Profits and Wages

The British propertied class came out of the war much worse off than when they went in but in the past few years they have been moving towards their former position. The phrase used by the Chancellor of the Exchequer is that what has happened since 1952 “has about restored the balance.”

This arose out of a question put by Mr. Douglas Jay on 22nd March, 1960, about the increase of wage rates and dividends. Mr. Heathcote Amory replied that whereas weekly wage rates have increased by about 42 per cent. between 1952 and January, 1960, and by about 3½ per cent. between 1958 and January, 1960, provisional estimates about dividend payments show that dividends paid by companies on ordinary shares in 1959 were about 78 per cent. higher than in 1952 and about 12 per cent. higher than in 1958.

The reply was followed by a further interchange. Mr. Amory admitted to Mr. Jay that these figures show that under the Conservative governments “dividends have been increasing faster than wages,” but retorted that between 1938 and 1952 “dividends increased by only 30 per cent. whereas wages increased by 100 per cent. ”

Then Mr. Amory agreed with a Tory interjection that workers’ earnings (he probably meant wage rates) were falling behind the cost of living under the Labour government and have got ahead since.

Figures given in the official Economic Survey 1960 show that company dividends on ordinary’ and preference shares rose by nearly 30 per cent. between 1955 and 1959 from £655 million to £848 million.

(Editorial, Socialist Standard, May 1960)