OUR READERS’ VIEWPOINTS

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 73, Issue 6282, 16 September 1946, Page 5

OUR READERS’ VIEWPOINTS

STATE HOUSING Sir, —The latest figures given in the House of Representatives show that, in all, in 10 years 19,000 houses have been built by the State which is less than 2000 a year. It is beginning to dawn upon many people that the housing position will get worse and this is true because we are using the wrong agency to provide us with homes. This position became very clear in Britain. The building trade in Britain was’one of her greatest industries prior to 1905 when the’ idea was adopted that houses could be built by passing measures to build ■ them. By 1930 some 400 odd Acts ! had been passed and the number em- ‘ ployed in the building trade had • decreased to one half. Here was an i amazing thing. With an ever increasI ing demand the number of builders : had tremendously decreased- This is ■ the economic paradox unknown in 1 economic history. We have yet to learn that politicians cannot produce houses or anything else we want. We are faced not only with shortages of houses but of almost everything else, and industry is crying out for labour. It does not seem to occur to-us that the adoption of false ideas has caused this for we have now entirely displaced labour forces from industry on the State pay roll. We will not remedy the position until we understand that we cannot build houses by voting for houses and that all these things we require can only be provided by one agency—by individuals operating under the force of competition.—l am, etc., ONLOOKER