MONETARY PROPOSALS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22205, 7 March 1934, Page 7

MONETARY PROPOSALS

INCREASE IN PURCHASING POWER , ■/, WELLINGTON MERCHANTS PLAN ' WELLINGTON, March «. Proposals for' increasing the purchasingpower |n New. Zealand by the borrowing of £l«;OCk)ipod,bybarik;overdraftbr Treasury bills, to be expended upon necessary public works, were-submitted ,at a sitting 'of the Parliamentary' Monetary Committee to-day by Mr E.,Wi'Moore, merchant, .of Wellington." In addition tb; borrowing. 110,000,000 Mr Moore advocated restoring to all citizens the two 10 per cent, cuts, but he would impose a general wage tax! of lO.per to prodiu* about £9,ooo,OdO.\sp that : loan; and interest would be provided, fbr in the first year. Mr Moore said he believed that all must get ,away from ;tfce idea tiiat-th*; Great War ;was the cauie; Of the' economic' d«r pression.. That : waa/.qjijte :wrtiaV-- The causei was_■ the abuse' of; credit followed by the restriction of credit '■,in-New-. York in 1929." Then that bad example was followed by moat countries, including New Zealand the" waiea, v*aa made; arid thousands of' men were discharged froni Public Works, thereby reducing and restricting the spending, power of aIT citizens and automatically throwing thousands of workers out of employment. , - ■•■<• ' '/•■■ ''*» v«.*.-' /--.? .:■-, A great ; mistake was made .;br.- most people in thinking that gold was the only wealth m the country, Mr Moor* continued. :. Everything -in •,-.. the v foral; ] of materialised labour-"was wealth. ' /He had a-'large "business of/nearly, f 150,000; a; ;h» had no nioriey, arid had?tidt' had for many years/ .What he vhad got- ; .iirt*. materialised labour, ha the fbrmof irianur factured or raw. foodstuffs, or guhdjry debtors created by supplying Ihem with good**. The more Wealth he Ihad/ttta I** money he had. If hi wished; tp. lb* crease' his wealth hie "gave' |iiß 'ierVicel for/ Hie other fellow 5 * form of goods, which ,h«/sold to,.'« customer for which credit- created to enable hitn to procure jhorife goods,arid so the cycle went the quicker; U went the better it v wai .for eyeryo'rie; .; Mr'Mbbre *aid hii bbrr row. £IO>QOO,9OOi by'bari> iftverdrift or Treasury ( biHs, re-employ 50,000 -rrieri.on all kinds of necessary public, work*--roads, bridges, drainage, , building,! \ ftad maintenance of all kinds-—at,'£4 per ««el& Thess men. employed for 50 weeks, koow absorb £10,000,000, and' the spending of this money would reabiiorb the balauce of the unemplbyed, into their vocatiott*a£ ah.avarr age <>fY £4 i per week. I Be. * would imposa _* wage .ft?.;, pi cent, thii would ? Jeti&Tß arid h* would all citizeris. A these of 10 rier cent, would- produce; about £9,000,000, so the loan;and.intemtiwoujid be more thanVprqvided foi 'ihe|u«ivrejr. This' cydle,; going roufid, /would ..conwnri* by its owri impetus. "If not, ; the wag* ; tat corild be retained at 5 per cent, or 10 per cent. This would keep ,au the ploved. The people, having been provided with the spending power, would t.ien purchase: their v u»ual; abiemtiei,. \< Mr. Jaoora said this would also mean .a large increase in ihipbrtations> resulting in Improved returns fwini Ciistonw increased importations wohld mean- ; mor* employment for the ' workers fin 'BwtaMf,, enariling therii'to purchase; more/of-:OWr exports Rt a. mbre>s»tisfactpry^price^» the prodttcerg. ' Increased; mi mpiprei trading ephditibns 'here.wduld mean fitcreasea return*- from ', all Bourees/for- ih# Government. ;The Government ,wo»ld ; receive Iriterest arid, '[i&te from the. ,mariy thousands tof tenants who now ,comd;.pay nothine and larger rental from uicome tax, etc. The sains tox could be withdrawn. A long cross-examination followed. ••