The money and credit supply required by the economy as a living organism that dies and regenerates itself daily; 2.) the money and credit supply required by the economy for its basic organic growth. This pinpoints directly the difficulty the FRB experienced in its hard money policy during the past two years. The FRB concept of judging cre- dit demands on the basis of the traditional past failed to perceive the availability to the production process the funds freed by the re- tirement of government debt. Again I emphasize that our private capitalistic economy is a campe- titive market economy. The banking law of 1934 eliminated the competitive market factor from the money and credit market. It, in effect, has been a state capita- listic measure, reserving the right to the money and credit resources of the na- tion to the state, i.e. the politicians. The acquiescence of the national banking interests to this act of raison d'etat by the politicians emasculated the banking profession as a productive element in the national sconomic life. In consequence, there is to-day only one competitive market left, reflecting the evaluation of the production process: "from money it comes, to money it goes", 1.0. the stockmarket. Ipse fecit, the production process finds its ultimate expression in the evaluation of the production means and their earning power in the stockmarket. The banking in- terests, after twentythree years, realized that the getting of their rawmaterial for nothing has its drawbacks. The fallacy revealed is: the state capitalistic eco-> nomie management has proved inadequate in generating the money supply needed by the organic development of the capitalistic production process. This is quite natural since political leadership is most proficient in impounding the substance of the producers of the nation for their spending rather than in supplying the creative thought and effort that make the impounding and spending possible. The failure of the economy in producing the money supply needed for the organic development of the economy's expansion resulted in taking recourse by industry to the stockmarket for financing its capital needs on the principle of shorting the basis. This circumstance had to be felt keenly by the national ban- king industry. Another important factor, limiting the banking industry's earnings Reproduced at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum - 3 - is the existence of the short term government debt that reduces the profit op- portunities of financial institutions from portfolio management operations. Thus satisfying the capital needs for the growth of the national industrial production plant by way of shorting the basis in the stockmarket, the latter be- comes a principal supplier of loan funds that can be withdrawn very suddenly at the pleasure of the respective corporations. The process takes away the control of the money and credit market from the banking system, where it rightfully be- longs. In other words: the FRB's discount policy tends to be influenced not exclu- sively by the needs of the national interest, but becomes subject to the financial pressures incident to the withdrawal of loan funds under the control of industrial management, having shorted the basis in the stockmarket. It is pointed out that the reduction of the discount rate from 3/2 to 3% has been necessitated by the new capital financing of the Standard Oil Co. of N.J. and that of stock margin require- ments from 75-50% by the Royal Dutch Petroleum Corporation new capital operation. This puts into a nutshell the needle in the haystack which Senator Bird's Committee hopes to discover. o) The influence of the $ 35.- gold price in the world market: - The foregoing observations dealt with the domestic economic and financial consequences of the $ 35.- gold price and its inadequacy for providing the financial and credit where-with-alls of an economy expanding at such & tremendous rate as that of the U.S.A. It must be realized that the other private ca- pitalistic economies of the world share in the post war biological impact on their economies' organism. A thorough examination of the world economy problems, have reason to believe, would reveal the Sterling Union's and the French economy's skanty gold and dollar supplies as a primary cause of their political and economic instability. Closing our eyes to this si- tuation is more productive of generating communism in the private capita- listic world than anything the Kremlin command can think up for destroying our way of life. It is also one of the main reasons for the necessity of our economic assistance at the expense of our tax payers. The question, therefore, arises: how can our national interest be best served by either one of two factors? 1.) the increase of the gold price in accordance with its economic value, or 2.) the continuation (perhaps for decades to come) of underwriting economic assistance to the extent of multi billions of dollars yearly to our private capitalistic friends. It is the writer's considered opinion that action on gold promises the best way out of the burdensome stranglehold. While the aforegoing observations deal with maladjustments in our economic and financial set-up, pregnant with contradictions capable of nullifying orthodox methods for the reactivisation of & dynamic economic forward movement, the question is: how can the basis for a dynamic progression, promising to endure for decades, be attained? In historical perspective our economy has attained a development that places it second to the last phase of its possible end attainment in accordance with and the spirit of our Christian civilization. Thanks to the atheistic character im- Reproduced at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum - 4 - parted to the communistic philosophy and by denying mankind freedom of conscience under conditions compatible with the dignity of man, the private capitalistic pro- duction process gains a respite, sufficient for effecting the transition necessary in organizing its end phase, guaranteeing freedom of individual rights