Tag: letters

Dear Editor

Every indicator shows that sources of gas, oil, fresh water and the growing of food needs international cop-operation to secure them for the future; this co-operation is urgently needed now: no one country can solve these problems, particularly the destruction of the world’s forests, widespread flooding and climate change.

Despite all of this, David Cameron continually talks about competing with other nations in an ‘Economic Race’. We know from bitter experience that unrestricted competing ends in fewer people employed, with industries closing in both our and other countries.The ‘economic race’ may benefit investors, but in the long run very little good happens to most people.

Without co-operation, the problems outlined above will become more acute in the next decades. ‘Economic Racing’ will pitch nation against nation with disastrous results for ordinary people.

A. Delahoy
Silverknowes Gardens

Dear Editor

Words, Words, Words

So many have been written, spoken, thought, agreed with, rejected, ignored.
Far too many for any individual to assess their value, opinion, fact or lies.
Words are an interpretation of events, of life that can be viewed from many angles.
Words can be a guide, this also viewed from many angles.
Words, then, are quite powerful in guiding events and influencing minds.
It follows in whose interest are events guided and minds influenced?

We, as individuals of the human race, have a limited span of time in which to grow up, live and love and create better conditions for the next generations.

Tremendous advances have been made worldwide, yet as you read these ‘words’ there is widespread poverty here in the UK but worse is happening in many countries: thousands of the next generation are dying of hunger and disease – why? Why, when the world has the resources and technology to prevent this happening, but does not or will not so so?

Is it that powerful people are operating a system that cannot so it; if so then the system must be changed. Do the powerful people want to change the system? – the answer is NO. They expend millions of words in support of the existing system; guiding events, influencing minds to ascertain their powerful positions of control.

Are they then evil? Some would say so. Are they indifferent to the results of the system they promote? Most likely, otherwise normal human concern and feelings would conclude this system of capitalism no longer has any place in this world.

A Delahoy, Silverknowes Gardens

Dear Editor

The Tory/Lib government slogans of a ‘big society’ and ‘we are all in this together’ are shown as a complete sham by their actions against the many.

They are also past masters at diverting attention from the effects of their actions, for example:

• People on work versus the unemployed on benefit

• People on housing benefit labelled as scroungers and layabouts, ignoring the fact that the landlord receives the benefit!

• People on disability benefit made to undergo a further ‘fit for work’ test, run by a private company.

Creating scapegoats is deliberate policy; they fear a people united against their policies of destroying universal benefits and replacing them with means-tested benefits based on the lowest possible level.

A. Delahoy, Silverknowes Gardens

Dear Editor

The Tory/Lib government are trying to make scapegoats of people on benefits. They are playing one section of people against others, for example:

• people on housing benefit getting large sums of money, but neglect to say it is the landlords who get the money via the tenants
• people on disability benefits being classed as layabouts, being forced to undergo a work capability assessment test by a private organisation
• people on Working Tax Credit, benefit being cut
• Job Seekers Allowance, benefit being cut.

People on these and other benefits have been slandered and labelled undeserving, and – if these benefits were cut – all would be well.

This divisive campaign by the Tory/Lib government did initially fool some people into supporting benefits cuts, but now the real target can be seen: it is everyone’s income, wages as well as benefits.

The following quote may sound very familiar: a group of unemployed men wrote to the Poor Law Commission in January 1835, asking for help. The Commission responded as follows:

‘the amount of relief, you must be aware, ought not to be as to render the situation of the pauper equal to that of a person living by independent industry: a practice of making allowance for idleness equal or nearly equal to the wages of industry must tend to make pauperism preferable to independence’.

Tony Delahoy, Silverknowes Gardens

Dear Editor

Every week people when shopping find prices are rising quite sharply; there is no hiding this fact.

Government spokespersons express surprise at the inflation rate of nearly 3%, which is based on a lower calculation anyway. Perhaps the world in which they live a rise of 10p or 20p on an item means nothing.

More and more people search for cheaper ‘own brand’ items when shopping – sometimes it works, other times the size or weight has been reduced so the price rise is hidden.

If th Government can put a freeze on wage increases or restrict them to 1% or 2%, then they can restrict price rises to the same level; this can be done in the name of ‘fairness’, to which they constantly refer!

This restriction on gas, electricity and oil suppliers is long overdue – the increases they have announced for starting this winter are amoral and shows their complete indifference to the hardship being caused.

Pressure must be put on officials of all kinds – whether they are MPs, MSPs, councillors, gas and electricity companies or supermarkets – to take very seriously the question of price rise restriction.

A. Delahoy

Silverknowes Gardens