ATTITUDE TO SAVING

Waikato Times, Volume 124, Issue 20783, 18 April 1939, Page 6

ATTITUDE TO SAVING

Differing constructions may be placed on the New Zealand Post Office Savings Bank figures in comparison with those in Britain, But the returns indicate either that there is less will to save in the Dominion or that the lower-paid classes are not in a position to save as much as formerly. British depositors have £523,000,000 in the Post Office Savings Bank, an increase of £14,000,000 since the beginning of the financial year. Though complete New Zealand figures are not available, deposits have decreased. In February deposits amounted to £2,215,367 and withdrawals to £2,669,087, making an excess of withdrawals of £453,720. In February of the previous year there was an excess of deposits of £178,216. It is accepted that the people of Britain are more thrifty than New Zealanders, but that does not explain the marked change in the relative positions. New Zealand workers have never enjoyed higher nominal wages, yet in view of the increased cost of living it is doubtful whether the surplus above actual living costs is any greater, or as great, as it was before both wages and prices advanced. It may be that money that would ordinarily have gone into the savings banks is being spent on additional purchases; indeed that is indicated by the high levels, until recently, of imported goods of all descriptions. The most likely explanation of the decrease in savings is to be found in the people’s outlook on the future. Increased dependence on the State as the universal provider has weakened the determination to save. Social security has been accepted seriously by many people as marking the end of any need for individual thrift. Why save money for a rainy day when the State has undertaken to provide against poverty and want ? Probably even the Government does not realise the extent of the change in the outlook of many people who previously regarded their personal savings as their insurance against hardship in times of difficulty. Whether that weakening of individual responsibility will have a good or bad effect on the character of the people the future will show. There will still be many wise people who will prefer to make their own future secure rather than depend upon the benevolence of the State, or perhaps rather of their fellowmen.