THREAT TO STANDARD OF LIVING

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 287, 31 August 1938, Page 6

THREAT TO STANDARD OF LIVING

Destruction Of Real Wealth “INCREASED HUMAN EFFORT WANTED” “I do not see how the high standard of living which many countries are endeavouring to maintain can continue for long under a system which involves destruction of real wealth,” said Mr. John B. Stetson, of Philadelphia, U.S.A., who was a passenger from Sydney in the Wanganella yesterday. Mr. Stetson’s remark was made in reference to the argument that in some cases tariffs against imported manufactures are imposed in order to protect the standard of living.

The real wealth of a country consisted of its natural resources, such as minerals, standing timber and so on, and excess labour, he said. Apart from exploitation of natural resources the only way to increase a country’s real wealth was to increase production by increased human effort. But the policy being carried out to-day in many countries was the direct opposite of that. Working people wanted higher wages and shorter working hours, which in itself meant the destruction of labour, and, therefore, of real wealth, and the politician’s method of meeting those demands was to destroy more real wealth by taxation. By those means politicians might achieve an immediate and apparent success, but it could not go on indefinitely. Unless the working people were prepared to create more real wealth by increasing the total volume of labour they could not hope to continue to enjoy an increased share of real wealth. “Mind you, I have no objection to anyone wanting a greater share of the so-called good things of life,’ said Mr. Stetson, “but the people of a nation cannot hope to have extra wealth that they are not prepared to produce. For instance, a man may say that he wants to own an expensive motor-car, but an expensive motor-car represents a great deal of labour, and unless somebody is prepared to supply that labour, then the man simply cannot have his motorcar. Experience Of France. “France recently went through a wave of Communism which resulted in the working week being reduced to 40 hours, and the serious fall in production which followed nearly ruined the national currency.

“Another almost world-wide policy which must end in financial disaster is the present practice of Governments to borrow huge sums for expenditure on public works with the object of maintaining the purchasing power of the people.” Mr. Stetson said that in America similar steps were being taken to improve the conditions of one-third of the population which had been described as “under-fed, under-clothed and under-privileged.” This would be all right if the scheme adopted would at the same time enable the section of the people benefited to increase national production sufficiently to pay for the assistance being given them, but otherwise it would prove unsound. There was no lack of wellwishers who wanted to see the lot of the under-privileged classes improved, but it could only be done satisfactorily on a sound economic basis. “I don’t want to be represented as criticising the New Zealand Government in any way,” said Mr. Stetson. “I have only been In your country an hour or so and know nothing at all about it.”