Time to stop chasing renewables rainbow

His intention is no doubt to persuade us all that, with wind turbines to the fore and Heath Robinson tidal and wave contraptions bringing up the rear, investment in such will bring this country out of recession, make a worthwhile contribution to this nation's energy needs and most importantly at a cost

It is time for Mr Hosie, and all who think like him, not least the SNP government, to remove the blinkers and wake up to the state of play. Many in the investment and finance sector are now seeing renewables for the emperor's clothes they truly are. There must be an immediate halt to spending further huge sums of taxpayers' money chasing rainbows and betting on a one-legged pony. This madness of renewables cannot and must not be allowed to continue any longer.

Mr Hosie's further suggestion that renewables are "great for the environment", and will "bring thousands of new, green jobs" is equally risible, unless he is planning to change both our land and seascape into an industrial wasteland, and Scotland into a Third World country dealing in scrap.

Neil McKinnon, Perth

STEWART Hosie is correct that a tax break could stimulate economic recovery, but why stop at the computer industry, why not give us all a tax break? Why not move away from taxing what we do and make and instead shift over to collecting public revenue from what we hold and take?

The source of that revenue is the untapped potential and unavoidable collection of land rental values. These land values are not the product of individual or corporate entrepreneurial activity, but the result of the input and demand of society. Society is due the return of this in its entirety. With the quid pro quo of no income tax on what we do, the theft of our labour ceases, we will do and make more and there will be an end to recession. Only the land of Scotland will be needed.

Ron Greer, Blair Atholl