MICHAEL WILLIAMS
Madam, - The State has overspent, is short of money, and the Government's solution is to eliminate waste for the future and in the short term cut spending on services. Most of us accept that, though we know the cuts will affect mainly the poor, the sick and the old.
But the Taoiseach has told us that the Government does not plan any short-term increase in taxes. The poor, the sick and the old will be the only group in our country to take the pain of curing our financial problems. The affluent will not contribute.
There are arguments for saying that this is an astute way to manage the country's economy, But it offends concepts like decency and fairness, and is deeply divisive. If people from all layers within Ireland contribute in their different ways to getting the country out of its difficulties, this may become a better country for all its citizens to live in five years hence than it is today.
If the pain is inflicted only on the poorest section of our society then, whatever effect that may have on the economy and the bank balances of the affluent, it will certainly be a worse place for all of us to live in.
I urge the Government to remember that their job is to govern a country, not just to manage an economy, and to think again. - Yours etc.,
MICHAEL WILLIAMS Grosvenor Square, Dublin 6.