The economy

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32450, 10 November 1970, Page 18

The economy

Sir,—“Plumbob’s” thinking is in need of re-alignment. New Zealand’s greatest national asset is its labour. To exploit wilfully is crass. Through the ages, from the baboon to the tycoon, no system has progressed without productive labour, yet men like Mr Skinner, whose knowledge, wisdom, and foresight are beyond question, plough along unfurrowed minds, trying to upturn a sod of sweet reason, but the ulterior motive always seems to rear its ugly head. The time is coming when a decision will have to be made between uncontrolled monopoly and StJite control. Surely a compromise in allowing the wor-

ker to invest in his own labour, share in the responsibility, and guide his own destiny is not destructive. This is not original thinking, blit is proving its worth in the industrial centres of the West.—Yours, etc., D. NICOL. November 8, 1970. Sir,—ln support of Mr G. M. Edmonds I would say that if some cave-man had not moaned about the cold and damp of the cave then we would all still be living in caves, including “A B. Cedarian.” Man has eternally sought perfection in his way of life, some people, the Buddhists, for instance, believe that they have found it, but the majority feel that their life has not been full enough, that we are not getting enough material benefits from life. We are promised these things by politicians but something always goes wrong. We are on the brink of achieving our personal ambition, which may be buying a new car or home or it may appear possible to maintain a child at university, and then we are told that we have “excessive liquidity,” that we are not going to be able to buy the things which we have produced.— Yours, etc., JOHN J. FORSTER. November 7, 1970.

Sir,—Mr Muldoon, referring to recent additional tobacco taxes, said: "It is increasingly argued that discouraging tile consumption of these commodities is likely to make a positive contribution to our general health.” . He had in mind probably the most recent’ issue of the Health Department’s magazine, which described how smoking affects the health and that also the World Health Organisation has bani ned smoking at all its meeti ings because it reasoned that influential persons smoking at public functions would set a bad example. Most adults, whether smokers or not, would agree that nothing should be done to encourage the young to smoke. One would think that not one member of Parliament would : vote to encourage smoking. Yet the record shows that some have confused the cost of smoking with the cost of living, when surely it is obvious that smoking relates to dying.—Yours, etc., PATRICK NEARY. November 7, 1970. Sir,—There is a germ of . justification for Mr Arthur [ L. Walker’s believing the Labour Party is “the nearest [ thing we have to practical , Christianity." For instance, there were so many nice, trusting people crucified as an economic sacrifice to financial orthodoxy under the last Labour Government that the party has not been able to redeem ( itself since. How> ever, we are dealing with the economy. The proposed pro-fit-pause may be practical once the wage-rage is over and the relativity rat-race is decided. Even then, an internal profit-pause is dependent upon external economic variables. There is the British E.E.C.-come, E.E.C.-go policy for example. A possible beef-grief over American quotas; a likely lamb-jam caused through external levies and internal increases in killing charges; then, overshadowing all this is the massive “glutta-butta”in Europe which is a permanent threat to our vulnerable dairy-dreary economy.—Yours, etc., G. M. EDMONDS. November 9, 1970. Sir,—We are told that the aim of the mini-Budget is to dampen down demand and reduce inflationary pressures in the economy. This suggests that the official diagnosis of our trouble is too much money chasing too few goods. Could someone please tell your readers what individual or authority compiles statistics of tiie total purchasing power issued over a given period (say, six months), and the total retail prices of goods and services produced in the same period? Also, what is the precise amount of the imbalance? Without this information it is impossible to know whether or not the Governments actions are correct, or whether we are,

in fact, suffering from the “disease” they are treating. —Yours, etc., EQUATION. November 7, 1970. Sir, —I am old and stricken in years and unable to digest modern notions and the polemics fed out on television and in your columns although much soothing syrup is added. Can anyone assure me that the willy-nilly of wage disputes will not carry away my age group in its vortex and maybe, too, the livelihood of unionists and bosses? Car insurances offer no-claim bonuses. Would it allow the dust of conflict to settle if Mr Muldoon were to double the payroll tax and pay it out to any employee who had worked for an unbroken week?—Yours, etc., QUI BONO. November 8, 1970.