VINCE Cable’s remarks on the economy have left us to reflect upon the society we have evolved over the past 50 years, since we are now spenders rather than savers.

People once saved up to spend money on mostly necessary items. Hire purchase with a 50 per cent deposit was eventually lifted and the government later gave way to the banking industry for the advent of credit cards (that were originally intended for business travellers) but their general introduction allowed the public to have almost anything they wanted right now on the basis of pay sometime in the future or in many cases never at all.

This meant that the money owed was eventually consumed into part of the national debt as the state took care of those in difficult circumstances.

Bad debts of banks and personal finance is known to be the prime cause of this recession but the outlook of our society towards money has led to this, together with the many abuses of the system from parliamentary expenses, public service credit cards, the billions of benefit fraud and the corruption of money spent in overseas aid.

Our generation of academic leaders seem to have forgotten that money is a business commodity and as such it should be put to work to generate the profits we need for our existence leaving no place for the profligate expenditure that has led to this recession.

Perhaps it is not politically correct to state these days that there is a moral issue here even referred to in the parable of the talents.

KEG PETERS, Steeple Close, Poole