From: David W Wright, Little Lane, Easingwold, North Yorkshire.
THE turmoil in the financial world over the past few weeks culminating with the bailout of banks here in the UK and in the US must surely raise the question of how this situation had been allowed to develop while everyone was aware of the huge and obscene amounts of money being made by speculators, financial institutions and the banks without any apparent controls.
These events smack of the unacceptable face of capitalism and the lack of Government and industry controls, but in a free society and economy this is one of the downsides as opposed to restrictive regulations and state control.
However, when one w
itnesses the obscene salaries, bonuses and profits of the financial world, coupled with the equally irresponsible and indefensible salaries and contracts given to TV newsreaders and entertainers, footballers, cling-ons and the hoards of bureaucrats
both at home and in the EU, there must now be a serious effort made to get back to basics and reassess values and standards.
What an ideal opportunity for a complete change of direction by any of the existing political parties or emerging new parties to offer the electorate and the country some hope for the future.
From: Ian Harrison, Eldroth Road, Halifax.
SINCE 1973, Britain has paid the EU more than £200bn in membership fees. Witnessing today's trashed society and financial meltdown, we have to question what exactly we got in return. We are still a net contributor of several billions annually. Spain, on the other hand, receives about the same. Each year, effectively, we hand a very large cheque to this impoverished nation.
To our astonishment, however, the major Spanish bank Santander elects not to invest its surplus cash in the development of its own country, but instead (and with an eye to easy profit) to continue to buy up huge chunks of our banking institutions – Abbey, Alliance & Leicester, Bradford & Bingley – in the UK's perpetual fire-sales. One has to conclude that Spain might not need the EU brass quite as much as it argues.
Call me simplistic and naive if you will, but these are tough times and need tough action. A solution would be to withhold our EU membership fees for the next three years. This is radical perhaps, but £20bn would eliminate fuel poverty and provide thousands of social housing units for young people who, in the foreseeable climate, have no chance of owning a home. Additionally, the construction and allied industries would be kick-started, with all the employment and spin-off benefits we have seen eroded in recent months.
From: Stanley D Parr, Maple Avenue, Pershore, Worcs.
I AM not a financial wizard, far from it, but the Government finding £100bn for Northern Rock and now £50bn for the Bradford & Bingley worries me.
We also have the on-going cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to pay for – not to mention the £40m that has to be found every single day, for the EU and Brussels
I hear that we in Britain have the biggest overdraft deficit in the world, only behind Pakistan and Hungary, so what happened to "the
world's fourth most prosperous nation"?
We are selling our "seed corn" of electricity, gas and airports to foreign ownership and Gordon Brown has already sold off 25 per cent of our precious gold reserves at a fraction of the market value.
We are bankrupt and this situation cannot continue. There are some very hard times ahead for us.
From: C Horsman, Coppergate, Nafferton, East Yorkshire
DAVID Cameron is to support the Government on new financial legislation – shades of 1931 and the great financial crisis and depression. In the August, Ramsay MacDonald formed the National or Coalition Government much to the disgust of the Labour Party.
This system saw out the finance crunch and a World War until 1945. The initial Cabinet was four Labour, four Tories and two Liberals. The pound was devalued, benefits cut and the Armed Forces' pay reduced.
In October 1931, Labour was routed in a General Election but MacDonald remained PM supported by 473 Tories and 68 Liberals, and so the National Government continued.
Food for thought.
From: Terry Duncan, Greame Road, Bridlington, East Yorkshire.
NOW that Lloyds TSB has swallowed up HBOS and the Bradford & Bingley is being nationalised, there will be many fine bank buildings left vacant throughout the country.
Could I suggest that, in the not so far future, the recycler of many old bank buildings, Wetherspoons, will appear on every high street where all the pin-striped wheeler dealers can drown their sorrows on being out of a job.
Bring a friend to church day an 'impressive initiative'
From: S Sparrow, Chorley, Lancashire.
LIKE many other people, I was impressed by the initiative shown by the Anglican community in West Yorkshire which ran "bring a friend to church day" on Sunday. The aim was to fill churches. What an enterprising idea!
This go get 'em approach is in stark contrast to that deployed by the Catholic Church whose loyal parishioners are desperate to attend Mass in the churches their families built. They often took their friends (Yorkshire Post, September 23), and packed a church every Sunday.
What tragic irony: one religious community has the churches but no one to fill them; the other has eager worshippers but is prepared to lock the doors and let the churches stand empty.
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