COST OF LIVING.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 June 1922, Page 5

COST OF LIVING.

POSITION IN AUSTRALIA. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Sydney, June 23. The Sydney Morning Herald, in a special article dealing with the coet of living, says that, while the prices have generally fallen, with a tendency in some instances to drop even further, there is a feeling among the public that in some cases the drop is insufficient, especially in view of the declaration of the decreased basic wage. The paper points out there are factors in price-fixing which are not always appreciated by the public, and quotes heads of business houses showing that women’s fads and other unrecognised causes rule some lines. One merchant declared that there was a section of the public who demanded a high-priced extravagant article that was not governed by the law of supply and demand, but absolutely by the taste of purchasers, who very often would not take high quality goods at half the price if offered them. They would feel that the goods were not what they were represented to be. The Herald adds that, speaking of absolute necessities governed by supply and demand, prices in every instance have fallen very considerably.