A STRONG nation values its roots and nurtures its visions of the future.

These two great pillars of strength are represented in the oldest generations who have forged its foundations and the youngest - the potential means of its survival in the future.

What sort of a future are we creating for succeeding generations, who can, hopefully, enjoy the golden years of life, if we allow our politicians to maintain the present system of creeping poverty and measured charity to continue for today's pensioners?

The politicians are fully protected against inflation and the ups and downs of financial failures, yet are happy to maintain means testing as a method of drip-feeding needy pensioners.

Millions of them are too proud to put themselves through the indignity of begging for help and the money that should be working for them lies dormant.

The official answer is to spend more money on huge advertising and telephone campaigns to try and push it down the throats of those who have rejected force feeding, and they still don't want it.

A respectable state pension, protected against inflation and linked to average wages, is the deserved right of every generation which has contributed a working life for the country.

If you must means test someone, take on someone your own size. Set a level of capital above which this very basic provision becomes irrelevant and see how far you get with that.

George Appleby,

Leighton Croft,

Clifton, York.

Updated: 09:30 Friday, April 22, 2005