Governments and central banks in most advanced countries have tried a variety of remedies (near-zero interest rates, quantitative easing and direct spending) that are based on the underlying assumption that recessions are caused by people not spending enough, and if you can get them to spend more, or spend more on their behalf, then it will all be good, so they keep trying, even though all they have accomplished so far is to inflate asset prices.

Supposing that they've got cause and effect the wrong way around and that credit expansion is not the cure but the disease, which it is according to the Austrian Theory of the Business Cycle and all the evidence is pointing that way, then we are in for a world of hurt in the not too distant future.

A self-funded retiree who takes the minimum 4 per cent per annum from his pension account is eating into his capital unless he opts for risky investments. . Young people saving up to buy a house are also big losers as the house price bubble expands faster than their savings.

Naturally there must be beneficiaries from this vast wealth transfer, mainly investors who can borrow large sums of money, as long as they take their capital gains before the asset price bubble bursts.

D. Zivkovic, Aranda

Peter Toscan (Letters, July 30) is right in saying the government should not depend on land sales to balance its budget.

He is right in saying light rail will double in cost by the time we pay for it. Any infrastructure built with debt will cost us at least twice as much as it needs to. A generation of economists and cost accountants has fooled us into believing that the only way to find funds to build infrastructure is through debt or savings or grants.

There is another way we have forgotten for 30 years. By creating community credit, we can give savers in our community a fair, secure return on investment and build infrastructure like light rail. This approach removes the cost of debt and inflation. Light rail need only cost the city its cost of construction much of which stays in Canberra.

Using this approach changes the economics of all community infrastructure.

The best value for money comes from infrastructure that costs a lot to build but has a long life. For public transport, the best value is dedicated right of ways along trunk routes. To ensure a right of way remain a right of way the best ones have fixed railway lines running along them.

Kevin Cox, Ngunnawal

If it turns out to be true the cost of cancelling the Capital Metro Stage 1 contract exceeds $240 million of the $707 million construction contract, it again shows the sheer arrogance and contempt that the Rattenbury/Barr government has for Canberra taxpayers.

Contract signature could have easily awaited the October election.

Much of this potential cost is attributable to costs incurred during tendering and contract negotiation phases, when it is known that the Capital Metro Agency held regular workshops with the two short-listed tenderers, including partial design work, most likely contrary to Government procurement guidelines. Whether the consortium could sustain an argument in the courts for compensation of costs incurred before contract signature is highly debatable, especially when the winning consortium had been advised formally by the Liberal Party that it would cancel the contract if elected.

The estimated cancellation cost probably includes $65 million for the 14 trams known to be on order. Any competent government could cancel that contract at a cost of at most $25 million. Unfortunately, this is only one of the financial booby traps and time bombs that Rattenbury and Barr are likely to leave for an incoming Liberal government. How many more before October 15?

M. Flint, Erindale

If Professor Blakers wishes to correct myself and other readers about the recent South Australian energy price surge (Letters, August 3), he should start by demonstrating the ability to accurately interpret what I said.

The recent media coverage was about the inability of South Australia to generate sufficient power to keep local wholesale electricity prices low when the wind isn't blowing. The headlines had nothing to do with the temporary failure of the interconnector or recent gas prices. It was all about a desperate state government seeking to improve the interconnector's capacity to import energy in from other state, particularly from the eastern states that rely on coal energy for baseload power.

My letter was also about the failure of ideologically blind governments to understand the principles of electricity generation, and the consequences of the inconsistent output of intermittent renewables. The misinformation from Blakers pushes society closer to paying the ultimate price for the "100 per cent renewables" dream: wind turbines everywhere and anywhere, electricity prices that paralyse industry and punish those on meagre incomes, and desperate patchwork solutions to generate expensive power when the wind doesn't blow.

George Papadopoulos, Yass, NSW

I am grateful to Leigh Watson for spelling out what homelessness actually means ("ACT second highest in nation for homelessness, August 3).

The thought of families sleeping in cars should fill us all with anguish.

Surely, as an affordable temporary measure, the ACT government could buy up a whole lot of cabins that you find in camp grounds and install them somewhere within the city. They would need to be connected to services, of course, but these cabins, albeit small, supply the basic needs of kitchen, bathroom, beds and heating. Washing clothes may need to be communal (as in a campground) but that should not be difficult. As a more permanent measure for those sleeping rough and with multiple needs such as mental health care, hostels with services are necessary. A mark of a civilised society is how we treat the most vulnerable, and the homeless are highly vulnerable.

Jenny Goldie, Michelago, NSW

It was a pleasure to hear Trevor Cobbold castigate the ACT education system on the basis of NAPLAN results. An economist known as the national convener of Save Our Schools Australia, Cobbold has, for some years, been a robust critic of the national literacy and numeracy program established in 2008.

In 2013, for instance, he complained, "Many (young) children in Australia are experiencing high levels of stress as a result of the prominence given to NAPLAN in schools." Apparently he now recognises the relevance of NAPLAN.

Gary J. Wilson, Macgregor

The announcement of a new government office development and hotel in London Circuit is another blow to the concept of a bush capital that is easy to live in.

Not one of the government departments that will be relocated in Civic could not operate as easily in one of the town centres.

In this age of electronic information transfer, public service departments do not need to huddle together like sheep in a pen.

