Sacrifices— Why?

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20360, 18 July 1934, Page 6

Sacrifices— Why?

Dear Sir, —Amongst the many empty phrases and meaningless platitudes often expressed by Mr Forbes and other Ministers is the necessity for sacrifice on the part of the people of this Dominion. Sometimes the expression is amplified to the term “ equality of sacrifice,” the truth of which is possibly open to question. How many readers of vour valuable paper have considered this exhortation by the Government leaders and have tried to discover to what purpose we shall have to sacrifice, or who may possibly benefit by the things w T e give up. When the production of goods is greater than ever before—has, in fact, become an embarrassment to the Government—where is the sense in refraining from making the best use of it? Surely the object with which those goods were produced was to consume and not to save them. Each pay. day we are called upon to make further sacrifices. Whether we do so willingly, as stated by Mr Forbes, or because we have no option is a moot point. Of course thi •= is to enable the unemployed to get an inadequate share of goods by going short oneself while the surplus production continues to increase. Regarding the other monetary sacrifices we (cheerfully ?) make to the Government, the greater part of them is paid to the banking system and is then cancelled out of existence. Does this not point to the urgent necessity for an alteration in our monetary system which will prevent the premature recall of our purchas ing power, as this is undoubtedly one of the causes of our present economic chaos? When money is allowed to perform its natural use—i.e., to transfer production into consumption—there will be no need to talk of sacrifices, and for the first time the people will be in God’s Own Oountrv.—l am, etc., REFORMER.