The younger generation deserves to enjoy a good pension like I have

It was so good to read your editorial yesterday (The Government’s position on pensions is unsustainable, and can only make intergenerational inequality worse, 21 July). I feel like a lone voice at times in not expecting the younger generation to subsidise my lifestyle.

For those of us lucky enough to have been able to contribute to a good pension fund and find ourselves, on retirement, able to continue living in a similar manner to that enjoyed while working, we should be celebrating that fact and not expecting today’s workers to go without to subsidise our way of life.

If we can afford to keep our homes, take holidays without too much financial concern and, if necessary, pay for occasional medical procedures, why on earth should following generations contribute to our upkeep when their last holiday is a distant memory and shopping is done in cut-price shops?

Those elderly people in need should of course be protected, but the rest of us should wake up, look around, and realise how lucky we are.

Pat Hulland
Newton Abbott

My pension has gone up this year by an exciting £1.80 a week. If they abolish the magic triple lock, what will it go up by next year? Four pence? I can’t see how this ruins the lives of future generations.

Kate Bevis
Sheringham

Wouldn’t you take a BBC salary?

The “talented” – be they media presenters, sports stars or banking chief executives – apparently are mainly motivated by higher and higher remuneration packages, and are good at securing them and usually at hiding them.

Might we not prefer people who are not so motivated and not so talented, but who have a sense of fairness and who would feel ashamed at receiving such vast sums compared with those of nurses, carers, cleaners and teachers?

Peter Cave

London W1

These days a great deal of attention is being drawn to the salaries of news readers and presenters on the BBC.

Way back in 1959, when I joined Anglia Television in Norwich as an announcer, news reader, interviewer and presenter, I was paid the huge sum of £15 a week.

£15 a week in 1959 is equivalent to £322.67 in today’s money.

Despite my modest salary, I rented a flat, bought a car and still had a few pennies left over to take a woman for a meal and a visit to the pictures.

There are times today when I think the world has gone mad!

Of course, like the rest of the world, if I was offered several thousand pounds for a simple task, I doubt if I would refuse.

Colin Bower
Sherwood

You are what you eat

With the news of faecal bacteria being found in the ice at fast food restaurants, it rather sadly reinforces the old adage of “you are what you eat”.

David Murphy
Address supplied

Theresa May, the pantomime genie

At last some good news from our illustrious leader at Tory HQ. After so many nasty things that have happened over the past few months, they are going to abolish tolls on the Severn crossings. Fantastic news for regular bridge users.

Now we all know what happened the last time Theresa May went AWOL: “Make me strong”, “Strengthen my hand”, “Give me the mandate to negotiate a great deal for Britain”; visions of a general election landslide.

Well, Jeremy, she may have another vision: one of packing bags and removal vans. So be prepared!

Oh, and don’t get too excited about those bridge tolls. After all, they promised electrification of the railway in Wales. And what happened? Gone in a puff of smoke like a pantomime genie.

David Higgins
​Yeovil

Speed limits cause a storm

Given summer storms, it seems the world is getting hotter and more hostile by the day. By having 30mph and 40mph speed limits where people live, work and play, it creates an angry and potentially lethal environment for children, the elderly, the mentally or physically impaired, cyclists, people using mobility scooters, and horse-riders. Protected in padded cells (cars) we’re safe!

With air pollution being caused by motor vehicles, 20mph speed limits in villages, towns and cities should be the norm – turn down the gas, from boil to simmer. Roads aren’t race tracks, they’re homes and workplaces: life support systems.

They’re the nation’s arteries – they should be no more blocked than rivers, drains and (rat-infested) sewers. The crime-infested “rat race” – “kill or be killed” – needs to be exterminated.

Speed limits should be set to promote health, in much the same way as healthy temperatures in homes, schools and workplaces. With the increasing gap between rich and poor, it’s nothing short of criminal for drivers to have armchair comfort i.e. air bags, crumple zones, air conditioning and entertainment, while pedestrians and cyclists suffer storms and heat waves.

If drivers aren’t allowed to stop on motorway hard shoulders to make a (hand-held) phone call – other than for an emergency – why are they allowed to stop in cycle lanes?

Given that HGVs are limited to 56mph on motorways, while cars and vans doing 80/90mph use outside lanes, it would surely be safer to cycle on a motorway hard shoulder than cycle on 70mph carriageways which don’t have cycle lanes.

Narrow, 60mph country roads – where motorcyclists terrorise cyclists and horse-riders – is also unfair. Like towns and cities, country lanes should be made “green” – with 20mph limits.

If drivers are required to give cyclists 1.5 metres, it should only apply up to 30mph. At speeds above 30mph, the gap should increase exponentially, to reduce fear and turbulence. Like people fear flying, millions fear cycling. Terrorists and “terrible” drivers: both generate fear.

Towns and cities should be “tailored” to fit the needs of the poorest and the weakest, not the richest and most powerful. If we’re to reduce stress, crime and global warming, and increase longevity, it’s surely a no-brainer.

Allan Ramsay
Radcliffe