BMA’S blindspot
nObODy likes the idea of a wage or pension cut, or changes to what was a exceedingly generous pension deal, so everyone hopes our doctors will eventually find a resolution to their current financial woes.
However, no matter how good you might think your case, and as other strikers such as miners, dockers, teachers, ambulance staff, firefighters, car workers and a host of other professions have discovered to their cost, strikes are a very good way to discover that in most cases the same services can be obtained elsewhere and at lower cost.
it is a simple truth that before you can arrange a decent pension, you must first have a job.
JiM bradley HaD the british medical association and its supporters concentrated on the outrageous generosity of civil service, mPs and mSPs’ retirement schemes compared with the coalition’s nHS pension reforms, it would probably have enjoyed total support from both its own members and the public (your report, 21 June).
instead, it has muddied the waters by ignoring demographics, the excessive GPs’ settlement under new Labour, the high pay of all UK doctors, the excellent transitional arrangements for long-serving staff, the fact that junior staff will still receive far higher pensions than the private sector can afford for its employees, the long-term unsustainability of the £2 billion “surplus” of current contributions over pension payments, and the incredible guarantee of no further change for the next 25 to 30 years – as many independent experts have highlighted.
John birkett On Jimmy Carr’s tax affairs, the Prime minister is being hypocritical (your report, 21 June).
Leaving aside the question of whether any Cameron family wealth has ever been tax-sheltered, paying tax is not philanthropy, government is not a charity and public services are not alms.
For every “taxophile” who argues that “tax avoiders” steal bread from the mouths of benefit-dependent children, there’s an equally strong moral argument that they starve the budgets of those who would spend our money on Trident missile replacements.
Taxes are the price we pay for public services, not a symbol of our moral fibre.
if the Prime minister wants Jimmy Carr to pay more taxes, he should design a tax system that makes that happen, rather than question the man’s morality.
Martin togneri Jimmy Carr may have apologised for taking part in a tax avoidance scheme after being criticised by Prime minister David Cameron but is he wholly to blame for his “moral lapse”?
Surely the government should legislate to ensure that tax loop- holes are closed and tax law is in a form easy to understand and not amenable to being manipulated by smart tax experts. it is human nature for some people to try to make a fast buck or to pay as little tax as possible. We have seen what tax evasion and tax avoidance have done to the economies of Greece and italy. The government should take action to ensure we have a fair tax system and not blame others.
bob Macdougall i rEaD with interest ruth Wishart’s article on the honours system (Perspective, 20 June).
in 1996 i was awarded, at the age of 21, the mbE for “contribution to sport”. at that time i was probably the youngest person to have been given this award.
i knew nothing about it until the letter arrived at my parents’ house asking if i would be willing to accept the honour.
Some years ago i put forward a colleague to be considered for a “gong”. Throughout his life he had contributed a huge amount of time and effort – and money – towards the advancement of several sports from the administration side (much more “contribution to sport” than i ever made as a competitor).
He did it unpaid and outwith his own very successful business career. i was astonished when the then judging panel refused any kind of honour.
Throughout my life i have read about, and at times met, individuals who have received an honour for actions far less