Unsustainable ways ended 
by Thatcher

From: Mike Smith, Birkby, Huddersfield.

IN response to my assertion that unions were a significant contributor to the decline of our manufacturing industry in the 30 years before Thatcher, Tom Howley says my memory is at fault (Yorkshire Post, September 4).

That being so, three-day working weeks, endless demarcation disputes, miners’ strikes long before Thatcher or Scargill, winters of discontent plus the activities of the likes of McGahey, Dash, Cunningham and others must all be figments of my imagination.

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The two salient points in Dr Powell’s original letter were firstly dismissing as a myth the idea that unions played any role in the decline of our manufacturing industries. His second was that short-term thinking was a factor leading to our present economic situation. I can add another myth: that all our present problems stem from the Thatcher era.

My contention is our industrial decline started long before Thatcher for many reasons, some beyond our governments’ control but short-term thinking and the activities of union leaders were significant among them.

As a nation heavily dependent on manufactured exports, our trade balance was consistently in the red from way back in the 1950s and getting progressively worse. Anything that disrupted our competitive edge like endless strikes would simply aggravate the situation. For a relatively brief period, our oil and gas bonanza put our trade balance in the black but that was inevitably going to be a short-term bonus.

Up to the time of Thatcher, millions were also being poured into subsidising loss-making capital industries or reorganising them in attempts to put them on a competitive footing but without much success.

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What Thatcher effectively did was call a halt to what was a wholly unsustainable financial situation. Right or wrong, it is now 22 years since she left office and one might have thought that was long-term enough for others to come up with better ideas.

I agree with Tom Howley that the nation was probably happier in the pre-Thatcher years with its ever-improving material lifestyle, but it was living on borrowed time and money.

On his claim about an abundance of jobs, I also agree there was a greater sense of job security for those who had them but he needs reminding there were also two million unemployed and rising fast at the outgoing Labour government in 1979.

Temporary tax needed

From: Rodney Atkinson, Meadowfield Road, Stocksfield, Northumberland.

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I NOTE that the British Chambers of Commerce urges the Government to borrow more to support “business investment, job creation and construction” (Yorkshire Post, September 7).

But there is no requirement for investment, jobs or construction per se – they are only required in the fulfilment of the demands of the end consumer. But the end consumer has no money. The cash is with the banks and large corporations while the individual consumer suffers high inflation, higher taxes, declining pensions and unemployment.

The corporate sector meanwhile is awash with cash and is granted lower taxes. The answer is evident. The banks and corporations should be subject to a temporary tax to fund lower taxes on the saver and consumer.

As the economy revives the Exchequer’s coffers will fill and the corporate sector can be relieved of the temporary tax.

Still a long way to go

From: Don Burslam, Elm Road, Dewsbury Moor, Dewsbury.

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OUR economic problems never seem to go away do they? It seems that our Government’s control over the economy’s peaks and troughs, never very certain, grows even less effective with the passing years.

To take a simple analogy, 
the speed of our cars responds 
at a touch to the accelerator or the brake. Would that the economy was similarly well-behaved.

At the moment the cry on 
all sides is let’s go for growth. 
In other words let’s shell out a 
few more billions we haven’t 
got on artificially making the jobless figures look better 
and creating an illusion of recovery.

The only satisfactory way forward is by organic growth of the economy, ie without artificial stimulus, which is far more difficult because we have to be more competitive.

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This means increasing our share of trade to the so-called BRIC countries and Europe as well for that matter.

We have made a start in reform of the education system but 
there is still an awfully long way to go.

Quite apart from the job skills deficit, I believe management is far too flabby to respond adequately to the present challenges.

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