I USUALLY agree with Catriona Stewart but have to take issue with her on view on inequality and pay caps when she states ''inequality will never be rectified without bold moves but it seems unlikely the electorate will be bold enough to take them '' (“We’re not ready to bit the bullet on pay cap”, The Herald , January 14).
Inequality is not the choice of the public: it is not the public who decide to pay directors 1,805 times the national average wage; it is not the public who decide the rate of inheritance tax, nor the public who allow the continued existence of tax havens and tax loopholes for the rich to exploit. When have these policies ever appeared in political manifestos for the electorate to consider?
The public do not decide on policy - a few people at the top of the political parties, depending on who has influenced them, are the policy makers. The public are simply asked to endorse a long shopping list of promises from a party which will ignore most of them but implement a few obscure policies that suit its backers.
If inequality is to be properly addressed then it has to be pushed by political parties and not rely on public pressure alone.
Will this work? Yes, as shown by several seemingly unpopular policies which were pushed through Parliament in the past: from the abolition of hanging to the passing of the Abortion Act to the smoking ban in public places, all of which could certainly not have been considered at the time to be vote-winners.
Inequality is underpinned by so many things in our society, from the monarchy, which sits at the apex of privilege, to the private educational sector, whose adherents harvest the best positions in the professions, the civil service, the media and so on ... to the boardrooms of industry where the fat cats continue to increase in their dedication to obesity.
If the politicians will not address this situation which affects the majority of the public, who will?
James Mills,
29 Armour Square, Johnstone.
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