The High Cost of Living

Horowhenua Chronicle, 9 May 1910, Page 4

The High Cost of Living

The following instructive article appears in the current issue of the ".Mercantile Gazette of New Zealand.";— In the United States the high cost of living has awakened public interest and some of the foremost economists of that country have recently dealt with the subject. A normal life for a vast multitude of people is rapidly becoming impossible, and when the home life is at stake, the 'foundation of tlio nation itself is threatened, for its strength lies in the .inspiration of the homo and 'the influence of family life. The standard of living has advanced with rapid strides not only in America, but practically all over tlio world. .Mr Simon N. Patten, Professor of Political Economy in the University of Pennsylvania, treats the subject in quite an interesting manner and advances now theories or reasons which arc well worth considering. What Mr Patten says as regards America applies with but little variation to New Zealand. Professor Patten points out thait in the master of housing tlio working classes are to-day living in better dwellings than were kings in the Middle Ages. Hand in hand with an increase in quantity THE FOOD SUPPLY has gone an increase in variety, and these have changed the labourer's table from the monotony of meat and bread to one with a well-balanc-ed variety. The introduction of tlie sewing machine and other laboursaving devices have also liberated much of the housewife's time, and enabled the average man >to dress and care for his family in a style before impossible. The three most generally accepted explanations for the present state of affairs voiced by men with broad business experience, but which Professor Patten regards as false, are first that the present high values are due ito an increase in the supply of gold; if this be so then it is a temporary mal-ndjustment of prices which will in the end adjust itself. Tlio second explanation, which is purely American, is that the higher prices are due to the slow but steady failure of the natural resources of the country. This view ignores the new wonders of agriculture which science is daily revealing. In many lines the yield per acre is being doubled through scientific farming with its rotation of crops and approved METHODS OF FERTILISATION. In addition millions of acres are being added to the agricultural lands by irrigation, swamp drainage, and the evolution of crops capable of either withstanding extensive dry spells or occasional frosts. The third explanation is that the worker is being exploited. This view is advanced by the Socialists, and if it be true the only escape from the situation is revolution. But the | professor points out -that the urgent unsatisfied demand to-day is not for food, but for comforts. However, he dismissed these three explanations as untenable, and himself advances four reasons as the leading causes at work in the present situation. These are: first, lack of sufficient capital; second, bad distribution of population; third, isolation of producer and consumer; fourth, new status of women. Dealing with the first point he says: "More capital is needed to supply the increased demand for commodities occasioned by the newer standard of living. Yet in face of this need, the sources of capital are drying up. Families with incomes of 5000 dollars a year have set a new standard of liberality in expenditures. The group below finds it more than it can do to keep pace with the new standard set by those above. This constant pressure to keep up appearjuices, along with a. decay of tlio moral instruction emphasising the benefits of frugality and saving, has taken from industry the people who formerly were the great source of its capital.' The new standard of living has cut down on the amount of saving as it has likewise cut down on the number of children per family. Small families and small savings are two effects of one cause, a high standard of living." The bad distribution of population and the isolation of PRODUCER AND CONSUMER apply almost exclusively to America, and need not be elaborated lxero. The fourth point, the new status of women is interesting. The professor says: "Forty years ago a man could live comfortably on 1000 dollars (£200) a year. Under the magic of the wife's hand this 1000 dollars became 1500 or 2000 dollars. The wife created more value by industry in the home than her husband did out of it. In her hands cloth became clothes, flour bread, and fresh fruits the winter's preserves. Now all things are done outside the home, and must b« purchased with the 1000 dollar income. The wife no longer contributes to the family income by creating values, and with the increased standard of elaborate dressing, she is often its chief burden." And Professor Patten holds that_ it is no solution of the problem to increase incomes for the individual thus changed drops into a new class with a higher standard and finds blie pressure of the new situation as great as before. The relief must be general to be effective, and it must include the possibility of saving as rell as the possibility of living.