‘PARISH PUMP’ POLITICS OVER THE BUDGET

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 September 1949, Page 9

‘PARISH PUMP’ POLITICS OVER THE BUDGET

A lot of “parish pump politics” and very little about the financial difficulties* facing and involving the Dominion had been talked in the House of Representatives in the Financial Debate, said Mr W. Grounds (North Auckland) in the Legislative Council, when the Land and Income Tax Bill was considered. He expressed regret that the representation of the 2nd N.Z.E.F. Association on the question of inflationary trends had not been given greater consideration by the Government. The association’s special committee had devoted a tremendous amount of thought and work to the problem. He described today’s situation as democracy’s dilemma because of the distance of the true relationship of goods produced on the one hand from accumulated purchasing power on the other. Mr Grounds described the “solution” of one speaker to the Financial Debate in the House of Representatives as “a small mouse.” That solution merely consisted of a change of Government, which it was claimed would create more confidence, begetting more enterprise, competition, demand for labour, and so on. “It seemed to me pitiable that that should be regarded as the panacea for the ills of the world,” he added. “It seemed to me like trying to sweep up a snow storm with a feather from a peacock's tail.”