FACING THE MUSIC.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 January 1922, Page 4

FACING THE MUSIC.

The debate in the House on the second reading of the Bill to reduce the cost of living bonuses granted to civil servants showed that most of the members who spoke were more concerned with retaining the votes of their con- 4 stituents affected by the retrenchment policy than the interests of the country in this time of stress and. difficulty. There was evinced no desire to help the Government in performing in its painful duty, but rather a tendency to score off it politically. Some of the members do not seem to realise, or affect not to realise, that the earning power of the country has been suddenly and materially diminished, and that like private people and business firms, the Government has to cut its cloth according to the material available, or become insolvent. Some of the speakers questioned if the cost of living had actually diminished, as shown by the Government Statistician’s tables. The same speakers probably found no fault with the accuracy of the figures when they were increasing. Everyone knows quite well that some of the main articles of food are cheaper now than before the war, whilst in a few weeks, when cheaper wheat is available, bread, and all wheat foods will also show a decided fall. Mr. Holland, fishing no doubt for the support of the civil servants. contended that instead of retrenching, the necessary money should bo obtained by increased taxation. The Labor leader knows full well that New Zealand is in many respects already the highest taxed part of the British Empire. To apply further taxation would effectually dry up the wells of' wealth. Already the high company taxation is having, this effect. There is no incentive for companies to make money for the Government to take—and squander as Mr. Holland would do —nor to extend their operations and. soprovide additional employment. The present taxation is emergency, war taxation, and simply cannot be borne in ordinary times, let alone times like the present,, without grave injury to the whole economic and. financial structure of the country. The- taxation has got to come down, and it is satisfactory to see the Government recognising the fact, and courageously doing its duty. It has the public behind it in this matter, and it should not be deterred by the minatory tone adopted by some of those affected. If they want to strike and hold up the affairs of the country, let the Government accept the challenge, and settle the matter. We know who would win. At the same time, we believe there is room for adjustments in the proposals. For instance, the greatly increased cost of labor on the railways results more from the reduction of hours and the consequent payment of overtime than from the actual ihcrease in pay. These conditions might be reviewed, leaving wages over for the present. The education “cut”, too, might also be advantageously reviewed, for school teachers before they, received their increases were notoriously underpaid. But the Government has a duty to perform to tH£|i country, and. that is to reduce departmental expenditure, and, whatever the consequences, it cannot, and, it would seem, will not, shirk it. One thing the Premier made clear on Friday morning, and that was that there is no intention of interfering with the first bonus of £45 granted to the lower paid men, thus making the basic wage £2lO, below which no reduction is to be made. This is perfectly fair, and will remove much of the objection that was raised when the proposals were first introduced.