in the pur- suit of happiness. This final stage of the private capitalistic production process must be developed as an economic equivalent of the organic mathematical equation, i.e. + is 2. It is outside my technical knowledge and available means to determine what the economic application of this mathematical equation involves in terms of end consumer demands of tens of millions of tons of steel, other construction supplies, appliances and other durable consumer goods. This question must be answered by com- petent engineers. Besides, when developed in E. farsighted perspective, it should contribute to an effective solution of many of our present day problems, such as traffic congestion in cities, elimination of slum conditions, of social problems such a.s juvenile delinquency, more tolerable living conditions for our pensioners, the householding difficulties of the working population etc. I am certain, Mr. Martin, that if the resources of the FRB and the economic and engineering facilities of the government agencies are employed in a thorough investigation of the possibilities of the factors pointed out in the aforegoing and the execution of the findings is intelligently gotten underway in accordance with the dictates of the national necessities, the Administration's desire for a dynamic economy could be met and production process generated deposits accrue in the national banking system. In due time effective credit control would result, where it belongs,i the money market under the supervision of its guardians, the governors of the FRB. Naturally the thoughts outlined above are not products of fancy but born of innumerable hours of fundamental economic research as my INDEX ORCONOMICUS, of which you have a copy, vividly demonstrates. It is the nature of fundamental scien- tific research that cognition yields only to step by step pursuit of the subject. Errors and their correction are necessary in order to gain insight into what makes the economy tick. My full collaboration in working out the problems, with which our nation is faced, is upon request available. Very truly yours, P.S. Copy of this letter is being sent to a few personalities vitally interested in the preservation of our private 08-- pitalistic system. Reproduced at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum COPY October 31, 1957 Dear Mr. Hoffacker: I wish to thank you for your letter of Octo- ber 16, not only for your kind comments upon my recent address, but also for the economic analysis which you en- closed. Hoffacker, Theodore day file The type of investment which I urged in my address to the International Industrial Development Conference is somewhat different from the kind envisioned in your letter and the accompanying brochure. You seem particularly in your letter to be interested in financing investment through our monetary and banking system. For this reason, you are concerned about x. appearance. the adequacy of our gold reserves. The basic traditional theory underlying long- term investment, as distinct from short-term bank credit, is that it should be based on savings, not credit created by the monetary system. Such savings are drawn from thousands of individuals who are willing to consume less than their in- comes permit. I think that a real upsurge in overseas invest- ment will depend upon two factors: an increase in savings; and a willingness to use this capital for foreign developmental pur- poses. It would be risky, indeed, with our present problem of world-wide inflation, to think of substituting central banking credit for the traditional sources of investment capital. With best wishes, Sincerely, lgs Richard Nixon Mr. Theodore Hoffacker 250 Wawona Street San Francisco 27, California no Reproduced at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum Fn Cronin OCT 21 1957 THEODORE HOFFACKER FUNDAMENTAL ECONOMIC RESEARCH 250 WAWONA STREET SAN FRANCISCO 27 October 16th 1957. LOMBARD 4-9094 Honorable Mr. Richard Nixon Senate Building Washington D.C. My dear Mr. Vice-President: Your address to the International Industrial Development Conference, warning the West on Russian economic warfare, was not only timely but most ap- propriate, indeed. I have tried in vain for quite some time to bring home to pertinent responsible quarters the fallacies of our economic policy, centering in the limiting implications of the sentence: "gold and dollar balances". In order to alert our industrial and financial leadership, I have introduced my Index Oeco- nomicus, a product of forty years of fundamental economic research, a copy of which I take pleasure in enclosing herewith. You may see from these data that our huge gold stock has been fully utilized for domestic credit expansion, thus limiting the available credit base to our private capitalistic allies. It is reasonable to assume that the Kremlin economic high command are following with care the proceedings at the present San Francisco Industrial Conference and in due time will take such steps to satisfy the hunger for investment capital of the underdeveloped economies by just placing at their disposal a share of the Russian gold stock as credit base. Should this happen, the repercussions in our economy would eclipse that of their satellite feat. I should be happy to supply you with additional pertinent data on this subject if desired and assist in the solution of the problem. Believe me, Your Excellency, very truly yours, Theodom Hoffacker Reproduced at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum THEODORE HOFFACKER FUNDAMENTAL ECONOMIC RESEARCH NEV 27 1957, 250 WAWONA STREET SAN FRANCISCO 27 moved to 1849 Page Street, San Francisco 17 LOMBARD-4-9094 Tel.: SK 2-2508 November 18, 1957. Honorable Mr. Richard Nixon Senate Building Washington D.C. My dear Mr. Vice-President: Your letter of October 31st revived again an almost lost hope that my efforts to alert competent and pertinent interests of our economy to the tightrope nature of our economic situation at home and the growing lability of the free private capi- talistic world in its struggle with communistic