EARNING AND LENDING

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 122, 25 May 1945, Page 4

EARNING AND LENDING

According to the National War Loan Council, wage revisions now in progress are estimated, on a conservative basis, to be putting into the pockets of the -workers an additional £ 10,000,000. A part of this money will be absorbed in rectifying discrepancies in the rewards earned by different sections and, to some extent, by a diminution in the amount of overtime worked. At the same time it is clear that there will remain with the workers a large additional volume of spending power which at present cannot be advantageously employed. While thsre is a shortage of goods and services, this money is likely to prove a source of embarrassment unless it is diverted into useful channels. There is therefore a duty resting on all those who have benefited from the recent and pending wage and salary adjustments to place their surplus money at the disposal of the State in contributions to the War Loan and other forms of national saving. In this? way they will be helping the Government to finance its still heavy w s ar commitments, and they will be helping themselves by avoiding the dangers of inflation and in building up reserves which they will be able to use profitably when conditions return to normal. There was a time when Government loans were regarded as the sole responsibility of those with large capital, resources, but that argument can no longer be applied. Redistribution of wealth has created a new class of small capitalists with newresponsibilities as well as benefits, and one of the most urgent of the responsibilities is that of making a maximum contribution to loans and savings.