Burden Placed on Workers;

New Zealand is moving steadily deeper into recession at the same time and because the world as a whole is doing so. The New Zealand working people are being squeezed, both externally and internally.

It is not news to wage workers that their incomes are steadily falling behind the cost of living. The Muldoons and company declare that because of the recession and inflation "New Zealand" has to accept a lower standard of living. For "New Zealand," read "the wage workers," on whose shoulders the Government is placing the entire burden of the crisis by means of wage freezes, cuts in social services, excessive taxation increased unemployment etc. etc.

What is the Government? No more than the executive committee of the entire capitalist class, whose dominant section consists of the biggest monopolists.

All capitalist governments have been "solving" the crisis in the same way as the Muldoons — at the expense of the workers. But in so doing they only make the crisis deeper, more protracted and more insoluble by forcing down the purchasing power of the masses, thereby making the market problem more acute.

Take New Zealand's balance of payment crisis. The international monopolies which run the enterprises of the countries supplying the bulk of New Zealand's imports can and do effectively impose high monopoly export prices to ensure themselves high monopoly profits. These prices have been increasing rapidly. The same financial oligarchy to which these monopolists belong is also demanding a bigger return on investments in New Zealand (e.g. Comalco,) and higher interest on loans. The monopolists are raising the cost of the so-called "invisibles," the shipping, bank and insurance charges on overseas freights. All of this means a substantial increase in outward payments. To balance such larger outgoings, the return for New Zealand exports has to be substantially increased. But this is not possible because the international monopolies have been cutting mass consumption in their home territories just as in New Zealand. It can be seen then, Why such Crises Simply will not go Away. In fact, present tendencies are for a worsening to take place.