Unemployment Funds

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20093, 24 November 1930, Page 10

Unemployment Funds

The recently appointed Unemployment Board, which holds its first meeting tomorrow, will no doubt begin by trying to discover what it can do. Exactly what duties the Board will undertake will depend largely upon the policy it determines for itself, for the terms of the Act leave it a remarkable freedom, both in its powers and in its procedure. The Board will control an income of over £600,000 per annum; and already plans are being shaped from one end of the Dominion to the other, suggesting how the money can be spent. The Acting-Prime Minister, a few days ago, recommended that a substantial proporti of the fund should be employed in making advances to farmers at low rates of interest, on condition that the farmers should employ additional men on their holdings. Such a plan has f rhaps certain advantages, best seen i particular cases; but it cannot be expected to do much to solve the major problem confronting the man on the land, that of bringing his costs into equilibrium with the low prices he is compelled to take for his farm products. The general body of distressed farmers will be quite unable to undertake further loan liabilities simply to provide additional employment, wheh all they can do by spending the money is to involve themselves more heavily in unprofitable production. A much [ s under plan, and one which the Unemployment Board ought [ to investigate sympathetically, is that of giving genuine assistance to the struggling farmer, in order that he may employ, without loss, as much labour as possible to maintain and ex- ' pand primary production. A third suggestion, that the Unemployment Fund should be utilised to pay the cost of developing and settling low grade and more or less unoccupied Crown lands, chiefly in the North Island, can have little value, since on present costs and prices third-class land and much of the second-class laftd cannot be farmed profitably. There is bound to be a scramble by local authorities for grants from the Unemployment Fund to provide work for the unemployed; but it is safe to say that not five par cent, of that work will be economically justified. If it is undertaken, the expenditure will make, rather than lessen, unemployment. It would probably be better to pay the unemployed a moderate weekly sum than to employ them at full rate wages upon work neither necessary nor economically desirable. When the new Board considers all suggestions made, as it is certain to do, it is to be hoped that it will study the interests of the Dominion first and those of the unemployed only in proper relation.