AS a reader old enough to have bought only when money was available and survived a house purchase before the advent of credit cards, perhaps I can remonstrate with Messrs Martin and Mark Webb (Sick of Platitudes, letters, July 14). Austerity is not about punishing the community, it’s about trying to live within our means. 
I would rather go without a little bit than (as a pensioner with a capped income) suffer the greater pain of inflation. 
Spending more money than we have is a recipe for disaster and I note, in passing, that even the Labour Shadow Chancellor has changed his tune about student debt, so maybe he realises the realities now too!
NIGEL CARTER
Great Western Close
Devizes