The Amount and Nature of the Allowances Under a Family-Allowance System

Abstract

In view of the rapidly increasing importance of the familyallowance system in Europe and the possiblity which it affords in this country of solving the dilemma which the advocacy of the living wage has created, it is important to work out the mechanism of a just and adequate system. There are three main sets of problems to be solved, namely, those connected with (i) the basic wage for employees, (2) the allowances paid in behalf of dependents, and (3) the agency through which the allowances are to be paid and the problems of administration which necessarily arise. The first of these problems was discussed by the author in an article recently published.' The present article deals with the second set of problems, while the third will be treated in a forthcoming paper. The allowances which are granted under an ideal system of family allowances should be adequate to meet the extra cost which dependents occasion a wage-earner. So far as possible, they should be so flexible that while all families, whatever their composition, will be assured of at least a minimum, yet at the same time no person or group will be paid any appreciable excess over their actual needs. A number of very interesting problems are necessarily involved in carrying out these principles, which are worthy of analysis and of an attempt at solution.