His assertion that the idea of "mass production" must also be accompanied by "mass consumption" is based on the idea that the individual has the economic resources to be able to purchase goods. This, by its very nature, implies that income is distributed throughout society, and in situations where it is not, it leads to economic crisis'. In the case of the United States in the 1920's, the kind of income distribution necessary to maintain a mass production economy slowly disappeared into the coffers of a few wealthy individuals. and, "as in a poker game where the chips were concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, the other fellows could stay in the game only by borrowing. When their credit ran out, the game stopped." (Eccles, 1951) Eccles blamed, in part, the extension of private credit, or credit that was provided outside the traditional banking system. This included mortgages, consumer installment...
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