BRITISH LIFE HARDER TODAY

Chronicle (Levin), 12 April 1947, Page 5

BRITISH LIFE HARDER TODAY

N.Z. Presd Assoeiation's Special Correspondent,

E. G.

Webber.)

REVEALING REPLIES TO QUESTIONNA1RES

(From

i . Received Friday, 9.50 p.m., LONDON, April 11. Pdssibly inspircd by the introspeetive inood which appears to have overtaken the country, various newspapers and other organs of publie opinion have been asking the- Bi'itish public a lot oi' questions about itself and its general i-eaction to piesent conditions. The British Institute oi' Public Opinion, which is a member oi' the worldwide Oallup Poll Assoc ation, is the, pioneer fact -finding organisation in Britain, led the way, publishing its results in the London News-Chromcle. Recently it asked the "question : "Compared' witli a year ago are you finding it harder, easier or about the sanie to make ends nieetV" JSixty per eent said: "HardcA'." Thirty-two per cent said "about the sanie." Bix per eent said "easier" and two per eent said "dont know." Tliis incidentally is, by far the lowest perccntage of "dont knows" returned in any reeent Gallup Poll in Britain, and would appear to indieatc that on this very pertinent, question at lcast very I'ew people are unable to make up their rninds.

This Gallup Poll also separated the replies of housevvivcs from tliose of other members of the eonimunity aud found that HO per eent. oi British womenfolk are finding it harder to make ends meet tinui a year ago. Witli Dr. Dalton 's iiiipending budget in mimi the Gallup Poll then niquired rather hopefully which tax the publie would ti ko uiost to -me reduced. in the replies the inconie tax and the purchase tax on food and clothfcs led all the resl witli 75 per cent. approval. Asked what tax they favoureil "if the Chancellor has to add a fresli tax to make up the numey lost?" 20 pei eent. voted for taxation on football puols, gambling and speculation on the stock market, and 1 1 per cent. for 111 creasing taxation on liquor. Xothing else received a dccisive percentage thougli two per cent. considered a tax should be imposed on keeping catsl A well-known Bunday nationaJ new-s paper then set its own list of inquiriess under the general iieadiug: "Wluit do you tliink of life m Britain.'" it found that 38 per cent. of the replies wero optimistic aliout Britain V future, 17 per cent. wero pessimistic aud the remainder doubtful. Against this it found that 18 per cent. consid ered the power of the British Fmpire wus waning and only 27 per cent. considered it would extend. Asked about liviug costs 79 per cent. said they had wages or salary increases since 1945, but of tli'is nuniber 7(J per cent. considered the increases had beeu entirely absorbed ny ihe e.xtra eost or liviug. Another national dail.v evening newspaper which invited its readers to tell ihe world how they wero balancing their family budgets learned some startliug 1'acts. At the top of the scale it heard from several men on incomes of £1000 to £1500 annually who claimed even on four-figure salaries that they could not alford to run cars or keep domestic help. At the other extreme they heard from a numher more whose incomes were between £309 and £350 and who claimed that even with the strictest economy they were unable to make ends meet and could do so only by levying on their savings. Oue married clerk on £312 annually said after paying alj essentials he was left with £1 a year to pay for new clothes, entertainnient, holidays and any other exlras. Another clerk, married with two children, earning £7 a week and liviug" in a prefabricated honse at a rent of £1 a week, said he could not alford U sinoke, drink, go to the pictures or take a holiday. A housewife whose husband cairn? £112 a year said she was left with £] a week after buying food and paying rent, fares. insurances and school ex penses for tliree children.

■ This £1 had to liuy all her husband 's clothes and cover all extras for (ivo people. She added that her father oi. an income of £400 a year had kept »• ten-roomed honse with three servantand brought up a family of (ive. A London ciergytnan with three children on a stipencl of £550 a year admitted that he had had a deficit every year since 1939 and had had to meet it by seilmg his spare iurniture, books and a gola watch. Even tranker was the muri who ad mitted that on £000 a year his wife and himself could not make ends meet and that he was financmg his home by ulack marketing! He claimed that on £300 a year prewai he lived eomfortablv in a modern tlat and was able to run a sinai! car. \ow he lived in "a semi-undergrouhd .rahiri t warren, " could not run a car and could not alford to entertain. "I should not hesitate to sell u bottle of whiskv at 300 pei >-ent. prolit," he said. "Thougli 1 draw the line at buying pineapples toi two shillings eacli and selling Iheni at oue guinea. This is because I have noi yet discovered how to get pineapples for two shillings!" A married school teaeher said on a salary of £550 a year after paying £7(i inconie tax and buying the liare ueces sities he was left with a surplus»of £51 to pay for doctors and denlists' ex penses, holidays and all other mci dentals, and to p repare for an expeeted family which he estimated would cost at least £30 on arrival. In almost every case income tax was the largest disbursement quoted by correspondents. Next in order were food, travelling, fares, liuiclies in town ,and school fees. It was noticeable that the great majority of the vorrospondents were from the professional or semi-prol'es-sional middle classes, and there were l'ew replies from mauual worKers, lanriowners or farmers. Some of those who did not eomplain were very scathing about those whc did. Oue ma n said: "Most of these liard-luek stories by middle-class readers are nauseating. In a proper svsteni of society their incomes would he £20(1" a year." * Another man witli a wife and two children claimed that he lived on the unemployment beneiit of £151 a year vn d snved (is (id a week. A considerable proportion of the •vruers express a desire to emigrate »ud several mentioned New Zealaml as rne country of their preference. A footuote was written by oue man who signed himself "I'ontented Baclielor. " He admitted cheerfully that after leaving the arniv he set out to have a good time for oue year. On an income of £525 a yeni he spent £054, taking the balance from savings. "1 have had good value for niy monev," he said. 'and I enjoved the vear tremendous ly."