Philip Inman takes a very London-centric view (Can a nation in crisis rely on the baby boomer generation to step up? I think the UK is about to find out, 21 August). Certainly in my small northern town, retirees haven’t had a financial bonanza from property price hikes. Also in my part of the world services that used to be provided by local authorities are now largely undertaken by an army of older people, including litterpicking, gardening in communal areas, local radio, school holiday activities for children, and food bank collection and delivery. Not to mention the myriad charities who couldn’t provide services without the time given by retirees.
At the moment older people are reluctant to move into the housing provided by some private developers, as this can leave a financial headache for their children when they die. Perhaps this is an area where Inman could usefully focus his journalistic zeal rather than scapegoating older people. This sort of reporting, which takes the experience of a small subset of the population and extrapolates that to a whole generation, is intrinsically flawed.
Dr Susan Graves
Lydiate, Merseyside
