Today’s letters to The Courier.
Sir, – At long last, most thinking people, including most politicians, realise that all public services have to be paid for … and are prepared to speak out.For too long, certain sections of the public have been brainwashed into thinking that it is their right to all services for free (as long as somebody else pays for them).
A good example is our higher education system. This mega cash cow, which is bursting at the seams, feeds an army of so-called students, many of whom regard the whole exercise as ”the great escape” from the real world out there.Lured in by the promise of free tuition and all the rest, they idle their time away, choosing if and when to attend classes.With tickbox exams the norm in many cases, passing out with meaningless qualifications is all too common.Yes, by all means give financial help to those who genuinely want to learn, but providing so-called free handouts to the rest is a national disgrace.If a more rigorous system was applied, maybe our universities would, at long last, move up the league table instead of being in their present state of decline.Bob Smart.55 Bellevue Gardens,Arbroath.
They will be glad to hive off whiney north
Sir, – Devolution has turned the Scots from the hardy independent people of 19th century folklore into a nation where only 12% pay more in taxes than they receive in benefits.
SNP leader Alex Salmond and his Labour predecessors have used benefits to create a client state of voters who rely on state handouts to maintain their homes and families.
With public sector expenditure responsible for half of Scotland’s GDP, little goes on without government approval and anyone protesting is deemed an enemy of the state.
It is a form of paternalistic condescension which denies voters any real choice in their lives and creates a corrosive sense of entitlement which empowers our politburo.
While the First Minister struggles to convince the Scots they could go it alone, I suspect it would not be difficult to persuade the English to hive off the whiney northern bit.
Dr John Cameron.10 Howard Place,St Andrews.
Understood but…
Sir, – I understand why Roger West and most of Pitlochry are angry about the move to approve the decision to put a Travelodge right at the heart of the town and his frustration that voting apparently followed party lines.
He mentions the SNP and ” their Liberal allies”. The Liberal Democrats are no allies of the SNP on Perth and Kinross Council at the moment and, with only one member of the development management committee, it cannot be implied that they somehow colluded among themselves on the required outcome.
You cannot have a block vote of one.
If people think that any party discussed the desired outcome in advance, for or against, and have evidence of that, then I think the Standards Commission will have something to say about it and would probably insist on the removal of those concerned and the annulment of the decision as a very minimum.
Victor Clements.Mamies’ Cottage,Aberfeldy.
Tay problems on Fife bank?
Sir, – Re the proposals for a 30-acre dock extension into a River Tay landfill site, I wonder whether this will affect water levels in the Tayport area in times of high rainfall?
I realise the river is to be dredged to create landfill but this will fill with incoming tide, so I imagine in times of severe weather upstream/narrowing estuary water levels can only rise.
I hope this proposal is not detrimental to the people of Tayport living next to the waterfront. Perhaps Scottish Enterprise can reassure the people of Tayport that extending the Dundee bank will not affect the Fife bank.
Peter Smith.Ellengowan Drive,Dundee.
Redirect aid to repair roads
Sir, – The forecast for this winter is that it will be as terrible as the one we experienced a couple of years ago.
We can again expect ice, snow, frost, roads to be closed and planes, trains and buses to be cancelled, plus all the rest.
I was trying to absorb this bad news after a trip in my wee car … over roads that had at least as many potholes and bad patches as smooth tarmac (or whatever is laid nowadays).
My conclusion? If the roads are this bad now, what are they going to be like by, say, next April?
I suppose those responsible for road maintenance do their best, but isn’t it possible for at least one of those overseas grants of millions or billions of pounds for what, we don’t know, to countries we have never heard of, to be redirected to road maintenance here in Britain?
Ian Wheeler.Springfield,Fife.
Get involved: to have your say on these or any other topics, email your letter to letters@thecourier.co.uk or send to Letters Editor, The Courier, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee DD4 8SL. Letters should be accompanied by an address and a daytime telephone number.