The Dominion. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1937. IDEALS AND REALITY

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 131, 27 February 1937, Page 10

The Dominion. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1937. IDEALS AND REALITY

In a speech at Timaru, reported to-day, the Prime Minister remarked that he had been accused of being an idealist, but that, he added, was a portion of his equipment that he would certainly not throw overboard. The policy now being carried out by the Government was emphatically endorsed by the people at the General Election and Cabinet had no intention of modifying its plans,'but wou.d go straight ahead, being confident in the knowledge that on humanitarian and uplifting efforts it had the full support of the people. A little self-examination will show that the idea.s oi justice,” a phrase coined by the Labour Party, are common to a.l of us. We all like to think of a perfect world in which every person would receive a share of the good things and the privileges o civilisation, and most of us, at any rate, probably feel regretful that this ideal cannot be realised here and now. Humanitarianism, and the ideals incorporated in the phrase "social justice, spring Goin a common sentiment deeply rooted in every Christian community. ne attainment of these is not aj matter of inclination—the spirit is abundantly manifest —but o' means. It is at this point that Conservatism and Socialism part company. The first says: *We will con.ei this, that or the other benefit on the people if and when the means can be found.” The second says: “We will confer these benefits stiaight away, and the means will be found somehow —in the last resort. h\ levying taxation.” . Each school of thought is reaching out to the same objective, but by different methods, which in political controversy separates Conservative opinion from Socialist. The first is constructive, because it believes in building up the means without disturbing the geneial equilibrium of society. The second is destructive, because it believes that there must be a breaking-down before there can be a building up. The capacity of a country to develop its ideas of social justice depends entirely upon its resources. If these are overstrained then harm, not good, will result, and the attainment of social justice will be postponed indefinitely. All progress in political humanitarianism must be regulated by the means. Social justice cannot be obtained by waving a wand. It has to be paid for out of the resources of the State. Social justice obtained for one section at the expense of others to a degiee that weakens the national economy simply perpetrates fresh injustices. This is a time when every taxpayer ought to be thinking about idealisms and reality. Monday is the last day for the payment of income tax. Arrears after that will be taxed an additional. 5 per cent. A large part of the Government's policy of expenditure is aimed at the realisation of its ideas on “social justice. Toward that end taxation has been accentuated in various ways. The average person thinks about taxation in terms of income tax. But income tax represents only about one-fifth of the total revenue from taxation. Hidden taxation” (indirect) accounts for the rest, and because it is less obtrusive the public examines it less closely than it does direct taxation on incomes. When the taxpayer is mentioned, the public thinks of a particular class—the payers of income tax. But we are all taxpayers and we should remember that when we tot up our household bills and reflect upon the rising cost of living—indirect taxation. The executive of the New Zealand Associated Chambers of Commerce emphasises this point in a statement published to-day, and quotes an overseas critic of our taxation that “if that tax bill had to be paid all at one time by the taxpayer as a direct tax, instead of in driblets in indirect taxes, there would be a revolution which would be recorded in history as a very snappy affair, and one remarkably effective in reducing the cost of government.”. What is actually happening is that we are paying for an instalment of social justice in advance of our time and our means. . 1 here is a saying that a man cannot live a champagne life on a beer income. This homely aphorism is applicable to the Government’s ideas on national expenditure. We will reach more surely and safely the ideals which all of us hope some day may be realised if we move cautiously and well within our means. To proceed otherwise, as the Government is assuredly doing, is to court disaster to the State and the postponement of those ideals.