Austerity only aids interests of the wealthy

From: Dr Glyn Powell, Bakersfield Drive, Kellington.

HAVING listened to Chancellor George Osborne the other day, one could be forgiven for believing that everything connected to the economy was fine! Instead of listening to a man who believes his own hype, the British people should consider the realities of the situation.

Public sector borrowing is rising, debt has barely fallen, despite Osborne’s harsh austerity measures. Average wages have fallen and long term unemployment has risen, along with millions more in part-time employment.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Falling wages and part-time working are the real purpose of this ConDem Government’s economic strategy that is failing the people.

Austerity only serves the interests of the wealthy. To understand this, people should look at the history of the 1920s and 30s when the Gold Standard, another term for austerity, impoverished millions and led to economic catastrophe. Britain should therefore change course and invest in regenerating manufacturing industry and skilled jobs for the unemployed/under-employed. As Osborne’s policies only benefit the people who caused economic meltdown – top bankers and the wealthy.

To achieve this, the British people must get off their knees and fight to retain the crumbs our forefathers fought so hard to gain. This will involve sacrifice, but the alternatives are impoverishment via slave labour wages and conditions.

Unfortunately, the Labour Party cannot be relied upon to reverse savage welfare cuts and the creation of meaningful jobs, as they have virtually swallowed Osborne’s hype.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

We should therefore follow the brave example of the Brazilian people who initially demonstrated in thousands over a 3p bus fare increase and other austerity measures.

From: Nigel Boddy, Fife Road, Darlington.

JOHN Hutton, now Lord Hutton, and the former Labour Minister, suggested police pensions should be linked to a career average for their rank instead of the notorious final salary pension scheme they have.

Their pensions, and firemen’s pensions, are worth far more to them as they are received so much earlier than other people at the age of 55. Lord Hutton was trying to bail out the Titanic with a bucket.

We have to go further. I fear one of the most important ways to stop escalating government borrowing is to cut all public sector pensions now above a certain level or very soon the Government will simply be unable to pay anything to retired public sector workers at all as the interest rate charged against government borrowing goes up.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The choice is less pension now or no pension at all by 2017. Retired public sector workers have to start downsizing and saving now for a rainy day. Can we know now, please, the average size of these pensions so we can have a free, open debate and make fair choices about which level of pensioner income to start cuts in future as voters and taxpayers?

Wash house memories

From: Keith Jowett, Woodland Rise, Silkstone Common, Barnsley.

YOUR “From the Archives” picture (Yorkshire Post, August 27) stirred some memories from long ago for me.

In the 1950s, during my university vacations I was employed as a pool attendant 
at Armley Baths. Part of my 
duties involved the washing 
of numerous towels and 
sheets hired by bathers and customers of the Russian baths and slipper baths.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The adjacent wash house 
was of course used. The wash house atmosphere was always hot and steamy with the huge washing machines, hydro extractors and the drying racks, which slid on rollers into the drying chamber.

The ladies using the facilities kept up a noisy conversation as they went about their heavy duties. As a young male student in a predominantly female milieu, I was of course the 
subject of more than a little leg pulling. The modern housewife with her automatic washer and drier certainly has an easier life than the Armley ladies of over 50 years ago.

Related topics: