A CANDID CRITIC

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 139, 16 June 1930, Page 11

A CANDID CRITIC

RECKLESS STATE SPENDING

OUTLOOK FOR THE FUTURE

In the economic outlook Mr. A. C. | Bretherton, a Christchurch business man, sees hope if all will keep cheerful for a little longer, and if the Government and local bodies will give up raising taxation and squandering the proceeds, and then borrowing more (states "The Press"). When addressing the Canterbury Advertising Club at their luncheon on Friday he was strongly critical of the Government, claiming that it had drained the country of working capital. He declared the Government and local bodies "spendthrifts of the most dangerous kind." He also said that the lhiiincial position overseas was hopeful, and that the country might/enjoy bettor times in the spring. "Hero in-New Zealand," said Mr. Bretherton, "wo have five thousand unemployed. We sec the farmers with their incomes cut in half and all their profits gone; we' sec business men cramped for want of credit. It is a bad outlook if viewed backwards, but the outlook: forwards is quite encouraging. ' : "If the Government will stop squandering money on public and other socalled services which produe.fi no land or income tax, no death duties and no Customs duties, wo may get some development capital .for our own farms and industries. : "The Government has drained us dry of what working capital it did not drive to Australia —there was £8,000,----000 last year —to escape our taxation. We are bored stiff with the Government's past attitude that every demand of the-public services must be met and must be paid for with more and yet more taxation. DUTY OF LOCAL BODIES. "If our 677 local bodies will quit borrowing and stop trebling our. rates every ten years, we can soon do some development work ourselves, and the unemployed will' get jobs instead of relief work. ; "We must'advertise the fact that the Government, in sixteen years, has almost trebled taxation and almost trebled the national debt, the pace getting faster and faster each year. "We must advertise the.fact that local bodies have trebled their debts and their rates in the^ same period. This pace means ruin If we don't stop them. They are spendthrifts of the most dangerous kind. "As for the railways, advertising the facts will get people to realise that over 2000 men in the service havo no work to do. Kcliable authority says the railways are being run as an auxiliary for the Hospital arid Charitable Aid Boards. If the railways, were run by a private company it would reduce the general staff of 1710 to 600—the number needed in 1914. "However, if the business community and the farmers will look cheerful and be cheerful we shall soon forge ahead again," declared Mr. Bretherton, turning to the other side of the picture. "In the slumps of bygone years there were some who realised that the worst time was the best time—the best time to buy in—and' they made their fortunes. Even now there are men buying lambs at six shilling^ who will double their money by next February. Their wool clip in November will be enough to pay for the lambs they are buying now. "It only needs some of you advertising men to proclaim your opinions to set the ball rolling for a return to prosperity by the coming, spring." HOPE FROM OVEESEAS. Mr. Bretherton considered that the financial outlook overseas was comforting. Money was extremely plentiful and cheap in London. Wool was being consumed on a greater scale in England than for many years past. In Canada wool was also coming into its own again. These factors all related to our own prosperity and particularly to that of Australia. In Australia they had arranged for about £100,000,000 of the national debt which fell due this year. They had introduced economics, the drought had broken, the coal strike had been settled, wool promised immediate recovery, imports had been curtailed, and it was oven possible that the Australians—just to show that Anzac spirit —would give their country such a "shove along" that tho world would gasp with wonder. As four of our sixbanks had their headquarters in Australia, we were specially interested in Australia.