A BIG EXPERIMENT

Evening Star, Issue 20539, 18 July 1930, Page 2

A BIG EXPERIMENT

SOME BUSINESS MEN'S OPINIONS

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE BILL

LEGISLATORS' ATTITUDE REVIEWED ESTIMATED REVENUE OF FUND [Fi:oh Our. Parliamentary Reporter.] WELLINGTON, July 17. Tho principles of the Government’s Unemployment Bill have to bo discussed in the House on Friday, and members arc busy taking stock or their attitude towards this entirely new departure in legislation', suggestive ox the old Seddonian days of the Humanities programme, * . . , ... The official Opposition lias held a special caucus to discuss tho measure, and, as far as can bo gathered, opinion in that quarter is not yet crystallised, though several members of the party have indicated privately their agreement with the dictum of tho unemployment Committee that the problem is a community responsibility, nncl should be dealt with on well organised lines. If tho Reform Party believed that tho Labourites were closely concerned in tho framing of the measure it could be taken for granted that they would become exceedingly critical, but tin attitude of the Labour members is one of frank disappointment, at the exclusion of women, and the adoption of a workers" levy with no special income tax fas recommended by the Unemployment Committee). Therefore, it would' be easy to demonstrate that there has been no consultation by tho Goveminent with any section of tho House, To this extent the opposition o» the Reform Party will be disarmed, and it may bo expected to take a jiitioal, though not destructive, view of tho experiment. LABOUR DISAPPOINTED. Though extremely keen to see the principle of unemployment insurance on tho Statute Book, the Labour Party is seriously concerned over tho failure or the Bill to include women workers and is strongly critical of the flat rate levy of thirty shillings, which appears to them too crude. However, they regard this as offering opportunities for amendment, and will endeavour to secure full value for the assurance ol tho Minister of Labour that, when committee stage is reached, the Government will accept reasonable amendments. It is pointed out by members of the Labour Party that, while a 39s lew might represent the full week s salary of a young office worker, some skilled artisans could get a whole year's unemployment insurance for a little over the cost of a day’s work. There seems good probability of T no levy scale being made more elastic than at present, ft is interesting to note that the levy is payable by all males over twenty years of age. Thus anluent business men. high-salaried workers, and thousands of others who are extremely unlikely to get the slightest benefit from the Unemployment Act will have to become registered contributors SHARE OF THE STATE. It is evident that if tho Bill becomes law in its present form, it will provide a more generous measure of Slate help for unemployed than in the past, heavy as that expenditure has been. There is to be a subsidy of 50 per cent, ol tho Unemployment Board’s expenditure for relief work and sustenance payments. This contrasts favourably with tho average rate of tho present Government subsidy, which is about 33 per cent In taking a larger responsibility for unemployment expenditure the State will be spreading among the taxpayers a further liability, which the Unemployment Committee had suggested should be made a direct charge by wav of special land and income taxes. The English system provides for the employer, worker, and State each bearing one-third of the cost, but there is little in common between the English and the New Zealand schemes especially as the latter excludes females. The revenue from the levy for unemployment insurance is to cover all ma!e persons of twenty years and over, excluding Maoris not living as Europeans; and there is provision for further exclusions of classes of persons, if deemed desirable in the public interest. Though no official information is available on tho point, it may bo assumed that classified public servants who are members of superannuation funds would be regarded as so permanent in their positions that they could be excluded. On tliis assumption tho probable revenue of tho scheme can bo calculated with fair accuracy. The number of males, excluding Maoris, in tho dominion between tho ages of 20 to 65 inclusive in April, 3929. was as follows :--405,393, less public servants 32,762; net total contributors 372.631. Ibis would provide an annual revenue from the levy of £558,916. The Unemployment Committee’s estimate of the revenue from Hat taxes on all persons _c.ver eighteen years of ago was £505.000. Tho same authority expected that, with a flat tax on incomes, on undistributed company profits, on land tax, and with municipal contributions, there would be a total revenue of £700,000 if tho whole of the levy under the proposed legislation was expanded. Thus, carrying a State subsidy of 50 per cent., the gross revenue of the Unemployment Board would be closely approximating the Unemployed Committee’s assessment. Apparently tho Government aims to provide the same income, but by d.ffcrent methods. As tho Unemployment Bill will be submitted to a close overhaul by the Select Committee* which will take evidence* it may ultimately emerge in greatly changed shape. Upwever critical the Labour opposition, it is a foregone conclusion that its efforts to introduce amendments will fall short of defeating the Government’s intention to establish tho principle of unemployment insurance.

[Special to thk ‘Star.’] CHRISTCHURCH, July 17. “ Tho Bill is going to handicap the country rather than help it.’’ “It contains nil the undesirable elements of tho dole system.” “ Socialism in its worst form.” These remarks are culled from opinions expressed by Christchurch business men who wero invited to comment on the principle of the Government’s Unemployment Bill. Other views wero not quite so condemnatory, though some criticism was directed at the proposal to levy a flat rate, the idea being that a graduated levy would bo more equitable.