With Civic suffering major congestion and limited parking space, a predominantly office area taking up essential parking space is a brainless exercise.

Howard Carew, Isaacs.

The draft wild horse management Plan for Kosciusko National Park is available for comment. Numbers of wild horses, or brumbies, in Kosciusko NP are conservatively estimated at 6000. The aim of National Parks is to reduce numbers down to a more manageable figure of about 600 over the next 20 years. The reason being that the current and increasing population of brumbies is destroying the fragile alpine environment and the native species that rely on it. If this is allowed to continue, the damage will be irreversible. Methods of control include: trapping and mustering for rehoming; abattoir or culling; ground shooting; fertility control; and fencing. No aerial shooting.

While the management of brumbies is an emotive issue, they are feral animals causing enormous damage that threatens the survival of native flora, fauna and a unique environment. Either something is done now to reduce brumby numbers or we must take responsibility for the extinction of threatened and endangered species and ecosystems, as well as the loss of a unique Australian alpine and sub-alpine environment.

Patricia Gardiner, Deua River Valley, NSW

It should not have been difficult to see that the decision not to support the Rudd UN candidacy would provoke an explosive dummy spit, or that holding a royal commission into NT youth detention centres without Aboriginals being represented in its governance was untenable.

The Prime Minister's fundamental problem seems to be that he has no feeling for how other people perceive things, because he has never previously had to care about such matters. Rather, his concern has been that other people should bend to his view of the world. This approach may work in business, when you are generally the smartest person in the room, but unfortunately does not translate to politics.

John Howard always ultimately privileged public perception above his own opinion. This exposed him to criticism in his time, but also ensured that his time was a long time. Is Malcolm Turnbull capable of the level of personal change required for success in his new role?

H.Simon, Watson

Isn't it time Kevin Rudd stopped trying to extract money from the public purse?

If he is passionately committed to the work of the United Nations there are national voluntary organisations he could join and perhaps, with his knowledge and skills, make more influential in public affairs. He could also devote his time and skills to any number of charitable causes, dealing with disability, poverty, displacement climate change, etc. He is already on a lifetime pension that would keep several Australian families in comfort.

Juliet Flesch, Kew, Vic

The Four Corners program did a terrific job showing us the NT juvenile justice system from the administrator's point of view. I hope that they will follow it up by showing it from the kids' viewpoint and where they have come from.

What sort of housing is available for their families? What sort of schools are available, and does the curriculum acknowledge their culture?

What jobs will be available for them later in life, and for their family members? What education is available to them while incarcerated?

I got the impression from the program that they don't have any, which suggests that they are falling behind, probably exacerbating existing problems. Is it legal in Australia to deny young people access to education under any circumstances?

I suspect that their problems didn't just start when they got picked up by the police and, even if we change the behaviour within the prison, it is unlikely to address the problems which probably started them on this path.

Dr Audrey Guy, Ngunnawal

The heading, "Same-sex marriage plebiscite rejected" (August2, p7) was extremely misleading. The paragraph which followed explained that the relevant poll was of only LGBTIQ people, but these people make up only about 5per cent of the population. The heading should have included the words "by LGBTIQ community".

Why is there so much talk about votes and plebiscites when it seems that no specific request for a change to laws, together with comprehensive reasons for the request, has yet been made, and made public?

Surely that is the only sensible start for a debate.

I note that "57.8per cent of LGBTIQ people opposed a [plebiscite] even if it was the only way same-sex marriage could be achieved under the Coalition".

If this is so, it indicates that there is not a strong desire for the effect of a change to the law, but more a desire to bully or trick the vast majority of the population into doing whatever the very small minority LGBTIQ community demands.

This gives even more reason for the press to demand the LGBTIQ's formal request.

R. James, Melba

REMEMBER THE CHAOS

Some letter writers bemoan the lack of a bipartisan approach to Rudd's nomination for the top UN job. But how many ALP figures does it take to be reminded Rudd's leadership was dysfunctional and chaotic? Just go to Wayne Swan, Nicola Roxon or Kristina Keneally's labrador.

Murray May, Cook

INCONSISTENT APPROACH

Kevin Rudd is punished, with our Prime Minister refusing to endorse his application to become the head of the UN. Probably the right thing given his past performance. Joe Hockey, one of the worst treasurers, we have ever had, gets rewarded with the most prestigious foreign posting Australian can award.

Roger Laws, Bonython

ASSANGE OPPOSES CLINTON

The New York Times has reported that Assange, in terms of the WikiLeaks release of emails of the US Democratic Party , "has made it clear that he hopes to harm Mrs Clinton's chances of winning the presidency, opposing her candidacy on both personal and policy grounds".

Rod Holesgrove, O'Connor

HARD WORK REQUIRED

Vicki Thomson seems to believe university isn't for everyone ("Actions of universities harming economy" August 1). Perhaps so, but it is worth reminding these unfortunate students nothing is accomplished without hard work. Students' academic success requires the continuous support of their parents.

Sam Nona, Burradoo, NSW

CLICHE AND HYPERBOLE

I read the article ("Police chief wants laws beefed up in terror fight", August 1, p2) about Assistant Commissioner Lammers' views on various issues, and what a litany of cliche, hyperbole, ambiguity and outright codswallop they are.

Peter Moran, Watson

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