We now have the time to reflect on the kind of society we want

ALAN Mckinney’s letter (April 9) was thought-provoking for us all; it is a tragedy that it has taken a global pandemic for us to recognise and appreciate some key workers. Mr Mckinney’s idea of a tax regime in recognition of one’s contribution to society is very interesting and has some overtones of the Scottish Government’s progressive taxation policies, which could be extended to take cognisance of such an idea.

A tax regime in recognition of one’s contribution to society would certainly assist low earners, of which there are plenty amongst our key workers. One sector I would add to my list of key workers would be care assistants and the wake-up/tuck-in service – vital elements of our care services whether working in care homes or visiting individuals’ homes.

Yet this vital service rewards many of their key workers with the national minimum wage for working unsociable hours, often12-hour shifts. It is a national scandal and one which needs a complete review when times return to some kind of normal.

Another sector I would certainly include in Mr Mckinney’s tax regime recognition would be carers, the silent thousands who daily look after their loved ones, saving the country millions annually.

This pandemic and resulting lockdown gives the country the opportunity to reflect and ask, what kind of society do we want to be.

Catriona C Clark,

Falkirk.

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CONGRATULATIONS to Alan Mckinney, who identifies those who are responsible for keeping our society going and those who simply milk it for all it’s worth.

This crisis really has demonstrated how unfair our system of reward is to various sectors and poses the question of whether it changes when this is all over.

I’m not holding my breath. Willie Towers,

Alford.

REGARDING the suggestion of a medal being struck for the NHS (Letters, April 8 & 9): I suggest that a substantially increased pay scale for all our NHS workers, including cleaners and porters, would be more appropriate and more meaningful in the longer term. I know of no banker who has risked his/her life doing that job.

Perhaps we should add the other health care workers to that list, who work in hospices run by charities and in nursing and care homes. Those who work in home care might also be added.

I daresay knighthoods and honours will be distributed widely, but it would be interesting to know how popular my suggestion is. Doreen Stephens,

Giffnock.

“HOW should the economy be reshaped?” asks Colin Mclean (“‘There is no case for a return to previous economic structure when crisis is over’, Herald Business. April 9). He makes an incisive criticism of businesses overborrowing, showing inept corporate governance and sluggish

attention to environmental and social issues.

How did we get here? The legal and political framework in the UK was not designed to prevent it. During my lifetime, we were persuaded that free markets solve all problems (including prisons and probation), and prosperity depended more on the London financial market than a diversified economy. Deregulation, centralisation and out-sourcing have been promoted. These were political decisions made repeatedly over decades.

How can we go forward? In retirement, I have realised that we have not been going in the right direction. We need a vision of what matters to society, wherein prosperity and financial security are balanced with environmental protection and social fairness. If things are going to improve, I need to become politically more active. I have joined the Scottish Green Party.

Dr Neill Simpson,

Milton of Campsie.

THE list of those people openly flouting social distancing rules continues to grow with limited exposure from the media and a tacit acceptance that they should be allowed to.

As Downing Street defends the Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick’s trip to his second home and Stanley Johnson takes off with his wife to his own second home, the media reaction has been muted and totally in contrast to the hysterical reaction meted out to our Chief medical officer, Dr Catherine Calderwood.

In addition, Ruth Davidson, former leader of the Scottish Conservatives, admits she drives down to contact her parents, against all police and Government advice. Presumably all these individuals believe that they are somehow above the rules that the common herd have to obey in the full knowledge that the media will turn a hypocritical blind eye as they have done in the past with Prince Charles and others.

If we are supposedly all in this together and equal before the law, why does it appear that some are more equal than others?

Owen Kelly,

Stirling.

MY better half and I escaped from Spain on March 14 just ahead of the lockdown there. At that time passengers travelling from the very same airport but heading for Dublin were instructed to go into voluntary isolation for 14 days. When we arrived at Glasgow Airport there were no medical checks, no advice regarding the need to self-isolate, no nothing, nada. We had intended after a few days at home to travel to Ireland, but took the advice offered by the Irish authorities and have selfisolated in Glasgow ever since and cancelled our onward travel plans.

Anecdotal reports from our major airports suggest that there are still no checks on the medical condition of passengers arriving from virus-ridden locations. That is asinine and the equivalent of trying to bail out a sinking ship while leaving the gaping hole in its hull unattended. Testing? What testing? One gets the impression that the UK authorities would struggle to organise the proverbial social event in a brewery.

David J Crawford, Glasgow G12.