Date 25 January 2007

Letter to Herald -

'Crowding Out' myth perpetuated

Dear editor,

I was disappointed to read in Fridays editorial - A very public debate - that the author chose half way through a sensible assessment of the current position of Scottish opinion, to repeat the myth that too many people are employed in the public sector for a healthy economy.

As UNISON and a range of economists have consistently pointed out, in fact the public sector is an economic driver and supplies the private sector with valuable infrastructure. Those who 'accept' the opposite 'fact' do so without troubling to provide any evidence and are usually restricted to the CBI, certain politicians on the right of the spectrum and some media commentators who should check their facts better.

It would be disappointing to have to add Herald leader writers to that list, and I commend to them the Adding Value study commissioned by UNISON that points out evidence that shows the opposite. www.unison-scotland.org.uk/addingvalue

Yours sincerely,

Matt Smith
UNISON Scottish Secretary

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