Voters Blamed For High Taxes

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31677, 13 May 1968, Page 22

Voters Blamed For High Taxes

(N.Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON, May 12. As a result of the two-party system electors were asked to choose which pattern of sheep’s clothing they liked best, the president of the Social Credit League (Dr W. A. Evans) told the league’s annual conference in Wellingten on Saturday. “If all electors had sufficient perception to see that the competition is being run by the wolf—namely an inadequate, dishonest and antiquated money system—they should also have the perception to distinguish clearly be-

tween what they are supposed to desire and what they actually desire,” said Dr Evans.

An economic system was needed which was not geared to booms and slumps, but to a continuous growth. The economy should be founded on the community's wealth, its goods and services. It should expand automatically and benefit from automation. Finance should reflect production and not viceversa.

“We, the ordinary people, are responsible for what is wrong, for insecurity and heavy taxation in peacetime. Yours is the power to put things right Government officials are your servants and not your masters.” Growing Debt

Dr Evans said that at present the two major parties offered a variety of technical ways of producing what some-

body else wanted, not what the people really wanted. Increased wages, taxes, social services, creation of work for the unemployed, various marketing schemes, World Bank loans, restrictions, State control, devaluation, were some of the remedies. Borrowing went on and on, debt went up and up. “Are these the things the people have asked for?” he said. Prosperity would never arrive until the voters demanded it, and backed up their demand by showing that they would dispense with any government that did not give them what they wanted. The party leader (Mr V. F. Cracknell) said: “It’s time we stopped worshipping this golden calf, because it is wholly inadequate to finance the world’s trade. “You can fill your teeth with it, and if you like the colour you can wear it as an

ornament, but you can’t eat it and it won’t keep you warm in winter. I.M.F. Plan

“The only bright spot is the proposal by the International Monetary Fund to issue special drawing rights: nine of the 10 major industrial countries have agreed that 70 per cent of this issue would be debt-free and only 30 per cent repayable. “The I.M.F. is also going to study the volume of world trade and progressively ’ issue new currency to balance the amount of international money with the volume of world trade. Doesn’t that sound familiar?

“All these problems in the financial world are man-made, and they can be put right by men,” said Mr Cracknell. “Let’s take a leaf out of the I.M.F.’s book and get our own economy working.”