THE COST OF LIVING

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 119, 20 May 1912, Page 6

THE COST OF LIVING

One of Sir Joseph Ward's tasks in his Budget of last year was to convince New Zealanders that they, were much better off than the taxpayers of Frank-fort-on-the-Main, Duisburg, fclberfeld, and' Dresden, and at the same time to admit that the cost df living here had increased within the lasti few years, j Of course these statements do not necessarily conflict. It is very difficult to compare one oountry "with another, especially a, remote one, in the matter of cost of living. Sueb a comparison requires full information of the daily life of an average individual and the national life, and the Budget did not giv« the necessary details. It is much more interesting to New Zealanders to have their present condition compared with their state in some time paßt, and also with the position of a near country of Bimilar people, such as New South Waleß or Victoria. Last year the Government promised that "the Royal Commission to enquire into an unemployment insurance scheme would also fully investigate the cost of living as far as New Zealand conditions .were affected." No serious attempt was made in the Budget to indicates the reason for the rise. "The cause is explained in different ways/ Sir Joseph stated cautiously. "It is attributed to various causes, but authorities who hare investigated it i state the principal cause is due to the increased production of gold, and in consequence a corresponding increase in the exchange value of goods purchasable by gold— that is, more gold is required for purchases now than when gold was scarce." This gold factor w*s unduly stressed in the short paragraph given to "cost of living," and the gold weighs heavily with Sir Joseph Ward's successor, the Hon. T. Mackenzie. He, however, has hinted ihat much of th« world's prosperity is due to the increasing production of gold. Hence, if on« argues to the extreme, in one case the cost of living will decline if the nations will only conic to ( a friendly understanding about dropping some gold into the sea or limiting the output for the future, and in the other case everybody will be rich if only some mountains of solid gold are discovered. This is not quite a fair line of 'reasoning, ' but' it ib useful to show that undue stress on the gold factor will quickly involve a reduction, to an absurdity. We are' confident that the gold factor, so far as it relates to the output of this mineral from the world's mines, •will be a minor matter to any competent commission in this country. The Premier has said that the personnel of the commission will be announc. Ed to-day or to-morrow. It can be stated emphatically at once that unless the Government secures the services of some able men, and entrusts them with a wide and wise of reference, the commission will not do much good. There would be a big bill to pay for an endless chain of questions and ansVers, and the people would be more puzzled than- ever. The study of the findings of similar commissions in other coiuu tries, and particularly the evidence that has been taken recently in Australia, should guide the Government in setting out the scope of the enquiry. In his little book on "The Course of Prices in New Zealand," Dr. M'llraith, of Christchurch, submitted that theories of a higher cost of living could not fairly be based on wholesale quotations for the necessaries, considered as ti wliote. This means that any commission must closely examine the methods of distribution. The investigators would also have to look into the tariff system, industrial questions, the general cost of Government, the pleasures and amusements of the people, the increase of the non-pro-ducing class, and so on. They would, too, Jiave to give heed to one of tho tendencies of the times as manifested in the attitude of the Socialist Federation of Labours—the tendency to produce lens and demand more. The enquiry would also touch the subject of land settlement and market*, and "would either promote, or assist to promote, come very desirable national stocktaking, provided the personnel and the order of reference were satisfactory, as we have alreadyexplained. We are not inclined to think that any very exhaustive research trill be done till thp country geU> » »el/Ued fornv of .Government..