I WONDER if Mr M Schmid (BEN: October 30) really believes all the rubbish that he writes.

The so-called "windfall tax" on the privatised utilities was, in fact, a tax on efficiency. It had no effect on the income of directors, but it meant that many billions of pounds were no longer available for price cuts, wage increases or dividend increases. The directors of these utilities have done a fine job in increasing productivity and controlling prices. They are in fact paid rather less than directors in comparable industries at home and abroad.

The New Deal is one of the biggest Labour confidence tricks to date. There are lots of jobs available (see the Bolton Evening News each week). Any young person who has genuine difficulty in finding work in his area at present is potentially unemployable, probably due to socialist policies. The "jobs" being created are artificial Mickey Mouse affairs that will not last.

The way to increase employment is to reduce taxation and red tape and create an environment where enterprise, study and hard work are rewarded and shirkers are discouraged. The Labour Government are failing to do these things, and soon there will be genuine unemployment.

S R Morgan,

Normanby St.,

Bolton.

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