Uneasy Money was written for the countless Americans after World War II who were confused by the most pressing economic problem of that day: whether the inflated prices and values created by the war could be carried over into the era of peace, with the promise of economic security for all. But Edward H. Faulkner’s assessments will seem timely today, as well, as he tackles the problem of prices, wages, and salaries.

Faulkner argues for scaling down the elements of cost that go into the prices of things Americans consume. Where does the idea come from, he asks, that everybody can have more when there is less to go around? He shows that Americans’ value for efficiency must be made to operate where it really counts—in the actual selling prices of goods and services. If this can’t be done, he says, we as a country must give up the thought of success in foreign trade, because our world neighbors will be unable to buy from us at our inflated scale of values.

The first cut, Faulkner urges, should be made in the price of food, an element that determines part of the price of everything else we make and sell. But reductions all along the line must be accomplished if America is to avoid surpluses, depressions at home, and sterile markets abroad.