The government saw another side of the issues. It had very little money to spend. Like our government today, it was in debt. There were people in government who had to decide the rate of relief, who got it, and how much. But no matter what need these people saw, there was a limit on what could be spent. The government felt that it had to keep relief low for two reasons: to keep costs down and to prevent relief from "becoming attractive." We hear some of the same points of view today about social assistance. People who speak for the government say that welfare or unemployment insurance should not be too attractive to people, because they might prefer it to work.

But why would public relief be attractive? In the 1930s, unemployment was high, wages were low. Some working people did not make enough to feed their families. This still happens today when people who work for the lowest wage do not make enough money to make ends meet.

In the 1930s, many people worked in the fishery, mining or forestry. In both mining and forestry, there were wage cuts and layoffs. The fishing industry was hit very hard. At the time, Newfoundland's biggest export to other parts of the world was dried cod. This cod was measured by the kental,² which is 112 pounds. In 1929, the export value of a kental or "quintal" of dried cod was over $9.00. By 1932, the value of the same amount of fish was $4.53, and the price kept on dropping.³

If you were a fisherman living at the time, you would have seen little or no cash for your work in the fishery. The "truck system" was in place. Under this system, you sold your fish to a merchant in your community. The merchant bought your fish, and you got supplies from his store in exchange for it. The merchant supplied gear needed for the fishery. He also supplied household items and food. At the beginning of the fishing season, you got the supplies you needed on "credit" from the merchant. At the end of the fishing season, you sold your fish to the merchant. The merchant then took whatever you owed him out of the value of the fish. If there was any value left over after paying for the supplies you got on credit, you could use it like money to buy goods from the store. In this way, many people lived from year to year. There was often nothing left over after the debts were paid. Some people were always in debt to the merchant, year after year.