From Mr Malcolm Dixon
Sir, - Bishop Peter Selby (
Comment, 9 August) gives a good explanation of the virtues and
limitations of credit unions but, in his criticism of the
Government and of banks, he has allowed hyperbole to get the better
of him.
Does he really believe that the Government has deliberately set
out "to punish the poor for being poor"? Also, while commercial
banks undoubtedly make a profit from lending money, they do not
create that money or debt. Only central banks, which are an arm of
government, have the power to create money, and they have been
doing so assiduously in recent years.
In older and wiser times, our Government kept a strict control
of the amount of credit existing in the financial system, and the
relaxation of that credit control could be considered a tragedy
ranking with the demutualisation of the building societies, which
Dr Selby rightly condemns.
If the "massive quantity of debt" is the real issue, as Dr Selby
implies and I certainly believe, then he should be criticising
previous governments for allowing that debt to build up, and the
present Government for not doing more to prevent that debt from
getting larger.
MALCOLM DIXON
26 Tubbenden Drive
Orpington, Kent BR6 9PA
From the Revd Richard Adams
Sir, - The Revd Dr Martin Dudley (
Letters, 26 July) is right to draw attention to the excellent
social responsibility and charitable work done by (often quite
senior) workers in the City of London. He misses, however, the
essential point that the Revd Dr William Campbell-Taylor was making
(News,
12 July): namely, that the increasing emphasis in the City's
culture on profit at all costs has distorted the values of that
culture to the point that the working ethos has become detached
from other moral imperatives. This renders the description of
"dark" forces correct.
It does not mean that there are not well-intentioned people
working there who try to live Christian lives; but it does mean
that the "spirit of the City" tries to avoid all social
responsibility, including paying fair taxes. Thus the burden of
taxation falls more on individuals, in an ongoing global social
trend in which individuals are more and more heavily watched and
regulated, and large corporations less and less so.
RICHARD ADAMS
Tros y Mor, Llangoed
Beaumaris, Anglesey LL58 8SB