YOUR LETTERS

I am perplexed at the dictatorial and unilateral actions of Gordon Brown in response to the “credit crunch”. The US president had to AGREE promises of such large amounts ($700bn) with the senate and other elected bodies within their constitution. In the UK, the PM allegedly ordered a take-away curry and promise amounts that will leave the UK in debt for decades, without agreement from elected MP's or seeking a unified response with our European “partners”.

To compound the situation, Mr Brown is underwriting personal funds in FOREIGN banks for UK citizens, something of which he has no control (Icelandic banks are the first). Bemoaning Councils and charities that have lost vast sums in Icelandic banks will eventually look to the beleaguered UK taxpayer to make good their mistakes. Presumably, if any UK citizen loses money in any bank, anywhere in the world, the UK taxpayer pays with this “plan”. If Icelandic banks have “lost” 100% of all depositors' money, they MUST have been trading whilst insolvent for some time OR the actions are deliberate and a massive corruption, wishing to exploit a bad global situation. Either way, the Icelandic government MUST eventually be held accountable, NOT the UK taxpayer. As an economist, one must consider the consequences of Mr Brown's plan failing badly. The pound sterling will become about as valuable as the Reich's Mark (the paper it's printed on), unemployment would break record levels, the health service and benefits system would collapse – for starters…. For the UK plan to succeed, EVERYONE must play their part. Investors and Stockbrokers must be prepared to support UK businesses in the “lean” times, for those exploiting the benefits and disabled allowances (no disrespect to the genuine and deserved claimants), they should remember the “golden goose” scenario, for those working illegally – you too can play a significant part in healing the hand that eventually feeds you. Yes, this is a massive gamble for the UK, let's all pray it works – we're all in the same boat!

Mark Masters

Andratx