Assessing the New Nixonomics

Coming as it did on a Sunday night when the presses were already rolling, President Nixon's surprise announcement of a turnabout in economic policy (see THE ECONOMY) presented a special problem for weekly publications. New York, for example, had already completed its press run of 333,500. Even as the stock market soared briefly in what was called "the Nixon Rally," New York appeared on the stands with a cover cartoon of Nixon fiddling a la Nero while the Stock Exchange burned. Inside was a six-page feature on "Wall Street's Case Against Richard Nixon."

Newsweek, on the other hand, elected to replate, compelled in part by the fact that its Periscope section had gone to press Saturday night with the news that "if Mr. Nixon decides on a wage-price freeze, he will wait until next year." As it was, nearly half a million copies carried that message; 2.3 million others were distributed 24 hours late with the Periscope section killed, ads and artwork reshuffled, and a four-column story on Nixon's new economic moves.

Flexed Muscles. The Sunday night announcement was no problem for U.S. dailies--except that it took an extra day for their editorial writers to react. When they did, the consensus was overwhelmingly favorable. The Philadelphia Inquirer praised "an act of courage and statesmanship unparalleled by any U.S. chief executive for at least a third of a century," and the Baltimore Sun approved "an activist flexing of government muscles not seen since the early Roosevelt experiments." "No longer," noted the Miami Herald, "is the American economy all sail and no rudder." Cartoonists portrayed Nixon variously as a parody of Roosevelt, ministering belatedly to a crippled economy, or carping at his critics before television cameras.

Even the President's persistent detractors seemed impressed. "We applaud the scope and daring of his effort to bring inflation under control and to get the economy off and running," said the New York Times. On inflation and the balance of payments, observed the Washington Post, "the President has probably chosen the course of action most likely to be effective."

Both papers, however, hedged their praise; they thought the new fiscal policies would not be equally beneficial to all. The Times noted a "significant shift in benefits to business as against other groups in the society, especially when combined with the postponement of outlays for welfare reform and revenue sharing." The Christian Science Monitor joined the chorus and said that the higher-income classes would suffer least, "while the poor will have to postpone their hopes for financial betterment." The Monitor also declared itself "concerned by the overtones of economic isolationism" in the new policy.

Other concerns were expressed elsewhere. The Los Angeles Times worried "whether we might be starting down the road to a permanently regimented economy," and the Detroit News was wary of "economics by decree." Though a temporary wage-price freeze may be necessary, said the New York Daily News, "we should resist all efforts to make it everlasting, with a swelling horde of bureaucrats striving to enforce it." The Chicago Tribune judged the freeze "probably inevitable," but warned it was "neither a guaranteed nor a permanent solution." The Trib regretted "that the two unions [steel and railroad] that triggered the freeze should escape its effects."

Pointing out the risks Nixon is taking "with his own traditionally conservative party through this daring reversal," Chicago Today declared: "That's statesmanship." But Nixon reminded the Louisville Times of the girl who, "protesting she would never consent, consented. In his new economic plan he is doing what he said he did not want to do and would not do." New York Times Columnist Tom Wicker described the role of Treasury Secretary lohn Connally in the policy switch as a "virtuoso performance" and foresaw "a remarkable Republican ticket next year, featuring one man who looks like Richard Nixon and another who sounds like Lyndon Johnson."

Overseas, editorial reaction concentrated on the free-floating dollar and the import surcharge, particularly in nations that are big U.S. trading partners. West Germany's normally reserved Suddeutsche Zeitung blasted Nixon's program as a "declaration of war in trade policy." Tokyo's Asahi complained that Japan would have to make "drastic concessions," and Hong Kong's South China Morning Post said "Nixon's economic fusillade threatens to be the biggest single blow to world trade short of a nuclear attack."

Wishing Well. In London, the Daily Telegraph noted that the Nixon approach was "self-evidently protectionist and as such invites retaliation." Warned the Times: "The danger which has to be avoided at all costs is a general retreat into economic blocs divided by trade barriers and monetary restrictions." But Amsterdam's De Telegraaf praised U.S. policy: "Americans attack the cause of the illness. We Dutch should follow their example."

Wall Street Journal Editorialist David C. Anderson wished the President well, then added a sober warning: "At this point in our history, the people are going to keep their eyes on the ball; they will not--and in a sense should not--care how the game is played, but whether or not it is won."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.