The Economy

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31061, 17 May 1966, Page 16

The Economy

Sir,—You agree with what Sir Henry Kelliher told the superannuitants recently, that our pound is only worth 6s 8d compared with 1935 values. In the next breath you state that it is not true that the New Zealand banks and Government are solely responsible for this state of affairs but you do not state what is. To say that prices in Australia and the United Kingdom have gone up 3i times on 1935 prices is only trying to cloud th' 1 issue. To state that New Zealand is one of the world’s major traders is hard to swallow, as our total exports are only a flea-bite of the world’s trading figures. As for importing inflation, any State can combat this iy fixing wages andj prices, as Mr Lake was advised to do over three years ago but would not listen. If butter can je pegged at 2s per lb for years it clearly shows that this works —Yours, etc., S. W. HICKMOTT. May 14, 1966.

Sir, —The letters of Messrs Bray and Hickmott certainly give food for serious thought because, as the former points out, New Zealand being an undivided isolated country, lends itself (everything considered) better than almost any other country to financial reform. Mr Hickmott points out that the Government’s commitments for interest on borrowed money approaches 11} million a week (£62 million a year). I can recall three farmers discussing whether the Government had a moral right to borrow a million pounds without describing how and when it would be repaid. Consider those who have paid life insurance premiums for, say 30 or 40 years when the pound was really worth 20s and being paid out when the value is only 6s Bd. The pen being mightier than the sword, surely the influence of the press can manifest itself despite what may seem an insurmountable established custom.—Yours, etc., VIGILANT. May 16, 1966.