COST OF LIVING.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 2156, 29 July 1920, Page 2

COST OF LIVING.

BUDGET REFERENCE

“A WAVE OF EXTRAVAGANCE.”

It would he futile to attempt to review the whole of the causes of the increased cost of living, which constitute a world-wide problem which all Governments are at present actively engaged in attempting to solve (states the Budget). ’Where the supply of goods falls short of the demand higher prices are inevitable; and reduced production, from whatever cause it may arise, intensities the difficulty. The extent to Avhich the Government can successfully arrest rises in prices in such circumstances constitutes’ a complex question, hut active measures for the limitation of protits have been adopted, and these will be continued and' strengthened. A wave of extravagance has undoubtedly followed in the wake of the war, and people must realise that if (hey spend over-freely they raise prices against themselves; and thus by practising thrift one of the important causes of the rise in prices may be checked. It can still be claimed that this Dominion is better oft than any other part of the world, not only in respect of food prices, but in the general level of prices. The Board of Trade has controlled the prices of such essential commodities as wheat, Hour, bread, butter, sugar, milk, groceries, benzine, timber, and cement. As regards meat, the prico has 'praclically remained constant during the last three years, and nocomplaints have been received as to excessive prices. By means of this control consumers have been saved" many thousands of pounds. The conserving of food and clothing supplies grown and manufactured in the Dominion has been effective in checking the export of commodities needed in the Dominion. This prohibition- included such articles as jam, sugar, bacon, hams, pork, leather, footwear, and manufactured woollen goods. The chief cause of complaint centres round the enormous increase in the prices of imported goods, over which no control can be

.exercised beyond ensuring that the profits made in New Zealand are not unreasonable.