RETRENCHMENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20599, 25 June 1930, Page 14

RETRENCHMENT.

Sir,—l notice a correspondent in your Thursday's issuo writes rather strongly against retrenchment. Well, I beg to differ from him. What has caused so much unemployment ? That is very easily settled; the Arbitration Court raising wages to such a high figure that labour is too dear to bo employed, and the huge sums advanced to settlers and workers. Those two things have caused a greatwave of extravagance which is ruining tho country. Your correspondent is afraid that any reduction should take place in salaries of Government employees. I would not like to say that every ono was overpaid, but a very largo number are. The cost of governing New Zealand is quite absurd. If tho present Government, instead of putting on more taxation, would use the pruning knife, and start with themselves, wipe out the Arbitration Court, and stop lending such absurd sums as they have been doing, it would cause unemployment to vanish in a quarter of the tinio it will take by continuing the present foolish system of borrowing money to keep on spoon-feeding (hose out of work. There is any quantity of work waiting to be done, and plenty of money in tho country to employ far more men than wo have hero, but labour is too costly; it does not pay to use it. Finance.