THE UNEQUAL YOKE.

Southland Times, Issue 22217, 9 January 1934, Page 10

THE UNEQUAL YOKE.

To the Editor.

Sir.—lnequality of sacrifice is what New Zealand has suffered from for the past three years and it is still preventing us from regaining an even keel. This fact has again been emphasized by one of your correspondents over the signature “Seventy.” The Government has legislated to enable it to cut, repudiate or scrap in every other direction, but so as to enable it to continue benefits to two classes of people. These are: first the overseas moneylender and second, the State employee or exemployee. Off the former money was borrowed by the tens of millions and squandered, yet the Government declares it is going to maintain the full amount of interest agreed upon. Yet it took the money fiom the New Zealander, much of it the hard earnings ot pioneers, and not only has it violated its agreement by two cuts on the interest but has advanced the repayment dates by from 10 to 20 years, and by so doing has forced dire hardship on many elderly people in the Dominion, who had calculated on say £lOO a year for life, and who now find their income reduced to £6O by cuts in interest, less £3 unemployment levy and £1 tax. These last penalties in many cases assist the spendthrift. Concerning the second class we were asked to swallow a statement by a State officer that no person in the State employ or the civil service was overpaid, and those who were receiving from £lOOO to £2OOO a year were underpaid. A good way to test his statements would be to give all the State employees the “sack” and advertise the positions at 25 per cent, reduction and the Government would find itself swamped with applicants from both men and women, who within a few months would discharge their duties equally as efficiently and consider they were highly paid for their services. But both civil servant and superannuated person and overseas moneylenders are enjoying their uninterrupted benefits at the expense, sacrifice and hardship of thousands who all their life had aimed at creating their own superannuation for their old age.—l am, etc., “PIONEER.”