Sharing the pain of economic crisis

Madam, – Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan said in his Budget speech yesterday: “This is a serious decline in national living…

Madam, – Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan said in his Budget speech yesterday: “This is a serious decline in national living standards: the sharpest fall on record”. He might wish to consider the historical record in Ireland for the years 1845 to 1849. – Yours, etc,

DENIS COTTER,

Middleburg,

Virginia, USA.

Madam, – The global economic crisis has arisen from one of the ugliest of human traits – greed.

The world has become obsessed with financial gain and the acquisition of material goods.  The greed extends from the simplest of people to those at the summit of the largest financial institutions.

It is greed inherent in human nature.  Wealth, status, control, power, these are the cornerstones at the heart of every person who seeks only the accumulation of money.  This is the great malady of our time and of all time, past, present, and probably future. This is the greatest depression.

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This is a bleak perspective, but there is hope.  Never before has the human race been so analytical and reflective.  Never before have we sought to right what’s wrong with ourselves, to shine a light inside and pass judgment on what we behold, however difficult to bear.  I feel there is more to this than just an economic crisis.  The human race will never move on unless there is a turning point in the way we perceive wealth.  I fear we are a great distance from change, but so is anyone who stands looking out into the horizon before embarking on a long and difficult journey. – Yours, etc,

KEVIN THOMAS,

The Coast,

Baldoyle, Dublin 13.