‘Greater buying power needed’

Press, 8 January 1983, Page 7

‘Greater buying power needed’

PA Wellington Consumers needed greater buying power, said the Social Credit leader. Mr Beetham. in a New Year message vesterdav.

This would stimulate production and re-employment, he said. New Zealand's economic state demanded much more from the Government than the "fiddling and fine tuning" that had been substituted for real economic management since 1975.

"It was time that the Government and the people who advise it recognise that the fundamental flaw in the internal economy is. and always has been, that in each cycle of production total incomes generated never equal total prices." Mr Beetham said.

"The difference between incomes and prices has to be

made good and the fact that this is done by way of individual. corporate. Government and overseas debt — now of astronomical proportions — is what is draining the life blood out of the economv.

“The answer lies, first of all. in getting additional purchasing power into the hands of the individual consumer and in this way it should stimulate demand and increase- production and reemployment."

A variety of means could be used to achieve this. Mr Beetham said.

Proper reform of the tax system was one way. Another was to succeed in selling produce to foreign markets "at the same time as we equalise incomes and prices internally. " New Zealand must strive to get value for production exports through bilateral trade arrangements." he said.