YEP Letters January 31

Check out today’s YEP letters

A nation of push button zombies

A Hague, Harehills

We are becoming a nation of push button zombies.

What use are school lessons when any answer is at the touch of a button?

The greatest part of life is learning as we go, but if robots take our jobs what use are we any more?

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I am in my twilight years and dread the lives young people are heading for.

Speed bumps increase air pollution

Martin J Phillips, Leeds 16

In his letter (YEP, January 29) Coun James Lewis states: “Air pollution poses the biggest environmental risk to our health”.

So why is it that Leeds City Council still intend bringing 20mph zones and their associated speed bumps to another 70 areas of Leeds when evidence clearly shows that they increase air pollution by 60 per cent or more?

If Leeds got rid of all its speed bumps there would be no need for the imposition of fines for vehicles entering the city.

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Leeds City Council intends to spend £29m to set up a clean air scheme that will financially bankrupt many Leeds residents, workers, and visitors. If Leeds got rid of all its speed bumps there would be no need for the imposition of fines for vehicles entering the city i.e. we could save the tax payer £29m.

The ironic thing is that the council are imposing this ‘clean air’ tax in order to comply with the requirements of EU legislation which will no longer be valid when we leave the EU in two months’ time.

Callous decision on pension age

Mrs CA Gannon, Barwick in Elmet

How I agree with contributor Steve Crees about the retirement age.

I am one of those who aimed to retire at 60, now increased to 66. In my mid-50s I began to suffer with ill-health and could not work due to several years of operations and cancer treatment. I then had the task of looking for a job at 61. I am now back working part time.

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I know many who didn’t see the old retirement ages of 60/65, my mum, sister and mum-in-law included. It seems callous to have raised the ages, particularly the ladies by six or seven years and who knows, it could change to even later in life. What the Government probably haven’t factored in is that often when people retire they take up extra caring responsibilities for older relatives, friends and grandchildren.

Are the Government prepared to take up the reins when this group of people are not available at 60/65 due to being asked to work until almost 70?

Fictional democracy

Mr L Brook, Rothwell

The democratic citizens were given a referendum to decide whether we leave or stay as a United States of Europe.

The consequences of either staying or leaving could not be known by anyone, only speculations or opinions.

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The democratic vote was to leave, so far so good. However those in Government did not disclose that many of them would only accept a remain, with others they wanted to leave with benefits (unrealistic) and some who would not allow a vote for a “no deal Brexit”.

To further complicate the total deception, some of the “opposition” parties were only concerned to use the occasion to force a general election by preventing anything being done, and the biggest hypocrites determined to force another vote.

So, the rest of the world sees us as a pantomime as our idiotic discussions continue.

The saddest part is that we have shown that the individual votes are overthrown by the wishes of those in power which in my dictionary is a dictatorship.

Fear over home ownership

J Morton, Pontefract

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If, God forbid, we are irrevocably sold into the corrupt, money greedy European superstate, what is to stop them nationalising Britain’s private home ownership and charging those affected rent to live in their former homes?

What is to stop them dramatically increasing social housing rents? What is to stop them scrapping the welfare benefits system? What is to stop them offering people who are displaced and starving on the streets because of their policies, a guaranteed unpaid job with free healthcare and free board and lodge in one of their European work factories?

Zone about cash not health

Geoff Holloran, Leeds 9

I totally agree with Dave Fawcett (YEP Letters, January 24) who says the Clean Air Zone is all about money, not people’s health.

I believe that Leeds City Council has developed this scheme as they knew that a congestion charge would be unpopular so they came up with a clean air scheme hoping that people would all say: “well, yes we would all like to see clean air”, which of course we all do.

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The council has failed to come up with a transport strategy, so instead are finding ways of getting the traffic flowing. They have been obsessed with implementing the cycle highway scheme expecting people to get on their bikes…well, that’s proved to be a total waste of taxpayers’ money as all it’s done is narrow the road. The only reason cars and small vans were not included in the scheme that starts next January is because they estimated that 125,000 cars would have to be upgraded within the year to achieve compliance and this was not considered achievable to market capacity.

By the way the bulk of emissions doesn’t come from vehicles, it comes from sources such as power stations, industry and construction. So all this scheme will do is increase bus and taxi fares, effect our businesses and put money into the council coffers.

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