better plan to require the balance of excessprofits after deducting E.P.T. and income-tax tobe held in a blocked deposit.
chapter vin
RATIONING PRICE CONTROLAND WAGE CONTROL
The mechanism of reaching equilibrium by meansof a rising cost of living, which is vainly pursuedby a rising level of wages, will be described in thenext chapter. But it is admitted on all handsthat this is the worst possible solution.
It has been argued here that the only way toescape from this is to withdraw from the market,either by taxation or by deferment, an adequateproportion of consumers' purchasing power, sothat there is no longer an irresistible force impel-ling prices upwards. But there are many whobelieve that there is another alternative open,namely to control the cost of living by a combina-tion of rationing and price fixing, and that, ifthis was done, wage control would becomemanageable.
I believe that it is a dangerous delusion tosuppose that equilibrium can be reached by thesemeasures alone. Nevertheless some measure ofrationing and price control should play a part inour general scheme and might be a valuableadjunct to our main proposal. It is relevant,therefore, to debate the matter in this place.