collectivism would succeed. Our nation is most fortunate, indeed, to know that its second highest office is in the hands of a man, possessing perspicacity and discernment in matters effect- ing the national welfare. The age we live in does not permit complacency. In historical perspective our private capitalistic economy may be said to be in or is about to complete the second to the last stage of its end position as a living organism. Mathematically expressed, it progressed in the space of twenty centuries from an equation of 202 of X manyhalves that is: me, the king, the autocrat, the bossman to that of plus 20 equals 1. How- ever, the end equation is 1/202 plus 1/22 equals not 1 but 2. It is this latter equation towards which our Christian civilisation strives in its fulfilment. And it is in that direction that we must visualize the solution of our economic problems in the struggle for success against collectivism. Without in any way wanting to distract from the stra- tegic concept of overwhelming physical destructive retributive power, I venture to say that the struggle with communism can be successfully resolved in the economic field by constructive self-supporting economic action, invoking the equation plus 2 is 2. It is a law of nature. Its activation would permit the reduction of the stupendous tax load due to arms production which becomes obsolete from one year's inventions to the next, and which the masters of the Kremlin succeed in matching. On the other hand the activation of the equation 2 plus 202 equals 2 by the free world would take the wind out of the sails of the Krushchev crew and put them completely on the defensive by the demands of their own people as it would force them to cover an economic development process of twenty centuries within a space of time, for which they are not prepared and for which they cannot organize with sufficient speed to offset the headstart of the private capitalistic evolution and its impact upon their economy. This concept of the economic development of our Christian civilisation has been made possible by the fundamental economic research leading to the origination of the Index Oeconomicus, a copy of which is in your hands. The directives issuing from the cognition of the synthesis of the economic forces that combine in price formation permit me to observe: Money and credit are not the cause for inflationary pressures. Inflationary pressures are the consequence of the existence of non-productive government war debts which are being drawn into the production process when, as and if the money and credit supply becomes inadequate for satisfying the regenerative demands of the economy. Reproduced at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum - 2 - Money and credit as the bloodstream of the production process must be kept in an equivalence of power relationship with the national absorp- tion capacity of industrial and agricultural production. Capital formation and savings: Our economy is a market economy and the market process functions as the collection media of the accumulated un- spent wage fund. International industrial development operations are capital operations and as such must be financed by capitalists who gained their capital funds via the market process. Thus overseas investment will have access to domestic savings only indirectly. The current Standard Oil Co. of NJ stock financing provides an excellent example of how domestic funds find their way into foreign industrial development. And the Bethlehem Steel Corp. financing three years ago illustrates the method of impounding a share of the unspent wage fund pending an opportune time when market conditions per- mit the completion of a capital formation operation. My concern about the inadequacy of the gold reserves can be summarized as follows: 1.) the national wage fund, based upon the economic value of the US Trea- sury gold stock, amounts to $ 71.30 per week as of August 31st 1957, and wages paid for August were $ 82.59. 2.) The concentration of the private capitalistic world's gold stock in the United States curtails the credit expansion capacity of other pri- vate capitalistic economies, thereby retarding the wage and price deve- lopment of these economies, thus placing our producers at a competitive disadvantage. The present problem of worldwide inflation is due to the non-productive government war debts. Facing the realities of the function of gold as a measure of value will not increase the present problem of worldwide inflation but rather bring order out of the chaos in the world market commodity price structure. Prices for non-ferrous metals and agri- cultural commodities would gain in stability and facilitate their exchange in the world market. Besides, it should not be forgotten that the only be- neficiaries from the present $ 35.- gold price are the communists who find it possible to create their industrial production plant over the backs of the private capitalistic industrial labor in Europe. 30) As consequence of the two world wars a substantial shift in the relation- ships of the center of gravity of the different private capitalistic eco- nomies has occured. In consequence thereof the gold price of $ 35.- p.oz. is utterly unrealistic. Unless realistic equivalences of power relation- ships between the private capitalistic economies have been determined and equated by adjustment of the gold price, orderly private capitalistic production processes will remain an illusion no matter how much desired. Exhibits designed to illustrate aforementioned statements are in prepa- ration and will be forwarded to you as soon as completed. Should my fundamental economic research contribute to leading the way out of the maze of problems, in which the private capitalistic economies in general and our domestic economy in particular find themselves to-day, then, indeed, my relentless efforts have not been made in vain. - Believe me, Your Excellency, always with plea- sure at your service very sincerely yours, Theouse Itoffacker Reproduced at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum