WHAT can the rising cost of living be attributed to? The Government is quick to point out that it is a global state of affairs. But is that entirely true?
Oil prices, we accept, are phenomenally high for the sale of crude oil. We also look at what it costs to fill up our vehicles at petrol stations.
Government minister John Hutton recently said: "Britain would have the cheapest diesel in Europe but
for punitive (punishment) taxation."
It is also confirmed that unleaded petrol would be the second cheapest but for the same taxation cost.
The actual cost of a litre of diesel is 48.8p before tax bringing the price up to 116.6p. This causes a knock-on effect which adds to the cost of living.
The Treasury reaps rewards by threefold from oil.
Firstly, revenue from North Sea oil producers, secondly, from the distributers, eg BP and Shell, and thirdly from VAT by the paying customers, motorists and hauliers.
The Prime Minister said he is listening. But is he?
Listening is not action and now many people are finding themselves being evicted from their homes because they cannot meet these escalating price rises thrust upon them. Action is the key word.
We hear the same old rhetoric coming from the Government, by the same old faces on the same old subjects, which in reality, if the proposed exorbitant pay increases they are seeking go ahead, we are looking at the old adage: "I'm all right, Jack."
Proving that they really are listening, only to benefit themselves.
Fred Gibbon,
Masefield Road,
Hartlepool.
The full article contains 268 words and appears in Hartlepool Mail newspaper.
