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Is removing VAT from domestic energy bills a good move?
Andy Burnham’s first attempt to ease the cost-of-living crisis as prime minister – by removing VAT from domestic electricity bills (Metro, Wed) – may be popular but is, from the point of view of economics, wrong-headed.
Economics and experience tell us price is determined by supply and demand.
Energy prices have increased because supply has been restricted due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. If the price we pay is reduced by the tax cut, demand will rise, putting upward pressure again on price.
Thus the net effect of the tax cut will be, at least to a degree, to transfer money which would have gone to the government to the energy companies.
A tax increase, conversely, reduces demand and so depresses the market price, so that, in effect, part of the tax is borne by the energy companies rather than the consumer. Bernard Winchester, Norwood
‘Inflation is down’ so is there no cost-of-living crisis?
We keep reading about the ‘cost-of-living crisis’ but inflation is down to 2.6 per cent. In 1975, soon after I had married, it hit 25 per cent. Let’s get some perspective! Jamie, Chelsea
Right-wing media are resposible for view Burnham is taking is back to the ’70s, says reader
A Martin (MetroTalk, Thu) says Burnham ‘seems to want to take Britain back to the 1970s’. How do we know this? Has Burnham said this? What measures is he introducing that reflect such a view? Or, maybe A Martin just gets ideas from the right-wing media? Martin, London
Sound was an issue with the Odyssey
Having read Tori Brazier’s five-star review of The Odyssey (Metro, Jul 16), I went to see it with high expectations.
First, the sound. During the opening scenes on Ithaca I could hardly understand a word of what was said due to the subdued whispery tone of the actors. This applied to most of the film –except when an actor shouted.
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I was quite bored with scenes leading up to Odysseus’s departure for Troy. Some scenes after the Sack of Troy were good, in particular with the Cyclops.
Other reservations include why Helen of Troy had to be black [Lupita Nyong’o]. She was a Spartan queen, almost certainly white. The goddess Athena [Zendaya] scarcely appears and doesn’t resemble as much of a goddess as Tori seems to think.
Anne Hathaway makes a passable Penelope, though, and Matt Damon is excellent as Odysseus.
However, at nearly three hours, the film is far too long and director Nolan unnecessarily repeats the Sack of Troy a few times. The film also jumps backwards and forwards, which makes it confusing at times. If it’s your first time with the plot, you’ll find it a bit difficult to follow. I was glad to leave when the end finally arrived. Peter, Bradford-on-Avon
More labelling needed on processed foods
Further to calls for more explicit labelling on ultra-processed foods (UPFs) in light of their link to fatal heart disease (MetroTalk, Mon).
Companies that produce UPFs should by now realise they cause cancers. As a recovering victim of prostate cancer, caused by eating processed food, surely it is incumbent on manufacturers of these dangerous foodstuffs to advertise this on their labels.
They should follow the example of the cigarette companies who print very clearly that smoking kills, because so does eating UPFs. Melvyn Jacobs, Stockport
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