David Challis' epistle in the Times Trago Mills advertisement reminds me of Abraham Lincoln's Fiscal Policy of around 1865.

1, You cannot prosper by discouraging thrift;

2, You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong;

3, You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich;

4, You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money;

5, You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more money than you earn;

6, You cannot build character and courage by taking man's initiative and independence;

7, You cannot help men permanently by doing more for them than they do for themselves.

I think that is a dictum which all aspiring politicians should all get into their heads.

Too many of them get their votes by promising the electorate the world by borrowing money and bankrupting the tax-paying public to help the greedy to contribute as little as they can.

J W Reid

Limehayes Road

Okehampton