William Penn, 1958 (41. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1958-07-16 / 7. szám
r N ^3 I M5Mfiyg M 0 N £ g X O 0 O O S I ~l Vol. XLI. JULY 16, 1958 51 NUMBER 7. THE ECONOMIC LIFE VALUE OF A MAN Spectacular achievements in the fields of health and longevity are having a profound economic as well as social influence on our American economy. The accompanying table, based on data compiled by the U.S. Department of Labor, shows the trend in dramatic fashion. A male child born in the United States today not only has the prospect of a substantially longer life on the average than his counterpart a generation ago, his educational period will be longer, he will have a longer work life expectancy, and he will have more years in which to enjoy his retirement. A HISTORIC INCREASE According to the Labor Department figures the life expectancy of a male child at birth was up to a new high of 66 y2 years in 1955. This represents a gain of a full year since 1950 and is 5 years higher than as recently as 1940. The gain since 1900 amounts to more than 18 years, representing a rise of more than a third in the average prospective length of life of a man since the turn of the century. The gain in this relatively short period approximates the total increase in the longevity of men in all previous history back to the Roman Empire. PRE-WORK AND RETIREMENT PERIODS A significant part of the increased longevity has gone to ex tv-nu oxxv3 aen-woffeiag period of the average human life. The average American youth, for example, with more time to grow up and to get an education, dosn’t become a full-time member of the labor force these days until his 18th or 19th year. After his active working period he has the prospect of a substantial period of retirement, now estimated at more than 6 years on the average and expected to grow steadily in the coming years. The prospect of retirement these days, far from being bleak, is marked by increasing security and financial independence through the widespread ownership of life insurance, pension and retirement benefits, and other savings. The average youth under the conditions of a generation or two ago had nothing even remotely approaching such opportunities and prospects. GREATER PRODUCTION POTENTIAL The greater part of the increase in longevity over recent decades has gone into raising the overall potential production of the population through extending the average man’s working life. The figures show that the work life expectancy of a male child at birth in 1955 was up to a new high of 42 years. This figure was 3.7 years greater than in 1940 and practically 10 years, or nearly a third, higher than it was in 1900. For women the gains Were even greater as they have become a steadily increasing force in the working population. INCREASED LIFE VALUE A major result of a longer working life is the increase in the economic value of a man. The Bureau of the Census figures indicate that the prospective lifetime income of the average man was about $133,000 in 1949, projected on the basis of employment and other conditions existing at that time. Since then, the average annual money income of a man has gone up more that 50 per cent, bringing the total prospective earnings of an average man up to the $200,000 level. With a man’s worth to his family and to society so much greater today than ever before, more individual and family protection is a natural development. This has manifested itself in record ownership of life insurance, with about $450 billions now in force, and in the big growth in other savings including pension and retirement plans. HUNGARY EXECUTION OF PATRIOTS “I can not think of any incident that could have . . . more shocked the civilized world” than the execution of Imre Nagy and Pal Maleter, President Eisenhower said at his news conference. He stated: These two men were not guilty of evil-doing. They were fighting for their own country, to eliminate or to reduce the domination by force of their country on the part of the Soviets. Good faith was violated in their execution ... It is clear evidence that the intent of the Soviets is to pursue their own policies of terror and intimidation... to bring about complete subservience to their will. I think there is no incident that should have more altererd the free world to the lack of confidence that we are compelled to feel in the words and actions of these Communist imperialists. SHOCKING CRUELTY In a statement issued the Department of State pointed out that this “shocking act of cruelty” significantly followed on Soviet Premier Khrushchev’s April visit to Budapest and has come at a time when the Soviet Union “has been attempting to persuade the world that international discussion of the plight of Hungary and Eastern Europe generally should not take place because it would constitute unwarranted intervention in the internal affairs of these countries:” It continued: The Soviet Union, which has pursued a policy of terror toward the peoples of . . . Eastern Europe for over 12 years, must bear fundamental responsibility for this latest crime against the Hungarian people and all humanity. The murder of these two Hungarian leaders, who chose to serve the interests of their nation rather than those of Soviet communism, brings to a tragic culmination the Soviet-Communist betrayal of the Hungarian people... By this $£t the Soviet Union and the Soviet-imposed regime in Hungary have once more violated every principle of decency and must stand in judgment before the conscience of mankind. National Education and Careers Exhibition The National Union of Teachers of England and Wales are sponsoring an unusual exhibition on education and career opportunities to take place May 25th to June 4th, 1959. It is the first of its kind to be held in Britain and will deal with all aspects of public education from nursery school through university. Modern teaching methods and equipment will be shown in use in demonstration classes. In linking up careers and education, different industries, trade, employers. and professional associations will display career opportunities open in the fields they represent. So much interest has been aroused on the part of industry and employers that it will not be possible to demonstrate every type of career available. Therefore, a general Careers Information Stand will be set up to give information on those fields of employment not represented at the Ex hibition. Another feature of the exhibit will deal with the education facilities and training schemes provided by a number of different industries. The majority of the exhibits will deal with careers available in all parts of the country and special arrangements are being made to enable students to attend from widely diverse areas. In organizing the display, the National Union of Teachers is working in cooperation with all branches of education and career guidance services as well as with the support of the Ministries of Labour and Education. LIFE EXPECTANCY, 1900—55 The following table gives a long view of the growth of the average life expectancy (in years) of a man at birth in the United States, with its effect on his productive and nonproductive years: Year Life Expectancy Work Life Expectancy Years Outside Labor Force (a) 1900 48.2 1940 61.2 1950 65.5 1955 66.5 32.1 16.1 38.3 22.9 41.9 23.6 42.0 24.5 (a) Years spent in growing up, getting an education, and, in retirement. SOURCE: U. S. Department of Labor
